Hadrian’s Wall
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Hadrian's Wall ( la, Vallum Aelium), also known as the Roman Wall, Picts' Wall, or ''Vallum Hadriani'' in Latin, is a former defensive
fortification A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere' ...
of the
Roman province The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...
of
Britannia Britannia () is the national personification of Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used in classical antiquity, the Latin ''Britannia'' was the name variously applied to the British Isles, Great ...
, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. Running from
Wallsend Wallsend is a town in North Tyneside, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of Segedunum. This f ...
on the River Tyne in the east to Bowness-on-Solway in the west of what is now
northern England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...
, it was a stone wall with large ditches in front of it and behind it that crossed the whole width of the island. Soldiers were garrisoned along the line of the wall in large forts, smaller
milecastle A milecastle was a small fort (fortlet), a rectangular fortification built during the period of the Roman Empire. They were placed at intervals of approximately one Roman mile along several major frontiers, for example Hadrian's Wall in Great Bri ...
s and intervening turrets. In addition to the wall's defensive military role, its gates may have been customs posts. A significant portion of the wall still stands and can be followed on foot along the adjoining
Hadrian's Wall Path Hadrian's Wall Path is a long-distance footpath in the north of England, which became the 15th National Trail in 2003. It runs for , from Wallsend on the east coast of England to Bowness-on-Solway on the west coast. For most of its length it ...
. The largest Roman archaeological feature in Britain, it runs a total of in northern England. Regarded as a British cultural icon, Hadrian's Wall is one of Britain's major ancient
tourist attractions A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural b ...
. It was designated as a
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
in 1987. The turf-built Antonine Wall in what is now central
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
, which briefly superseded Hadrian's Wall before being abandoned, was declared a World Heritage Site in 2008. Hadrian's Wall marked the boundary between
Roman Britannia Roman Britain was the period in classical antiquity when large parts of the island of Great Britain were under occupation by the Roman Empire. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. During that time, the territory conquered was ...
and unconquered Caledonia to the north. The wall lies entirely within England and has never officially formed the
Anglo-Scottish border The Anglo-Scottish border () is a border separating Scotland and England which runs for between Marshall Meadows Bay on the east coast and the Solway Firth in the west. The surrounding area is sometimes referred to as "the Borderlands". The ...
since Roman times, though it is often loosely or colloquially described as being such.


Dimensions

The length of the wall was 80 Roman miles (a unit of length equivalent to about 1,620 yards or 1,480 metres), or 73 modern miles (117 kilometres). This covered the entire width of the island, from Wallsend on the River Tyne in the east to Bowness-on-Solway in the west. Not long after construction began on the wall, its width was reduced from the originally planned to about , or even less depending on the terrain. As some areas were constructed of turf and timber, it would take decades for certain areas to be modified and replaced by stone. Bede, a medieval historian, wrote that the wall stood 12 feet (4 metres) high, with evidence suggesting it could have been a few feet higher at its formation. R. S. O. Tomlin argues that along the miles-long wall there would have been a tower every third of a mile, adding more to the dimensions of the structure, as evident by the plentiful remains of the turrets.


Route

Hadrian's Wall extended west from
Segedunum Segedunum was a Roman fort at modern-day Wallsend, North Tyneside in North East England. The fort lay at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall (in Wallsend) near the banks of the River Tyne, forming the easternmost portion of the wall. It was in use ...
at
Wallsend Wallsend is a town in North Tyneside, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of Segedunum. This f ...
on the River Tyne, via Carlisle and Kirkandrews-on-Eden, to the shore of the
Solway Firth The Solway Firth ( gd, Tràchd Romhra) is a firth that forms part of the border between England and Scotland, between Cumbria (including the Solway Plain) and Dumfries and Galloway. It stretches from St Bees Head, just south of Whitehaven ...
, ending a short but unknown distance west of the village of Bowness-on-Solway. The A69 and B6318 roads follow the course of the wall from
Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
to Carlisle, then along the northern coast of
Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. C ...
(south shore of the
Solway Firth The Solway Firth ( gd, Tràchd Romhra) is a firth that forms part of the border between England and Scotland, between Cumbria (including the Solway Plain) and Dumfries and Galloway. It stretches from St Bees Head, just south of Whitehaven ...
). The route was slightly north of ''
Stanegate The Stanegate (meaning "stone road" in Northumbrian dialect) was an important Roman road built in what is now northern England. It linked many forts including two that guarded important river crossings: Corstopitum (Corbridge) on the River Ty ...
'', an important Roman road built several decades earlier to link two forts that guarded important river crossings:
Corstopitum Coria was a fort and town south of Hadrian's Wall, in the Roman province of Britannia at a point where a big Roman north–south road (Dere Street) bridged the River Tyne and met another Roman road (Stanegate), which ran east–west between C ...
(
Corbridge Corbridge is a village in Northumberland, England, west of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle and east of Hexham. Villages nearby include Halton, Northumberland, Halton, Acomb, Northumberland, Acomb, Aydon and Sandhoe. Etymology Corbridge was kno ...
) on the River Tyne and
Luguvalium Luguvalium was a Roman town in northern Britain in antiquity. It was located within present-day Carlisle, Cumbria, and may have been the capital of the 4th-century province of Valentia. Name The Romans called the settlement at what is today ...
(Carlisle) on the River Eden. Although the curtain wall ends near Bowness-on-Solway, this does not mark the end of the line of defensive structures. The system of
milecastle A milecastle was a small fort (fortlet), a rectangular fortification built during the period of the Roman Empire. They were placed at intervals of approximately one Roman mile along several major frontiers, for example Hadrian's Wall in Great Bri ...
s and turrets is known to have continued along the
Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. C ...
coast as far as Risehow, south of
Maryport Maryport is a town and civil parish in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England, historically in Cumberland. The town is situated just outside the Lake District National Park, at the northern end of the former Cumberland Coalfield. Location ...
. For classification purposes, the milecastles west of Bowness-on-Solway are referred to as
Milefortlet A milecastle was a small fort (fortlet), a rectangular fortification built during the period of the Roman Empire. They were placed at intervals of approximately one Roman mile along several major frontiers, for example Hadrian's Wall in Great Bri ...
s.


