|
Hadrian's Wall (Latin: Vallum Hadriani) was a stone and turf fortification built by the Roman Empire across the width of Great Britain to prevent military raids by the tribes of Scotland to the north, to improve economic stability and provide peaceful conditions in the Roman province of Britannia to the south, to define the frontier of the Empire physically, and to separate the unruly Selgovae tribe in the north from the Brigantes in the south and discourage them from uniting. The name is also sometimes used jocularly as a synonym for the border between Scotland and England, although for most of its length the wall follows a line well south of the modern border — and neither the Scoti tribe nor the English lived in Britain at the time of the wall's construction. The wall was the northern border of the Empire in Britain for much of the Roman Empire's rule, and also the most heavily fortified border in the Empire. In addition to its use as a military fortification, it is thought that the gates through the wall would also have served as customs posts to allow trade taxation. A significant portion of the wall still exists, particularly the mid-section, and for much of its length the wall can be followed on foot. It is the most popular tourist attraction in Northern England, where it is often known simply as the Roman Wall. It was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. English Heritage, a government organization in charge of managing the historic environment of England, describes it as "the most important monument built by the Romans in Britain".
Dimensions Hadrian's Wall was 80 Roman miles (73 and a half Modern miles or 117 kilometres) long, its width and height dependent upon the construction materials which were readily available nearby to build it from: east of the river Irthing the wall was made from stone and measured 10 Roman feet (9.7 ft or 3 m) wide and 5 to 6 metres (16–20 ft) tall; west of the Irthing the wall was made from turf and measured 6 metres (20 ft) wide and 3.5 metres (11.5 ft) high. This does not include the wall's ditches, berms, and forts. The central section measured 8 Roman feet wide (7.8 ft or 2.4 m) on a 10 foot base. Route Hadrian's Wall extended due west from Wallsend on the River Tyne to the shore of the Solway Firth. The A69 and B6318 roads largely follow the course of the wall as it starts in Newcastle upon Tyne to Carlisle, then on round the northern coast of Cumbria. The Wall is entirely in England and south of the border with Scotland by 15 kilometres (9 mi) in the west and 110 kilometres (68 mi) in the east. Hadrian Hadrian's Wall was built following a visit by Roman emperor Hadrian (AD 76–138) in AD 122. Hadrian was experiencing military difficulties not just in Britain, but from the peoples of various conquered lands across the Empire, including Egypt, Judea, Libya, Mauretania, and many of the peoples conquered by his predecessor Trajan, so he was keen to impose order. However the construction of such an impressive wall was probably also a symbol of Roman power, both in occupied Britain and in Rome. Frontiers in the early empire were based more on natural features or fortified zones with a heavy military presence. Military roads or limes often marked the border, with forts and signal towers spread along them and it was not until the reign of Domitian that the first solid frontier was constructed, in Germania Superior, using a simple fence. Hadrian expanded on this idea, redesigning the German border by ordering a continuous timber palisade supported by forts behind it. Although such defences would not have held back any concerted invasion effort, they did physically mark the edge of Roman territory and went some way to providing a degree of control over who crossed the border and where. Hadrian reduced Roman military presence in the territory of the Brigantes and concentrated on building a more solid linear fortification to the north of them. This was intended to replace the Stanegate road which is generally thought to have served as the limes (the boundary of the Roman Empire) until then. Construction
Roman-period names The Roman-period names of some of the Hadrian's Wall forts are known: Segedunum (Wallsend), Pons Aelius (Newcastle on Tyne), Condercum (Benwell Hill), Vindobala (Halton Chesters), Hunnum (Rutchester), Cilurvum (Walwick Chesters), Procolita (Carrowburgh), Borcovicum or Vercovicium (Housesteads), Vindolanda (Little Chesters), Aesica (Great Chesters), Magna (Carvoran), Vindomora (Ebchester), Corstopitum (Corbridge), Habitancum (Risingham), Bremenium (Rochester), Ad Fines (Chew Green) *, and also Banna (Birdoswald Fort), Milecastle 51, Alauna (Maryport) Arbeia was a supply fort behind the wall. Garrison The wall was garrisoned by auxiliary (i.e., non-legionary) units of the army (non-citizens). Their numbers fluctuated throughout the occupation, but may have been around 9,000 strong in general, including infantry and cavalry. The new forts could hold garrisons of 500 men whilst cavalry units of 1,000 troops were stationed at either end. The total number of soldiers manning the early wall was probably greater than 10,000. They suffered serious attacks in 180, and especially between 196 and 197 when the garrison had been seriously weakened, following which major reconstruction had to be carried out under Septimius Severus. After the harsh suppression of the tribes under Septimius, the region near the wall remained peaceful for most of the rest of the 3rd century. It is thought that many in the garrison may have married and integrated into the local community. After Hadrian In the months after Hadrian's death in 138, the new emperor, Antoninus Pius essentially abandoned the wall, though leaving it occupied in a support role, and began building a new wall in Scotland proper, about 160 kilometres (100 mi) north, the Antonine Wall. This turf wall ran 40 Roman miles (about 37.8 mi or 61 km) and had significantly more forts than Hadrian's Wall. Antonine was unable to conquer the northern tribes and so when Marcus Aurelius became emperor, he abandoned the Antonine Wall and occupied Hadrian's Wall once again in 164. It remained occupied by Roman troops until their withdrawal from Britain. In the late 4th century, barbarian invasions, economic decline, and military coups loosened the Empire's hold on Britain. By 410, the Roman administration and its legions were gone, and Britain was left to look to its own defences and government. The garrisons, by now probably made up mostly of local Britons who had nowhere else to go, probably lingered on in some form for generations. Archaeology is beginning to reveal that some parts of the Wall remained occupied well into the 5th century. But in time the wall was abandoned and fell into ruin. Over the centuries a large proportion of the stone was reused in other local buildings. This continued until the 20th century. In fiction See also | ||||||||||
|
--> | |||||||||||
 |
|
| |