Hadrian's Wall is a
stoneIn geology, rock is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
or
turfSod or turf is grass and the part of the soil beneath it held together by the roots, or a piece of this material.The term sod may be used to mean turf grown and cut specifically for the establishment of lawns...
and timber
fortificationFortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defense in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...
built by the
Roman EmpireThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean. The term is used to describe the Roman state during and after the time of the first emperor,...
across the width of what is now
northern EnglandNorthern England, also known as the North of England, or simply The North is a cultural region or identity of England in the United Kingdom. It is not a government administrative region, but rather an amalgamation of counties. The southern extent of the region is roughly the River Trent, while the...
. Begun in
122-Roman Empire:*Hadrian orders that a 72-mile wall be built in northern Britain. Hadrian's Wall, as it comes to be known, is intended to keep the Caledonians, Picts and other tribes at bay.*September 13—The building of Hadrian's Wall begins....
, during the rule of emperor
HadrianPublius Aelius Hadrianus was emperor of Rome from AD 117 to 138, as well as a Stoic and Epicurean philosopher...
, it was the first of two fortifications built across Great Britain, the second being the
Antonine WallThe Antonine Wall also known as the Severan Wall, is a stone and turf fortification, built by the Romans across what is now the central belt of Scotland and is also known as the Clyde-Forth frontier line...
in what is now Scotland. Hadrian's Wall is the best known of the two because its physical remains are most evident today.
Opinions differ, but the growing consensus is that the Wall was built as a readily defended fortification which clearly defined the northern frontier (
limesA limes was a border defense or delimiting system of Ancient Rome. It marked the boundaries of the Roman Empire....
) of the Roman Empire in Britain (
BritanniaBritannia was the term used by the Romans to refer to the Roman province covering much of the island of Great Britain. The area beyond the Antonine Wall belonging to the Picts in the north was known as Caledonia. The name itself derives from Pretannia, Diodorus's rendering of the indigenous name...
). It would also improve economic stability and provide peaceful conditions in the frontier zone.
The wall was the most heavily fortified border in the Empire. In addition to its role as a military fortification, it is thought that many of the gates through the wall would have served as
customsCustoms is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods including animals, personal effects and hazardous items in and out of a country. Depending on local legislation and regulations, the import or export of...
posts to allow trade and levy 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 by
Hadrian's Wall PathThe 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 84 miles , from Wallsend on the east coast of Great Britain to Bowness-on-Solway on the west coast. The path runs through urban areas, and over moors...
or by cycle on National Cycle Route 72. It is the most popular
touristTourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for more than twenty-four hours and not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other...
attraction in Northern England, where it is often known simply as the
Roman Wall. It was made a
UNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on 16 November 1945...
World Heritage SiteA UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site that is on the list that is maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 state parties which are elected by their General Assembly for a four-year term.A World Heritage Site is a...
in 1987.
English HeritageEnglish Heritage . is a non-departmental public body of the United Kingdom government with a broad remit of managing the historic built environment of England. It is currently sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
, 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 (73.5 statute miles or 117 kilometres) long, its width and height dependent on the construction materials which were available nearby. East of
River IrthingThe River Irthing is a river in Cumbria, England and a major tributary of the River Eden.Rising in the hills around Paddaburn Moor in Border Forest Park, for the first 15 miles of its journey south it defines the border between Northumberland and Cumbria. After passing Butterburn Flow raised bog,...
the wall was made from squared stone and measured 3 metres (9.7 ft) wide and five to six metres (16–20 ft) high, while west of the river 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,
bermA berm is a level space, shelf, or raised barrier separating two areas. Berm is a loanword from Dutch.-History:In medieval military engineering, a berm was a level space between a parapet or defensive wall and an adjacent steep-walled ditch or moat. It was intended to reduce soil pressure on the...
s, and forts. The central section measured eight Roman feet wide (7.8 ft or 2.4 m) on a base. Some parts of this section of the wall survive to a height of .
Route
Hadrian's Wall extended west from Segedunum at
WallsendWallsend is a town in North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. Wallsend derives its name as the location of the end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 42,842.-Romans:...
on the River Tyne to the shore of the
Solway FirthThe Solway Firth is a firth that forms part of the border between England and Scotland, between Cumbria and Dumfries and Galloway. It stretches from St Bees Head, just south of Whitehaven in Cumbria, to the Mull of Galloway, on the western end of Dumfries and Galloway. The Isle of Man is also very...
. The A69 and B6318 roads follow the course of the wall as it starts in
Newcastle upon TyneNewcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England...
to Carlisle, then along the northern coast of
CumbriaCumbria is a shire county in the North West of England. Cumbria came into existence as a county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972...
. The wall is entirely in England and south of the border with
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
by 15 kilometres (9 mi) in the west and 110 kilometres (68 mi) in the east.
Purpose of construction
Hadrian's Wall was built following a visit by
Roman Emperor HadrianPublius Aelius Hadrianus was emperor of Rome from AD 117 to 138, as well as a Stoic and Epicurean philosopher...
(AD 76–138) in AD 122. Hadrian was experiencing military difficulties in
Roman BritainRoman Britain was those parts of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire between AD 43 and about 410. The Romans referred to their province as Britannia...
and from the peoples of various conquered lands across the Empire, including
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia...