Purpose of construction

Hadrian's Wall was probably planned before Hadrian's visit to Britain in 122. According to restored sandstone fragments found in Jarrow which date from 118 or 119, it was Hadrian's wish to keep "intact the empire", which had been imposed on him via "divine instruction".
Anthony Everitt Anthony Everitt (born 31 January 1940)EVERITT, Anthony Michael
''Who's Who 201 ...
, ''Hadrian and the Triumph of Rome'' (2009), Random House, Inc, 448 pages; .
One comment on the military purpose of the wall was that, "if there are troublesome tribes to the north, and you want to keep them out, you build a strong defensive wall". The '' Historia Augusta'' also states that Hadrian was the first to build a wall from sea to sea to separate the barbarians from the Romans. However, this reasoning may not entirely explain all the various motivations Hadrian could have had in mind when commissioning the wall's construction. On Hadrian's accession to the imperial throne in 117, there was unrest and rebellion in
Roman Britain Roman Britain was the period in classical antiquity when large parts of the island of Great Britain were under occupation by the Roman Empire. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. During that time, the territory conquered wa ...
and from the peoples of various conquered lands across the Empire, including
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
,
Judea Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous Latin, and the modern-day name of the mountainous sou ...
,
Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...
and Mauretania. These troubles may have influenced his plan to construct the wall, as well as his construction of frontier boundaries now known as ''limes'' in other areas of the Empire, such as the ''
Limes Germanicus The (Latin for ''Germanic frontier'') is the name given in modern times to a line of frontier () fortifications that bounded the ancient Roman provinces of Germania Inferior, Germania Superior and Raetia, dividing the Roman Empire and the unsubd ...
'' in modern-day Germany. Scholars disagree over how much of a threat the inhabitants of northern Britain really presented to the Romans, and whether there was any economic advantage in defending and garrisoning a fixed line of defences like the wall, rather than conquering and annexing what has become Northumberland and the Scottish Lowlands and then defending the territory with a looser arrangement of forts. Besides a defensive structure made to keep people out, the wall also kept people within the
Roman province The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...
. Since the Romans had control over who was allowed in and out of the empire, the wall was invaluable in controlling trading and the economy. The wall also had a psychological impact:
For nearly three centuries, until the end of Roman rule in Britain in 410 AD, Hadrian's Wall was the clearest statement of the might, resourcefulness, and determination of an individual emperor and of his empire.
The Wall also provided years of work for thousands of soldiers who were responsible for building and maintaining the structure, which gave the further benefit of preventing any boredom for the soldiers. It would appear that the wall's primary purpose was as a physical barrier to slow the crossing of raiders and people intent on getting into the empire for destructive or plundering purposes. "And so, having reformed the army quite in the manner of a monarch, he set out for Britain, and there he corrected many abuses and was the first to construct a wall, eighty miles in length, which was to separate the barbarians from the Romans." '' Historia Augusta, Life of Hadrian'' 11.2. Hadrian's Wall was not only a defensive structure but also a symbolic statement of Rome's imperial power marking the border between the so called civilized world and the unconquered barbarian wilderness. As the British archaeologist Neil Faulkner explains, "the wall, like other great Roman frontier monuments was as much a propaganda statement as a functional facility". It may be that it was not a last-stand type of defensive line, but, instead, an observation point that could alert Romans of an incoming attack and act as a deterrent to slow down enemy forces so that additional troops could arrive for support. This view is supported by another defensive measure frequently found on the
berm A berm is a level space, shelf, or raised barrier (usually made of compacted soil) separating areas in a vertical way, especially partway up a long slope. It can serve as a terrace road, track, path, a fortification line, a border/ separation ...
or flat area in front of the wall: pits or holes known as ''cippi'' pits which held branches or small tree trunks entangled with sharpened branches (these were the 'cippi'). The use of such thorns and sharpened stakes was clearly an anti-personnel measure, and might be thought of as the Roman equivalent of barbed wire. Once its construction was finished, there is some evidence that Hadrian's Wall was covered in plaster and then whitewashed: its shining surface would have reflected the sunlight and been visible for miles around.


Construction

Hadrian ended his predecessor
Trajan Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...
's policy of expanding the empire and instead focused on defending the current borders, namely at the time Britain. Like Augustus, Hadrian believed in exploiting natural boundaries such as rivers for the borders of the empire, for example the
Euphrates The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers''). Originating in Turkey, the Eup ...
,
Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...
and
Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...
. Britain, however, did not have any natural boundaries that could serve this purpose – to divide the province controlled by the Romans from the Celtic tribes in the north. With construction starting in 122, the entire length of the wall was built with an alternating series of forts, each housing 600 men, and manned milecastles, operated by "between 12 and 20 men". It took six years to build most of Hadrian's Wall with the work coming from three Roman legions – the
Legio II Augusta Legio II Augusta ( Second Legion "Augustus'") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army that was founded during the late Roman republic. Its emblems were the Capricornus, Pegasus, and Mars. It may have taken the name "''Augusta''" from a victory ...
,
Legio VI Victrix Legio VI Victrix ("Victorious Sixth Legion") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army founded in 41 BC by the general Octavian (who, as Augustus, later became Rome's first emperor). It was the twin legion of VI ''Ferrata'' and perhaps held vet ...
, and
Legio XX Valeria Victrix Legio XX Valeria Victrix, in English Twentieth Victorious Valeria Legion was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. The origin of the Legion's name is unclear and there are various theories, but the legion may have gained its title ''Valeria ...
, totalling 15,000 soldiers, plus some members of the Roman fleet. The building of the wall was not out of the area of expertise for the soldiers; some would have trained to be surveyors, engineers, masons, and carpenters.


"Broad Wall" and "Narrow Wall"

R. G. Collingwood cited evidence for the existence of a broad section of the wall and conversely a narrow section. He argued that plans changed during construction of the wall and its overall width was reduced. Broad sections of the wall are around nine and a half feet (2.9 metres) wide with the narrow sections two feet (60 centimetres) thinner, around seven and a half feet (2.3 metres) wide. The narrow sections were found to be built upon broad foundations. Based on this evidence, Collingwood concluded that the wall was originally due to be built between present-day Newcastle and Bowness, with a uniform width of ten Roman feet, all in stone. In the end, only three-fifths of it was built from stone and the remaining part in the west was a turf wall, later rebuilt in stone. Plans possibly changed due to a lack of resources. In an effort to preserve resources further, the eastern half's width was therefore reduced from the original ten Roman feet to eight, with the remaining stones from the eastern half used for around 5 miles (8 kilometres) of the turf wall in the west. This reduction from the original ten Roman feet to eight, created the so-called "Narrow Wall".


