In Roman times going to the lavatory was a public affair. The room here would of had wooden seats along the sides, placed over a water channel. The small channel in the centre was used for washing sponges, which were used instead of toilet paper!

Housesteads, known as Vercovicium to the 1,000 soldiers garrisoned there, is the best preserved Roman fort in Britain. Standing on a hilltop alongside Hadrian's Wall, it was built in the 2nd century AD and used by the Romans for 300 years. During the late 17th century it was utilised as a stockade for stolen livestock by a family of notorious Border Reivers.