Hadrian's Wall

• 1. Imperial Commission And Construction

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  Emperor Hadrian ordered the start of a massive stone wall in 122 AD. This project spanned from Wallsend on the River Tyne to Bowness-on-Solway. Three Roman legions provided the labor force for this undertaking. The Legio II Augusta, Legio VI Victrix, and Legio XX Valeria Victrix worked together. These units totaled approximately 15,000 soldiers plus some fleet members. They built the structure over six years using alternating series of forts. Each fort housed about 600 men while milecastles operated with between 12 and 20 men. Plans changed during construction reducing the overall width significantly. Broad sections measured around ten Roman feet wide initially. Narrow sections became only eight Roman feet wide later. Some western parts were originally turf before being rebuilt as stone. Bede recorded that the wall stood twelve feet high though evidence suggests it may have been higher at formation.

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• 2. Military Architecture And Garrison Life

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  Soldiers stationed along the line lived in large forts and smaller milecastles. Turrets appeared every third of a mile providing shelter for troops. Almost 10,000 soldiers were garrisoned on the fully manned wall. Auxiliary infantry and cavalry regiments filled these posts instead of the original builders. Forts held primary defense duties while milecastles managed frontier control. Evidence shows soldiers from three or four auxiliary units manned milecastles. Units included cohors I Batavorum and cohors I Vardullorum among others. A duplicarius from Upper Germany also served there. Legionaries outnumbered auxiliaries which challenges theories about detached duties. The Vallum ran parallel to the wall southward creating twin tracks. This ditch-like construction featured two parallel mounds running north and south. It extended almost the entire length except near Newcastle where the River Tyne made it superfluous. Archaeologists debate whether the Vallum preceded the wall or was built simultaneously. Some evidence indicates the Vallum avoided one specific milecastle suggesting simultaneous construction phases.

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• 3. Social Dynamics And Economic Impact

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  The zone on both sides of the future wall became dominated by rectilinear enclosures before Roman arrival. These formed nuclei of extensive farming settlements at high social levels. Lower orders lived in roundhouses leaving less archaeological trace. Roman soldiers with families amounted to some 22-30% of the regional population. They could not be supplied entirely from local resources though surpluses were taxed. Military conscripts may have been levied from nearby groups. South of the wall Roman-style settlements appeared in the early second century very shortly after construction began. Mortaria stamped with names were produced at Faverdale eighty kilometers south. An immigrant named Velvotigernus settled near Lanchester twenty-seven kilometers south after discharge in 150 AD. Northwards a large area lost its monumental building tradition completely. Very little late Roman pottery has been found there. The Romans may have cleared a zone of its population as done elsewhere. Sites like Burnswark Hill were reoccupied briefly then abandoned around 140 AD. Pollen evidence suggests the landscape remained open without forest regeneration until rule ended. Limited contact across the wall meant coins and pottery rarely moved north. Elite centers continued importing goods such as post-160 samian found at Traprain Law.

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• 4. Post-Roman Decline And Medieval Legacy

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  Emperor Antoninus Pius left the wall occupied in support roles after Hadrian's death in 138 AD. He built the Antonine Wall about forty miles further north. Marcus Aurelius later abandoned that turf wall and reoccupied Hadrian's Wall in 164 AD. Emperor Septimius Severus tried to conquer Caledonia between 208 and 211 but withdrew eventually. Barbarian invasions and economic decline loosened imperial hold by the fourth century. By 410 AD Roman administration and legions departed leaving Britain to its own defenses. Some forts remained occupied well into the fifth century under local Britons. Enough stone survived for spolia to enter St Paul's Church in Monkwearmouth-Jarrow Abbey. This church dedication date was the 23rd of April 685 according to an inscription. Bede lived his whole life at Jarrow just across the River Tyne from Wallsend. He described the wall as eight feet broad and twelve high running straight east to west. His account suggests familiarity with the structure though he mentioned no walkway on top. The wall fell into ruin over centuries while stones were reused locally.

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• 5. Antiquarian Revival And Preservation Efforts

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  John Clayton trained as a lawyer becoming town clerk of Newcastle in the 1830s. He inherited Chesters from his father and became enthusiastic about preserving the wall. Farmers often took stones so he began buying land where the wall stood. In 1834 he started purchasing property around Steel Rigg near Crag Lough. Eventually he controlled land stretching from Brunton to Cawfields. This area included sites like Chesters Carrawburgh Housesteads and Vindolanda. Clayton carried out excavations at Cilurnum and Housesteads plus some milecastles. He managed farms improving both land and livestock using profits for restoration work. Workmen restored sections generally up to seven courses height. The best example of this Clayton Wall exists at Housesteads. After Clayton's death estates passed to relatives then were lost to gambling. The National Trust eventually began acquiring land along the wall. William Bell Scott painted Building the Roman Wall showing a centurion supervising construction. That painting features the face of John Clayton on the centurion. Long sections disappeared during eighteenth century roadbuilding especially by General Wade.

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• 6. Modern Tourism And World Heritage Status

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  Hadrian's Wall was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987. It became part of the transnational Frontiers of the Roman Empire site in 2005 including German locations. Visitors can climb and stand on the unguarded structure though damage is possible. A public event called Illuminating Hadrian's Wall lit 500 beacons along the route on the 13th of March 2010. Another illumination occurred as Connecting Light digital art installation on the 31st of August and the 2nd of September 2012. Organizations managing the Great Wall of China signed an agreement with Hadrian's Wall managers in 2018. A National Trail footpath opened in 2003 following the line from Wallsend to Bowness-on-Solway. Walkers are asked to follow the path only in summer due to fragile landscape conditions. Workers for Northumbrian Water found a previously undiscovered three-meter section while repairing a water main in central Newcastle upon Tyne in 2021. The company angled pipes to leave buffers around excavated trenches. The wall remains one of Britain's major ancient tourist attractions today.

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