The Vallum

Just south of the wall there is a ten-foot (3-metre) deep, ditch-like construction with two parallel mounds running north and south of it, known as the
Vallum Vallum is either the whole or a portion of the fortifications of a Roman camp. The vallum usually comprised an earthen or turf rampart (Agger) with a wooden palisade on top, with a deep outer ditch (fossa). The name is derived from '' vallus'' (a ...
. The Vallum and the wall run more or less in parallel for almost the entire length of the wall, except between the forts of
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
and
Wallsend Wallsend is a town in North Tyneside, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of Segedunum. This f ...
at the east end, where the Vallum may have been considered superfluous as a barrier on account of the close proximity of the River Tyne. The twin track of the wall and Vallum led many 19th-century thinkers to note and ponder their relation to one another. Some evidence appears to shows that the route of the wall was shifted to avoid the Vallum, possibly pointing to the Vallum being an older construction. R. G. Collingwood therefore asserted in 1930 that the Vallum was built before the wall in its final form. Collingwood also questioned whether the Vallum was an original border built before the wall. Based on this, the wall could be viewed as a new, replacement border, built to strengthen the Romans' definition of their territory. In 1936, further research suggested that the Vallum could not have been built before the wall because the Vallum avoided one of the Wall's milecastles. This new discovery was continually supported by more evidence, strengthening the idea that there was a simultaneous construction of the Vallum and the wall. Other evidence still pointed in other, slightly different directions. Evidence shows that the Vallum preceded sections of the Narrow Wall specifically; to account for this discrepancy, Couse suggests that either construction of the Vallum began with the Broad Wall, or it began when the Narrow Wall succeeded the Broad Wall but proceeded more quickly than that of the Narrow Wall.


Turf wall

From Milecastle 49 to the western terminus of the wall at Bowness-on-Solway, the curtain wall was originally constructed from turf, possibly due to the absence of limestone for the manufacture of mortar. Subsequently, the Turf Wall was demolished and replaced with a stone wall. This took place in two phases; the first (from the River Irthing to a point west of
Milecastle 54 Milecastle 54 (Randylands) was a milecastle on Hadrian's Wall (). Description Milecastle 54 is on a west-facing hill-slope northwest of the village of Lanercost. There is no trace of the milecastle visible, except for some indistinct earthwork ...
), during the reign of Hadrian, and the second following the reoccupation of Hadrian's Wall after the abandonment of the Antonine Wall (though it has also been suggested that this second phase took place during the reign of
Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary suc ...
). The line of the new stone wall follows the line of the turf wall, apart from the stretch between Milecastle 49 and Milecastle 51, where the line of the stone wall is slightly further to the north. In the stretch around Milecastle 50TW, it was built on a flat base with three to four courses of turf blocks. A basal layer of cobbles was used westwards from Milecastle 72 (at Burgh-by-Sands) and possibly at
Milecastle 53 Milecastle 53 (Banks Burn) was a milecastle on Hadrian's Wall (). Description Milecastle 53 is west of the hamlet of Banks, Cumbria and northeast of Lanercost Priory. It lies 1520 metres west of Milecastle 52 and 1436 metres east of Milecastl ...
. Where the underlying ground was boggy, wooden piles were used. At its base, the now-demolished turf wall was wide, and built in courses of turf blocks measuring long by deep by high, to a height estimated at around . The north face is thought to have had a slope of 75%, whereas the south face is thought to have started vertical above the foundation, quickly becoming much shallower.


Standards

Above the stone curtain wall's foundations, one or more footing courses were laid. Offsets were introduced above these footing courses (on both the north and south faces), which reduced the wall's width. Where the width of the curtain wall is stated, it is in reference to the width above the offset. Two standards of offset have been identified: Standard A, where the offset occurs above the first footing course, and Standard B, where the offset occurs after the third (or sometimes fourth) footing course.


Garrison

It is thought that following construction, and when fully manned, almost 10,000 soldiers were stationed on Hadrian's Wall, made up not of the legions who built it but by regiments of auxiliary infantry and cavalry drawn from the provinces. Following from this,
David Breeze David John Breeze, OBE, FSA, FRSE, HonFSAScot, Hon MIFA (born 25 July 1944) is a British archaeologist, teacher and scholar of Hadrian's Wall, the Antonine Wall and the Roman army. He studied under Eric Birley and is a member of the so-ca ...
laid out the two basic functions for soldiers on or around Hadrian's Wall. Breeze says that soldiers who were stationed in the forts around the wall had the primary duty of defence; at the same time, the troops in the milecastles and turrets had the responsibility of frontier control. Evidence, as Breeze says, for soldiers stationed in forts is far more pronounced than the ones in the milecastles and turrets. Breeze discusses three theories about the soldiers on Hadrian's Wall. One, these soldiers who manned the milecastles and turrets on the wall came from the forts near it; two, regiments from auxiliaries were specifically chosen for this role; or three, "a special force" was formed to man these stations. Breeze comes to the conclusion that through all the inscriptions gathered there were soldiers from three, or even four, auxiliary units at milecastles on the wall. These units were "''cohors I Batavorum'', ''cohors I Vardullorum'', an un-numbered Pannonian cohort, and a ''duplicarius'' from Upper Germany". Breeze adds that there appears to have been some legionaries as well at these milecastles. Breeze also continues saying that evidence is "still open on whether" soldiers who manned the milecastles were from nearby forts or were specifically chosen for this task, and further adds that "the balance f evidenceperhaps lies towards the latter". A surprise for Breeze is that "soldiers from the three British legions" outnumbered the auxiliaries, which goes against the assertion "that legionaries would not be used on such detached duties". Further information on the garrisoning of the wall has been provided by the discovery of the
Vindolanda tablets The Vindolanda tablets were, at the time of their discovery, the oldest surviving handwritten documents in Britain (they have since been antedated by the Bloomberg tablets). They are a rich source of information about life on the northern fro ...
just to the south of Hadrian's Wall, such as the record of an inspection on 18 May 92 or 97, when only 456 of the full quota of 756 Belgae troops were present, the rest being sick or otherwise absent.


