ANTINOUS THE GAY GOD

EVEN A REMOTE OUTPOST AT HADRIAN'S WALL

HAD RUNNING HOT AND COLD WATER

ROMAN soldiers at a remote outpost along Hadrian's Wall may have been far from the center of their civilization, but they still had hot and cold running water, according to a discovery unearthed by an archaeologist in northern England.

Dr Andrew Birley and a team of volunteers have been excavating land surrounding Vindolanda fort just south of Hadrian's Wall.

The team has identified the spring-head and piping system used thousands of years ago to feed the fort's bath house, toilet and drinking water facilities.

Dr Birley said: "We have found the main water tank and spring-head, and thousands of gallons a day are still bubbling through from the surrounding land and fields.

"They weren't a great distance down, probably about six feet, and there is a small stream coming out of it. 

"It is proper spring water, which is what the Romans preferred to use, as their other water, from the river, was used for waste."

"We can now start a map of where the water has gone, right across the site, and start to work out how all the buildings at Vindolanda were supplied," he added. 

Vindolanda was occupied for more than 300 years and was an important frontier fort and village long before the construction of Hadrian's Wall.