When you are looking at the history of Newcastle upon Tyne you should understand that it goes all the way back to almost 2000 years ago. This was the time in which the Romans, the Danes, and the Saxons were the ones who were controlling the city. Initially known as the Pons Aelius, the new name Newcastle has been used for a very long time ever since the Norman Conquest that took place in England. During the middle ages, the town was able to develop greatly especially because of the river Tyne which played an important factor especially when it came to the town’s industrial revolution. In the year 1882, the city was granted its own city status. Nowadays, the city is considered to be one of the major commercial, retail and cultural centers of the people that are living in the town.
The settlement of the Romans in Newcastle
As mentioned earlier, the history of New castle dates back to many years back specifically AD120. This was the time when the Romans went ahead to build the very first bridge that was going to be used to9 cross the famous River Tyne. The bridge that was created was the one that was referred to as the Pons Aelius whereby Aelius was the family name of the Roman Emperor Hadrian who was leading the town at that time.
The Benwell Temple in Newcastle
There were other traces of a mile castle that were found on the Westgate road as well as at the Benwell temple. In AD150, the Romans were still the ones who build a stone-walled fort with the main aim or protecting the river crossing which was also located at the foot of the Tyne Gorge. This new fort also took with it the name of the bridge was what came to be known as Pons Aelius. The fort that was built by the Romans was situated at an outcrop that was rocky which overlooked the new bridge.
Fifty years later or less, the Roman Empire who were in the west came to its end. All the Roman troops who had been stationed at the wall were all recalled back. It is however important for you to take note that even though the presence of the bridge played a major role, the settlement of the town was not really that important to the Roman settlements at the north. Some of the most important stations to them included those that were on the highway of the Dere Street that ran from Eboracum and went through Corbridge and finally ended at the north part of the wall. Corbridge was found to be more populous and larger since it was the major supply center compared to Pons Aelius.
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