After Hadrian

After Hadrian's death in 138, the new emperor,
Antoninus Pius Antoninus Pius ( Latin: ''Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius''; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161) was Roman emperor from 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors from the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. Born into a senatori ...
, left the wall occupied in a support role, essentially abandoning it. He began building the Antonine Wall about north, across the
isthmus An isthmus (; ; ) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea counterpart of an isthmus ...
running west-south-west to east-north-east. This turf wall ran 40 Roman miles, or about , and had more forts than Hadrian's Wall. This area later became known as the Scottish Lowlands, sometimes referred to as the
Central Belt The Central Belt of Scotland is the Demography of Scotland, area of highest population density within Scotland. Depending on the definition used, it has a population of between 2.4 and 4.2 million (the country's total was around 5.4 million in ...
or
Central Lowlands The Central Lowlands, sometimes called the Midland Valley or Central Valley, is a geologically defined area of relatively low-lying land in southern Scotland. It consists of a rift valley between the Highland Boundary Fault to the north and ...
. Antoninus was unable to conquer the northern tribes, so when
Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...
became emperor, he abandoned the Antonine Wall and reoccupied Hadrian's Wall as the main defensive barrier in 164. In 208–211, the Emperor
Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary suc ...
again tried to conquer Caledonia and temporarily reoccupied the Antonine Wall. The campaign ended inconclusively and the Romans eventually withdrew to Hadrian's Wall. The early historian Bede (AD 672/73–735), following
Gildas Gildas ( Breton: ''Gweltaz''; c. 450/500 – c. 570) — also known as Gildas the Wise or ''Gildas Sapiens'' — was a 6th-century British monk best known for his scathing religious polemic ''De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae'', which recount ...
, wrote (circa AD 730): Bede obviously identified Gildas's stone wall as Hadrian's Wall (built in the 120s) and he would appear to have believed that the ditch-and-mound barrier known as the Vallum (just to the south of, and contemporary with, Hadrian's Wall) was the rampart constructed by Severus. Many centuries would pass before just who built what became apparent. In the same passage, Bede describes Hadrian's Wall as follows: "It is eight feet in breadth, and twelve in height; and, as can be clearly seen to this day, ran straight from east to west." Bede by his own account lived his whole life at Jarrow, just across the River Tyne from the eastern end of the Wall at
Wallsend Wallsend is a town in North Tyneside, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of Segedunum. This f ...
, so as he indicates, he would have been very familiar with the Wall. What he does not say is whether there was a walkway along the top of the wall. It might be thought likely that there was, but if so it no longer exists. In the late 4th century, barbarian invasions, economic decline and military coups loosened the Empire's hold on Britain. By 410, the estimated end of Roman rule in Britain, the Roman administration and its legions were gone and Britain was left to look to its own defences and government. Archaeologists have revealed that some parts of the wall remained occupied well into the 5th century. It has been suggested that some forts continued to be garrisoned by local Britons under the control of a
Coel Hen Coel (Old Welsh: ''Coil''), also called ''Coel Hen'' (Coel the Old) and King Cole, is a figure prominent in Welsh literature and legend since the Middle Ages. Early Welsh tradition knew of a Coel Hen, a 4th-century leader in Roman or Sub-Roman ...
figure and former . Hadrian's Wall fell into ruin and over the centuries the stone was reused in other local buildings. Enough survived in the 7th century for
spolia ''Spolia'' (Latin: 'spoils') is repurposed building stone for new construction or decorative sculpture reused in new monuments. It is the result of an ancient and widespread practice whereby stone that has been quarried, cut and used in a built ...
from Hadrian's Wall (illustrated at right) to find its way into the construction of St Paul's Church in Monkwearmouth-Jarrow Abbey, where Bede was a monk. It was presumably incorporated before the setting of the church's dedication stone, still to be seen in the church, dated 23 April 685. The wall fascinated John Speed, who published a set of maps of England and Wales by county at the start of the 17th century. He described it as "the Picts Wall" (or "Pictes"; he uses both spellings). ''A map of Newecastle'' (sic), drawn in 1610 by William Matthew, described it as "Severus' Wall", mistakenly giving it the name ascribed by Bede to the Vallum. The maps for Cumberland and
Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...
not only show the wall as a major feature, but are ornamented with drawings of Roman finds, together with, in the case of the Cumberland map, a
cartouche In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a cartouche is an oval with a line at one end tangent to it, indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name. The first examples of the cartouche are associated with pharaohs at the end of the Third Dynasty, but the f ...
in which he sets out a description of the wall itself.


Preservation by John Clayton

Much of the wall has now disappeared. Long sections of it were used for
roadbuilding A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...
in the 18th century, especially by
General Wade Field Marshal George Wade (1673 – 14 March 1748) was a British Army officer who served in the Nine Years' War, War of the Spanish Succession, Jacobite rising of 1715 and War of the Quadruple Alliance before leading the construction of barra ...
to build a military road (most of which lies beneath the present day B6318 "
Military Road {{Use dmy dates, date=November 2019 The following is a list of military roads worldwide. Australia * Part of the A8 (Sydney) between Neutral Bay and Mosman * Military Road, part of Route 39, Melbourne * Military Road, off Wanneroo Road just nort ...
") to move troops to crush the
Jacobite rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745, also known as the Forty-five Rebellion or simply the '45 ( gd, Bliadhna Theàrlaich, , ), was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took ...
. The preservation of much of what remains can be credited to the antiquarian
John Clayton John Clayton may refer to: Arts and entertainment Writing *John Clayton (architect) (died 1861), English architect and writer *John Bell Clayton and Martha Clayton, John Bell Clayton (c. 1907–1955), American writer *John Clayton (sportswriter) ( ...
. He trained as a lawyer and became
town clerk A clerk is a senior official of many municipal governments in the English-speaking world. In some communities, including most in the United States, the position is elected, but in many others, the clerk is appointed to their post. In the UK, a Tow ...
of Newcastle in the 1830s. He became enthusiastic about preserving the wall after a visit to Chesters. To prevent farmers taking stones from the wall, he began buying some of the land on which the wall stood. In 1834, he started purchasing property around Steel Rigg near
Crag Lough Crag Lough is an inland lake at the southern edge of Northumberland National Park, north of Bardon Mill, and north of the B6318 Military Road in Northumberland, northern England. At this point Hadrian's Wall is at the top of a line of crags, t ...
. Eventually, he controlled land from Brunton to Cawfields. This stretch included the sites of Chesters, Carrawburgh,
Housesteads Housesteads Roman Fort is the remains of an auxiliary fort on Hadrian's Wall, at Housesteads, Northumberland, England, south of Broomlee Lough. The fort was built in stone around AD 124, soon after the construction of the wall began in AD 1 ...
, and
Vindolanda Vindolanda was a Roman auxiliary fort ('' castrum'') just south of Hadrian's Wall in northern England, which it originally pre-dated.British windo- 'fair, white, blessed', landa 'enclosure/meadow/prairie/grassy plain' (the modern Welsh word ...
. Clayton carried out excavation at the fort at
Cilurnum Cilurnum or Cilurvum was a fort on Hadrian's Wall mentioned in the ''Notitia Dignitatum''. It is now identified with the fort found at Chesters (also known as Walwick Chesters to distinguish it from other sites named Chesters in the vicinity) ...
and at Housesteads, and he excavated some milecastles. Clayton managed the farms he had acquired and succeeded in improving both the land and the livestock. He used the profits from his farms for restoration work. Workmen were employed to restore sections of the wall, generally up to a height of seven courses. The best example of the Clayton Wall is at Housesteads. After Clayton's death, the estate passed to relatives and was soon lost to gambling. Eventually, the
National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
began acquiring the land on which the wall stands. At
Wallington Hall Wallington is a country house and gardens located about west of Morpeth, Northumberland, England, near the village of Cambo. It has been owned by the National Trust since 1942, after it was donated complete with the estate and farms by Sir Ch ...
, near Morpeth, there is a painting by
William Bell Scott William Bell Scott (1811–1890) was a Scottish artist in oils and watercolour and occasionally printmaking. He was also a poet and art teacher, and his posthumously published reminiscences give a chatty and often vivid picture of life in the ...
, which shows a centurion supervising the building of the wall. The centurion has been given the face of John Clayton (above right).


