Just as interested in Roman, Celtic, and Norse history as I am in Egyptology and wrote one book concerning the historic Roman city of Ephesus, [American in Ephesus: History of an Immortal City], I set out to write a brief article about the architectural achievement known as Hadrian’s Wall.
Hadrian’s Wall [Vallum Hadriani] was a defensive barrier built in 122. It is 73 miles [120 km] long running from coast to coast. The wall not just provided a defensive barrier but also marked the northern boundary of the Roman Empire to deter invasion of the Picts in Scotland.
Professors Scarre and Fagan wrote about their evaluation of reason for construction:
“Archaeologists and historians have long debated whether Hadrian's Wall was an effective military barrier…Whatever its military effectiveness, however, it was clearly a powerful symbol of Roman military might. The biographer of Hadrian remarks that the emperor built the wall to separate the Romans from the barbarians. In the same way, the Chinese emperors built the Great Wall to separate China from the barbarous steppe peoples to the north. In both cases, in addition to any military function, the physical barriers served in the eyes of their builders to reinforce the conceptual divide between civilized and noncivilized. They were part of the ideology of empire.” (Ancient Civilizations, p. 313)
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| Hadrian's Wall original height |
The Romans were plagued by uprisings in Britain since their conquest after Julius Caesar’s expedition in 55 and 54 BC. Conquest began after Caesar in year 43 under Emperor Claudius.
The revolt of Boudicca of the Iceni in 60 AD resulted in the massacre of many Roman citizens and destruction of their major cities - Londinium being one of them. Roman historian Tacitus described the barbaric acts of the Britons.
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| Boudicca, statue at Westminster Bridge |
Boudicca’s forces were defeated at the Battle of Watling Street by General Gaius Suetonius Paulinus in 61 AD. At the Battle of Mons Graupius, which is now Scotland, the Roman General Gnaeus Julius Agricola was victorious against the Caledonians under Calgacus in 83 AD. Both of those battles as well as the uprising in northern Britain in 119 AD by Roman governor (and general) Quintus Pompeius Falco established Roman management of the people of Britain.
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| Lanercost Priory |
Starting at the east end and built moving west, it took six years to complete. Later, 14 forts [garrisons] were added to the wall. Only a portion of the original wall remain and the garrisons are only foundation stones. After Romans departed, local Britons used parts of the wall for constructing buildings, like the Lanercost Priory. The wall was abandoned after Hadrian’s successor became the Roman head of state,
Antoninus Pius in 138 AD. Antoninus ordered Roman soldiers to build a new wall 100 miles to the north in southern Scotland. It as made of turf, not stone like Hadrian’s Wall and was only half the length. The Romans were never able to ultimately defeat the northern tribes and so the Antonine Wall was abandoned like the Hadrian Wall.
In the 19th century, John Clayton, government official of Newcastle and an antiquities scholar set out to preserve and repair the wall. To prevent farmers in the area from removing stones as was the practice for centuries, Clayton purchased the surrounding land. He then farmed the land and used the profits to fund restoration work. After Clayton’s death in 1890, much of the land was lost until the 20th century when the National Trust of the United Kingdom began acquiring land in sections.
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| Stone Brick from Hadrian's Wall |
Hadrian’s Wall was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987. Tourists have full access to the site as there are no guards. The Hadrian’s Wall walk is still a popular tourist site and reportedly there is a visitor’s center in the works.
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| Hadrian's Wall Turret |
YOUTUBE: North England: Hadrian's Wall - Rick Steves -
- Durant, W. Caesar and Christ. Simon & Schuster, 1980.
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