Hadrian's Wall

Hadrian's Wall (ancient Latin name possibly vallum Aelium) was a Roman frontier fortification system of the Britannic Limes, laid out between Newcastle and Solway Firth, near the present-day border between Scotland and England in Britain. It was built between AD 122 and 128 on the orders of Emperor Hadrian (76-138), after he had visited the northern frontiers as part of his inspection tour of all the provinces of the empire. The rampart extended over a length of about 117.5 kilometres. According to the prevailing view today, it did not serve to defend against invasions (the Roman limites were generally not suitable for this purpose), but was primarily intended to monitor trade and passenger traffic and to channel it at the border crossings provided for this purpose, in order to enable the levying of customs duties there, among other things. Furthermore, he was to prevent minor raids as well as the uncontrolled migration of Scottish and Irish tribes into the territory of the province of Britannia inferior.

In its eastern part, the complex consisted of a stone wall up to 4.5 metres high, in the western part initially only of an earth wall. A system of ditches as well as 320 towers, 16 auxiliary forts and 80 milestones were erected for its protection. An almost identical - albeit simpler - system of defence, presumably consisting of up to 26 small forts with attached watchtowers and signal towers, was built on the west coast of what is now the county of Cumbria to protect the flank of the rampart zone.

The remains of the wall still give an idea of how Rome's border fortifications once shaped the landscape. It was the result of a new foreign policy of consolidation and increasing isolation of the empire, which took its final shape under Hadrian. The rampart was the northernmost frontier zone of the Roman Empire until the reign of Antoninus Pius, at whose instigation a new timber-earth rampart system ("Antoninus' Wall") was built on the threshold of the Scottish Highlands. However, this extension could not be sustained for long (from about AD 141 to AD 180). Hadrian's Wall and its forts were again used to monitor the border after the Antonine Wall was abandoned, until Rome left Britain to its own devices in the 5th century.

Large parts of the rampart still exist today, especially in the scenically most impressive middle section. Running mostly on plateaus, it offers a good view over the surrounding countryside. The ground monument is today one of the most famous tourist attractions in northern England and was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1987. It is also easy to walk along the Hadrian's Wall Path/National Trail, visiting all the relevant archaeological sites.

Location and topography

The Wall Zone was located on the territory of the Roman province of Britannia inferior, after the division in late antiquity on the territory of the province of Maxima Caesariensis, which included the whole of northern Britain.

As far as Wallsend, the Tyne estuary formed a natural boundary to the east coast. The wall extended for 117.5 kilometres (78 Roman miles), starting in the east at Segedunum, from the north bank of the Tyne eight kilometres overland to the fort of Pons Aelius (now Newcastle upon Tyne), Condercum (now Benwell), Coriosopidum (now Corbridge), Luguvalium (now Carlisle), to name but a few, to the westernmost fort of Maia (now Bowness-on-Solway), where it ended at the Solway Firth. This is a fjord which opens out to the Irish Sea after 30 km. After Bowness-on-Solway the fortifications continued along the west coast of Cumbria, reinforced by a series of small forts and towers - south to Maryport. All these sites lie to the north of a once important Roman military road and boundary marker, known as Stanegate between Carlisle and Corbridge, which there intersected with Dere Street leading to Scotland. The rampart closes the isthmus between the mouth of the Tyne and the Solway Firth, and connects across the central hill country of the Pennines, the mountains in the west of the island with the eastern heights. The Wall terrain averages 150 metres above sea level, reaching its highest elevation (680 metres) at the Whin Sill's. This area has been intensively farmed since before the Romans arrived. The isthmus was ideal for the construction of a barrier, partly because this region of Britain lacks natural boundary markers - such as rivers.

History

The route on the northern side of the river valleys of Tyne, Irthing and Eden was already known to the Romans since the campaigns of Agricola in the 1st century. The Stanegate military road, secured by forts and watchtowers, also ran along the valley floor there, marking the northern border in Britain from AD 105. Unlike the Stanegate road, which essentially followed the valleys, Hadrian's Wall ran as far as possible along the ridges of the hills. From the east the rampart stretched from Wallsend to Chesters and from there began to ascend via its northernmost point, Limestone Corner, to the impressive basalt cliffs of the Whin Sills, from where there are good views of the surrounding countryside. These, a 20-metre-high lagoon of volcanic rock, then drop steeply to what are known as the Craigs. At Willowford the rampart crosses the Irthing and now keeps closely to its north bank. West of Carlisle the Wall finally reaches the marshes of the Solway, where it runs between Burgh-by-Sands and Bowness-on-Solway on a line just above the high-water mark. From Bowness onwards the boundary defences continued along the Cumbrian coast.