Later discoveries

In 2021 workers for
Northumbrian Water Northumbrian Water Limited is a water company in the United Kingdom, providing mains water and sewerage services in the English counties of Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, Durham and parts of North Yorkshire, and also supplying water as Essex and ...
found a previously undiscovered section of the wall while repairing a water main in central
Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
. The company announced that the pipe would be "angled to leave a buffer around the excavated trench".


World Heritage Site

Hadrian's Wall was declared a
World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
in 1987, and in 2005 it became part of the transnational " Frontiers of the Roman Empire" World Heritage Site, which also includes sites in Germany.


Tourism

Although Hadrian's Wall was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987, it remains unguarded, enabling visitors to climb and stand on the wall, although this is not encouraged, as it could damage the historic structure. On 13 March 2010, a public event Illuminating Hadrian's Wall took place, which saw the route of the wall lit with 500 beacons. On 31 August and 2 September 2012, there was a second illumination of the wall as a digital art installation called "Connecting Light", which was part of the London 2012 Festival. In 2018, the organisations which manage the
Great Wall of China The Great Wall of China (, literally "ten thousand ''li'' wall") is a series of fortifications that were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection against various nomadic gro ...
and Hadrian's Wall signed an agreement to collaborate for the growth of tourism and for historical and cultural understanding of the monuments.


Hadrian's Wall Path

In 2003, a
National Trail National Trails are long distance footpaths and bridleways in England and Wales. They are administered by Natural England, a statutory agency of the UK government, and Natural Resources Wales (successor body to the Countryside Council for Wal ...
footpath was opened that follows the line of the wall from
Wallsend Wallsend is a town in North Tyneside, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of Segedunum. This f ...
to Bowness-on-Solway. Because of the fragile landscape, walkers are asked to follow the path only in summer.


Roman-period names

Hadrian's Wall was known in the Roman period as the ''vallum'' (wall), and the discovery of the Staffordshire Moorlands Pan (pictured below right) in Staffordshire in 2003 has thrown further light on its name. This copper alloy pan (''trulla'') from the 2nd century is inscribed with a series of names of Roman forts along the western sector of the wall: owness-on-Solway rumburgh tanwix astlesteads This is followed by the words . Hadrian's family name was ''Aelius'', and the most likely reading of the inscription is ''Valli Aelii'' ( genitive), Hadrian's Wall, suggesting that the wall was called by the same name by contemporaries. However, another possibility is that it refers to the personal name Aelius Draco. Two bronze vessels that are very similar to the Staffordshire Moorlands Pan are the
Rudge Cup The Rudge Cup is a small enamelled bronze cup found in 1725 at Rudge, near Froxfield, in Wiltshire, England. The cup was found down a well on the site of a Roman villa. It is important in that it lists five of the forts on the western section of ...
, found in
Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
in 1725, and the Amiens Skillet, found in
Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...
in northern France in 1949. They also bear the Latin names of Hadrian's Wall forts round their rims, beneath which are representations of a turreted or battlemented wall, thought to depict Hadrian's Wall.


Forts

The Latin and Romano-Celtic names of all of the Hadrian's Wall forts are known, from the '' Notitia Dignitatum'' and other evidence such as inscriptions. They are listed here from east to west, in their Latin and modern English names: *
Segedunum Segedunum was a Roman fort at modern-day Wallsend, North Tyneside in North East England. The fort lay at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall (in Wallsend) near the banks of the River Tyne, forming the easternmost portion of the wall. It was in use ...
(
Wallsend Wallsend is a town in North Tyneside, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of Segedunum. This f ...
) *
Pons Aelius Pons Aelius (Latin for "Aelian Bridge"), or Newcastle Roman Fort, was an auxiliary castra and small Roman settlement on Hadrian's Wall in the Roman province of Britannia Inferior (northern England), situated on the north bank of the River Ty ...
(
Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
) *
Condercum Condercum was a Roman fort on the site of the modern-day Condercum Estate in Benwell, a suburb of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It was the third fort on Hadrian's Wall, after Segedunum (Wallsend) and Pons Aelius (Newcastle), and was situated ...
( Benwell Hill) * Vindobala ( Rudchester)The suffix "chester" reflects the presence of a Roman castra. * Hunnum ( Halton Chesters) *
Cilurnum Cilurnum or Cilurvum was a fort on Hadrian's Wall mentioned in the ''Notitia Dignitatum''. It is now identified with the fort found at Chesters (also known as Walwick Chesters to distinguish it from other sites named Chesters in the vicinity) ...
( Chesters aka Walwick Chesters) * Procolita ( Carrowburgh) *
Vercovicium Housesteads Roman Fort is the remains of an auxiliary fort on Hadrian's Wall, at Housesteads, Northumberland, England, south of Broomlee Lough. The fort was built in stone around AD 124, soon after the construction of the wall began in AD 1 ...
(
Housesteads Housesteads Roman Fort is the remains of an auxiliary fort on Hadrian's Wall, at Housesteads, Northumberland, England, south of Broomlee Lough. The fort was built in stone around AD 124, soon after the construction of the wall began in AD 1 ...
) * Aesica ( Great Chesters) * Magnis (Carvoran) * Banna (
Birdoswald Birdoswald is a former farm in the civil parish of Waterhead in the English county of Cumbria (formerly in Cumberland). It stands on the site of the Roman fort of Banna. Middle Ages Birdoswald first appears in the written record in 1211 whe ...
) *
Camboglanna Camboglanna (with the modern name of Castlesteads) was a Roman fort. It was the twelfth fort on Hadrian's Wall counting from the east, between Banna (Birdoswald) to the east and Uxelodunum ( Stanwix) to the west. It was almost west of Birdoswa ...
(Castlesteads) *
Uxelodunum Uxelodunum (with the alternative Roman name of Petriana and the modern name of Stanwix Fort) was a Roman fort. It was the largest fort on Hadrian's Wall, and is now buried beneath the suburb of Stanwix, in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. Roman ...
( Stanwix. Also known as Petriana) *
Aballava Aballava or Aballaba (with the modern name of Burgh by Sands) was a Roman fort on Hadrian's Wall, between Petriana (Stanwix) to the east and Coggabata (Drumburgh) to the west. It is about one and a half miles south of the Solway Firth, and its p ...
(
Burgh-by-Sands Burgh by Sands () is a village and civil parish in the City of Carlisle district of Cumbria, England, situated near the Solway Firth. The parish includes the village of Burgh by Sands along with Longburgh, Dykesfield, Boustead Hill, Moorhous ...
) *
Coggabata Coggabata, or Congavata / Concavata, (with the modern name of Drumburgh) was a Roman fort on Hadrian's Wall, between Aballava (Burgh by Sands) to the east and Mais ( Bowness-on-Solway) to the west. It was built on a hill commanding views over t ...
(
Drumburgh Drumburgh ( ) is a small settlement in Cumbria, England. It is northwest of the city of Carlisle and is on the course of Hadrian's Wall, near to Burgh by Sands. The village is sited on a gentle hill with a good view in all directions over the ...
) * Mais ( Bowness-on-Solway) Turrets on the wall include: * Leahill Turret * Denton Hall Turret Outpost forts beyond the wall include: *
Habitancum Habitancum was an ancient Roman fort (castrum) located at Risingham, Northumberland, England. The fort was one of the defensive structures built along Dere Street, a Roman road running from York to Corbridge and onwards to Melrose in what is now ...
(
Risingham Habitancum was an ancient Roman fort (castrum) located at Risingham, Northumberland, England. The fort was one of the defensive structures built along Dere Street, a Roman road running from York to Corbridge and onwards to Melrose in what is now ...
) *
Bremenium Bremenium is an ancient Roman fort (castrum) located at Rochester, Northumberland, England. The fort is one of the defensive structures built along Dere Street, a Roman road running from York to Corbridge and onwards to Melrose. Significa ...
(
High Rochester Bremenium is an ancient Roman fort (castrum) located at Rochester, Northumberland, England. The fort is one of the defensive structures built along Dere Street, a Roman road running from York to Corbridge and onwards to Melrose. Significa ...
) *
Fanum Cocidi Bewcastle Roman Fort was built to the north of Hadrian's Wall as an outpost fort possibly intended for scouting and intelligence. The remains of the fort are situated at the village of Bewcastle, Cumbria, to the north of the Roman fort at Bi ...
(
Bewcastle Bewcastle is a large civil parish in the City of Carlisle district of Cumbria, England. It is in the historic county of Cumberland. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 411, reducing to 391 at the 2011 Census. The pari ...
) (north of Birdoswald) * Ad Fines (
Chew Green Chew Green is the site of the ancient Roman encampment, commonly but erroneously called Ad Fines (Latin: The Limits) on the 1885-1900 edition of the Ordnance Survey map, in Northumberland, England, north of Rochester and west of Alwinton. The ...
) Supply forts behind the wall include: * Alauna (
Maryport Maryport is a town and civil parish in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England, historically in Cumberland. The town is situated just outside the Lake District National Park, at the northern end of the former Cumberland Coalfield. Location ...
) *
Arbeia Arbeia was a large Roman fort in South Shields, Tyne & Wear, England, now ruined, and which has been partially reconstructed. It was first excavated in the 1870s and all modern buildings on the site were cleared in the 1970s. It is managed by Ty ...
( South Shields) * Coria (
Corbridge Corbridge is a village in Northumberland, England, west of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle and east of Hexham. Villages nearby include Halton, Northumberland, Halton, Acomb, Northumberland, Acomb, Aydon and Sandhoe. Etymology Corbridge was kno ...
) * Epiacum (Whitley Castle near Alston) *
Vindolanda Vindolanda was a Roman auxiliary fort ('' castrum'') just south of Hadrian's Wall in northern England, which it originally pre-dated.British windo- 'fair, white, blessed', landa 'enclosure/meadow/prairie/grassy plain' (the modern Welsh word ...
( Little Chesters or Chesterholm) *
Vindomora Vindomora was an auxiliary fort on Dere Street, in the province of Lower Britain (''Britannia Inferior''). Its ruins, now known as Ebchester Roman Fort, are situated at Ebchester () in the English county of Durham, to the north of Consett and ...
(
Ebchester Ebchester is a village in County Durham, England. It is situated to the north of Consett and to the south east of Whittonstall. The village sits at the intersection of the A694, which runs from Consett to Swalwell, and the B6309, which connects ...
)


In popular culture


Books

*''
The Eagle of the Ninth ''The Eagle of the Ninth'' is a historical adventure novel for children written by Rosemary Sutcliff and published in 1954. The story is set in Roman Britain in the 2nd century AD, after the building of Hadrian's Wall. Plot Discharged because ...
'' is a celebrated children's novel by
Rosemary Sutcliff Rosemary Sutcliff (14 December 1920 – 23 July 1992) was an English novelist best known for children's books, especially historical fiction and retellings of myths and legends. Although she was primarily a children's author, some of her novel ...
, published in 1954. It tells the story of a young Roman officer venturing north beyond Hadrian's Wall in search of the missing
Eagle standard An ''aquila'' (, "eagle") was a prominent symbol used in ancient Rome, especially as the standard of a Roman legion. A legionary known as an ''aquilifer'', the "eagle-bearer", carried this standard. Each legion carried one eagle. The eagle had ...
of the lost Ninth Legion. It was inspired by the bronze Silchester eagle found in 1866. The book itself inspired the 2011 film ''The Eagle''. *The
Jim Shepard Jim Shepard (born 1956) is an American novelist and short story writer, who teaches creative writing and film at Williams College. Biography Shepard was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He received a B.A. at Trinity College in 1978 and an M ...
short story collection ''Like You'd Understand Anyway'' (2007) includes a story titled "Hadrian's Wall" which is an imagined account of a clerk living and working during the wall's construction. * Nobel Prize-winning English author
Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...
contributed to the popular image of the "Great Pict Wall" in his short stories about Parnesius, a Roman legionary who defended the wall against the
Picts The Picts were a group of peoples who lived in what is now northern and eastern Scotland (north of the Firth of Forth) during Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and what their culture was like can be inferred from e ...
. These stories are part of the ''
Puck of Pook's Hill ''Puck of Pook's Hill'' is a fantasy book by Rudyard Kipling, published in 1906, containing a series of short stories set in different periods of English history. It can count both as historical fantasy – since some of the stories told of ...
'' anthology, published in 1906. * American author
George R. R. Martin George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948), also known as GRRM, is an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer and short story writer. He is the author of the series of epic fantasy novels ''A Song ...
has acknowledged that Hadrian's Wall was the inspiration for
the Wall ''The Wall'' is the eleventh studio album by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released on 30 November 1979 by Harvest/EMI and Columbia/ CBS Records. It is a rock opera that explores Pink, a jaded rock star whose eventual self-imp ...
in his best-selling series '' A Song of Ice and Fire'', dramatized in the fantasy TV series '' Game of Thrones'', in which the wall is also in the north of its country and stretches from coast to coast. * In
M. J. Trow Meirion James Trow (born 16 October 1949) is a Welsh author of crime fiction, who writes under the name M. J. Trow. He has written mysteries featuring Inspector Lestrade, Peter Maxwell, Kit Marlowe and Margaret Murray. Biography Trow was bor ...
's fictional ''Britannia'' series, Hadrian's Wall is the central location, and
Coel Hen Coel (Old Welsh: ''Coil''), also called ''Coel Hen'' (Coel the Old) and King Cole, is a figure prominent in Welsh literature and legend since the Middle Ages. Early Welsh tradition knew of a Coel Hen, a 4th-century leader in Roman or Sub-Roman ...
and
Padarn Beisrudd Padarn Beisrudd ap Tegid (lit. Paternus of the Scarlet Robe, son of Tegid) was the son of a Bishop named Tegid ap Iago, who may have been born with the Roman name of ''Tacitus''. Padarn is believed to have been born in the early 4th century in the ...
are portrayed as
limitanei The ''līmitāneī'' (Latin, also called ''rīpēnsēs''), meaning respectively "the soldiers in frontier districts" (from the Latin phrase līmēs, meaning a military district of a frontier province) or "the soldiers on the riverbank" (from the ...
(frontier soldiers). * ''Hadrian's Wall'' by
Adrian Goldsworthy Adrian Keith Goldsworthy (; born 1969) is a British historian and novelist who specialises in ancient Roman history. Education Adrian Goldsworthy attended Westbourne School, Penarth. He then read Ancient and Modern History at St John's Colleg ...
is a short history of the wall.


Films

* The 1991 American romantic action adventure film '' Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'' uses Sycamore Gap as a location. *The 2011 action drama film ''The Eagle'' tells the story of a young Roman officer setting out across Hadrian's Wall into the uncharted highlands of Caledonia to recover the lost Roman eagle standard of the Ninth Legion. The 2010 film ''Centurion'' tells a similar story. * The wall has also been featured as a major focal point of the 2004 '' King Arthur'' in which one of the primary gates is opened for the first time since its construction to allow Arthur and his knights passage into the north for their quest. The climactic
Battle of Badon The Battle of Badon /ˈbeɪdən/ also known as the Battle of Mons Badonicus ( la, obsessio isBadonici montis, "Blockade/Siege of the Badonic Hill"; ''Bellum in monte Badonis'', "Battle on Badon Hill"; ''Bellum Badonis'', "Battle of Badon"; Old W ...
between the Britons led by
Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...
and his knights, and the Saxons led by
Cerdic Cerdic (; la, Cerdicus) is described in the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' as a leader of the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, being the founder and first king of Saxon Wessex, reigning from 519 to 534 AD. Subsequent kings of Wessex were each cla ...
and his son
Cynric Cynric () was King of Wessex from 534 to 560. Everything known about him comes from the '' Anglo-Saxon Chronicle''. There, he is stated to have been the son of Cerdic, who is considered the founder of the kingdom of Wessex. However, the 'Genealogi ...
are set just inside the wall.


Music

* The opening track from
Maxim Maxim or Maksim may refer to: Entertainment * ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine ** ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition ** ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition *Maxim Radio, ''Maxim'' magazine's radio channel on Sir ...
's first solo album ''
Hell's Kitchen Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton, is a neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is considered to be bordered by 34th Street (or 41st Street) to the south, 59th Street to the north, Eighth Avenue to the ea ...
'' is named "Hadrian's Wall".


Television

* The seventh episode for the eighth season of the documentary television series ''Modern Marvels'' was about Hadrian's Wall. It was released on 1 March 2001.


Poetry

* The English poet
W. H. Auden Wystan Hugh Auden (; 21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) was a British-American poet. Auden's poetry was noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in ...
wrote a script for a BBC radio documentary called ''Hadrian's Wall'', which was broadcast on the BBC's north-eastern Regional Programme in 1937. Auden later published a poem from the script, "Roman Wall Blues", in his book ''
Another Time Another Time may refer to: * ''Another Time'' (book), a 1940 book of poems by W. H. Auden * ''Another Time'' (Jeff Williams album), 2011 * ''Another Time'' (Earth, Wind & Fire album), 1974 See also * " Another Time (Andrew's Song)", a 2014 so ...
''. The poem is a brief monologue spoken in the voice of a lonely Roman soldier stationed at the wall.


Video games

*Hadrian's Wall appears in ''
Assassin's Creed Valhalla ''Assassin's Creed Valhalla'' is a 2020 action role-playing video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It is the twelfth major installment in the ''Assassin's Creed'' series, and the successor to 2018's ''Assassin's Cre ...
''. The site can be visited by protagonist Eivor of the Raven Clan during the 870s.


Board games

*A board game with the same name was released in 2021, in which you are tasked with the construction and defence of the wall. In 2022 the game was nominated for the American Tabletop Awards in the Strategy Game category.


Gallery

File:Poltross burn milecastle.jpg, Poltross Burn, Milecastle 48, which was built on a steep slope File:CRW 2684.jpg, Sycamore Gap (the "
Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is dep ...
Tree", so called because it appears in the film '' Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'')Sycamore Gap, a section of the wall between two crests just east of Milecastle 39, is locally known as the "Robin Hood Tree" for its use in the 1991 film '' Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'' (1991). File:Hadrian's Wall with sheep 1.jpg, Hadrian's Wall with sheep File:Hadrians Wall with Weedkiller.JPG, Hadrian's Wall near Birdoswald Fort, known to the Romans as ''Banna'', with a man spraying weedkiller to reduce biological weathering to the stones File:Hwallcup.jpg, The Staffordshire Moorlands Pan, which may provide the ancient name of Hadrian's Wall (it reads in part VALI AELI, ie. the Wall of Hadrian, using his family name of
Aelius The gens Aelia, occasionally written Ailia, was a plebs, plebeian family in Ancient Rome, Rome, which flourished from the fifth century BC until at least the third century AD, a period of nearly eight hundred years. The archaic spelling ''Ailia'' ...
) File:Milecastle 39 on Hadrian's Wall.jpg, The remains of Castle Nick,
Milecastle 39 Milecastle 39 (Castle Nick) is a milecastle on Hadrian's Wall (). Description Milecastle 39 is located northeast of Once Brewed. The excavated stonework has been consolidated, and the walls are up to 1.75 metres high.Housesteads Housesteads Roman Fort is the remains of an auxiliary fort on Hadrian's Wall, at Housesteads, Northumberland, England, south of Broomlee Lough. The fort was built in stone around AD 124, soon after the construction of the wall began in AD 1 ...
and The Sill Visitor Centre for the Northumberland National Park at
Once Brewed Once Brewed (also known as Twice Brewed or Once Brewed/Twice Brewed) is a village in Northumberland, England. It lies on the Military Road (Northumberland) B6318. A motorist arriving over the B6138 from the east will see the place name shield " ...
File:Hadrians Wall 05.JPG, The remains of the southern
granary A granary is a storehouse or room in a barn for threshed grain or animal feed. Ancient or primitive granaries are most often made of pottery. Granaries are often built above the ground to keep the stored food away from mice and other animals ...
at Housesteads, showing under-floor pillars to assist ventilation


See also

*
Danevirke The Danevirke or Danework (modern Danish spelling: ''Dannevirke''; in Old Norse; ''Danavirki'', in German; ''Danewerk'', literally meaning '' earthwork of the Danes'') is a system of Danish fortifications in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. This his ...
* English Heritage properties *
Gask Ridge The Gask Ridge is the modern name given to an early series of fortifications, built by the Romans in Scotland, close to the Highland Line. Modern excavation and interpretation has been pioneered by the Roman Gask Project, with Birgitta Hoffmann ...
*
Hadrianic Society The Hadrianic Society was a British historical society focused upon Hadrian's Wall and Roman Britain as well as the Antonine Wall, the Gask Ridge, and other Limes (Roman Empire), Roman Frontier systems. It was founded in 1971 under the leaders ...
*
History of Cumbria The history of Cumbria as a county of England begins with the Local Government Act 1972. Its territory and constituent parts however have a long history under various other administrative and historic units of governance. Cumbria is an upland, ...
*
History of Northumberland Northumberland, England's northernmost county, is a land where Roman occupiers once guarded a walled frontier, Anglian invaders fought with Celtic natives, and Norman lords built castles to suppress rebellion and defend a contested border with ...
*
History of Scotland The recorded begins with the arrival of the Roman Empire in the 1st century, when the province of Britannia reached as far north as the Antonine Wall. North of this was Caledonia, inhabited by the ''Picti'', whose uprisings forced Rome ...
*
List of walls See List of fortifications for a list of notable fortified structures. For city walls in particular, see List of cities with defensive walls. Pre-modern fortifications * The Great Wall of China, China - part of UNESCO site 438,. This is ...
*
Offa's Dyke Offa's Dyke ( cy, Clawdd Offa) is a large linear earthwork that roughly follows the border between England and Wales. The structure is named after Offa, the Anglo-Saxon king of Mercia from AD 757 until 796, who is traditionally believed to ha ...
*
Scots' Dike The Scots' Dike or dyke is a three and a half mile / 5.25 km long linear earthwork, constructed by the English and the Scots in the year 1552Mack, James Logan (1926). ''The Border Line'', p.94. Oliver & Boyd to mark the division of the ...
*
Via Hadriana The Via Hadriana was an ancient Roman road established by the emperor Hadrian, which stretched from Antinoöpolis on the River Nile to the Red Sea at Berenice Troglodytica (Berenike). Hadrian had founded Antinoöpolis in memory of his presumed lov ...


References


Sources

* * Burton, Anthony. ''Hadrian's Wall Path''. 2004. Aurum Press Ltd. . * Chaichian, Mohammad. 2014. "Hadrian's Wall: An Ill-Fated strategy for Tribal Management in Roman Britain", in ''Empires and Walls: Globalization, Migration, and Colonial Domination'' (Brill, pp. 23–52). https://www.amazon.com/Empires-Walls-Globalization-Migration-Domination/dp/1608464229. * Davies, Hunter. ''A Walk along the Wall'', 1974. Weidenfeld & Nicolson: London . * de la Bédoyère, Guy. ''Hadrian's Wall: A History and Guide''. Stroud: Tempus, 1998. . * ''England's Roman Frontier: Discovering Carlisle and Hadrian's Wall Country''. Hadrian's Wall Heritage Ltd and Carlisle Tourism Partnership. 2010. * Forde-Johnston, James L. ''Hadrian's Wall''. London: Michael Joseph, 1978. . * Hadrian's Wall Path (map). Harvey, 12–22 Main Street, Doune, Perthshire FK16 6BJ
harveymaps.co.uk
* * * Moffat, Alistair, ''The Wall''. 2008. Birlinn Limited Press. . * * Speed, John – A set of Speed's maps were issued bound in a single volume in 1988 in association with the British Library and with an introduction by Nigel Nicolson as ''The Counties of Britain: A Tudor Atlas by John Speed''. * Tomlin, R. S. O., "Inscriptions" in ''Britannia'' (2004), vol. xxxv, pp. 344–5 (the Staffordshire Moorlands cup naming the Wall). * Wilson, Roger J. A., ''A Guide to the Roman Remains in Britain''. London: Constable & Company, 1980; .


External links


In Our Time Radio series with Greg Woolf, Professor of Ancient History at the University of St Andrews, David Breeze, Former Chief Inspector of Ancient Monuments for Scotland and Visiting Professor of Archaeology at the University of Durham and Lindsay Allason-Jones OBE, FSA, FSA Scot, Former Reader in Roman Material Culture at the University of Newcastle

Hadrian's Wall on the Official Northumberland Visitor website

Hadrian's Wall Discussion Forum

UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire

News on the Wall path



iRomans
website with interactive map of Cumbrian section of Hadrian Wall
Well illustrated account of sites along Hadrian's Wall
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