,
JudeaJudea or Judæa is the name given to the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel , an area now divided between Israel and the West Bank Judea or Judæa (Hebrew: יהודה,
Standard Yəhuda
Tiberian , "praised, celebrated"; Greek: Ιουδαία, Ioudaía; ) is the...
,
LibyaLibya , officially the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya , is a country located in North Africa...
,
MauretaniaIn Antiquity, Mauretania was originally an independent Berber kingdom on the Mediterranean coast of north Africa , corresponding to western Algeria, northern Morocco and Spanish Plazas de soberanía. The Mauri people were indicated with the Greek word mauros, black...
, and many of the peoples conquered by his predecessor
TrajanMarcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus, commonly known as Trajan , was a Roman Emperor who reigned from A. D. 98 until his death in A. D. 117...
, 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 largely based on natural features or fortified zones with a heavy military presence. Military roads often marked the border, with forts and signal towers spread along them, and it was not until the reign of
DomitianTitus Flavius Domitianus , known as Domitian, was a Roman Emperor who reigned from 14 September 81 until his death...
that the first solid frontier was constructed, in
Germania SuperiorGermania Superior , so called for the reason that it lay upstream of Germania Inferior, was a province of the Roman Empire. It comprised the area of western Switzerland, the French Jura and Alsace regions and south-western Germany...
, using a simple fence. Hadrian expanded this idea, redesigning the German border by ordering a continuous timber
palisadeA palisade is a steel or wooden fence or wall of variable height, usually used as a defensive structure.- Typical construction :Typical construction consisted of small or mid sized trunks of trees aligned vertically, with no spacing in between. The trunks would be sharpened or pointed at the top...
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. The wall was constructed primarily to prevent entrance by small bands of raiders or unwanted
immigrationImmigration is the arrival of new individuals into a habitat or population. It is a biological concept and is important in population ecology, differentiated from emigration and migration.-As a political term:...
from the north, not as a fighting line for a major
invasionAn invasion is a military offensive consisting of all, or large parts of the armed forces of one geopolitical entity aggressively entering territory controlled by another such entity, generally with the objective of either conquering, liberating or re-establishing control or authority over a...
. The wall would have made cattle-raiding across the frontier extremely difficult.
Hadrian reduced Roman military presence in the territory of the
BrigantesThe Brigantes were a Celtic tribe who in pre-Roman times controlled the largest section of Northern England and a significant part of the Midlands. Their kingdom was known as Brigantia, and it was centred in what was later known as Yorkshire...
, who lived between the rivers Tyne and
HumberThe Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal River Ouse and the tidal River Trent. From here to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between the East Riding of Yorkshire on the north bank...
, and concentrated on building a more solid linear fortification to the north of them. This was intended to replace the
StanegateThe Stanegate, or "stone road" , was an important Roman road built in what is now northern England. It linked two forts that guarded important river crossings; Corstopitum in the east, situated on Dere Street, and Luguvalium in the west...
road which is generally thought to have served as the
limes (the boundary of the Roman Empire) until then.
Construction
Construction probably started sometime in AD 122 , and was largely completed within six years. Construction started in the east, between milecastles four and seven, and proceeded westwards, with
soldierA soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
s from all three of the occupying
Roman legionThe Roman legion is a term that can apply both as a translation of legio to the entire Roman army and also, more narrowly , to the heavy infantry that was the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army in the period of the late Roman Republic and the...
s participating in the work. The route chosen largely paralleled the nearby
StanegateThe Stanegate, or "stone road" , was an important Roman road built in what is now northern England. It linked two forts that guarded important river crossings; Corstopitum in the east, situated on Dere Street, and Luguvalium in the west...
road from
LuguvaliumLuguvalium was a town in the Roman province of Britannia. Today it is known as Carlisle, located in the English county of Cumbria .-Pre-Roman:...
(Carlisle) to
CoriaCoria was a fort and town, located south of Hadrian's Wall, in the Roman province of Britannia. Its full Latin name is uncertain. Today it is known as Corchester or Corbridge Roman Site, adjoining Corbridge in the English county of Northumberland.-Name:The place-name appears in contemporary...
(
Corbridge Corbridge is a village in Northumberland, England, situated west of Newcastle and east of Hexham. Villages in the vicinity include Halton, Acomb, Aydon and Sandhoe.-Roman fort and town:...
), upon which were situated a series of forts, including
VindolandaVindolanda was a Roman auxiliary fort located at Chesterholm, just south of Hadrian's Wall in northern England, near the modern border with Scotland; it guarded the Stanegate, the Roman road from the River Tyne to the Solway Firth...
. The wall in the east follows a hard, resistant igneous
diabaseDiabase or Dolerite is a mafic, holocrystalline, intrusive igneous rock equivalent to volcanic basalt or plutonic gabbro. In North American usage the term diabase refers to the fresh rock, whilst elsewhere the term dolerite is used for the fresh rock and diabase refers to altered material....
rock escarpment, known as the
Whin SillThe Whin Sill is a tabular layer of igneous rock, or sill, in County Durham and Northumberland, in the northeast of England. It lies partly in the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and partly in Northumberland National Park...
.
The initial plan called for a ditch and wall with eighty small gated
milecastleA milecastle was a small fort , 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 Britain , hence the name.Along that wall, milecastles were...
fortlets, one placed every
Roman mile, holding a few dozen troops each, and pairs of evenly spaced intermediate turrets used for
observationObservation is either an activity of a living being , consisting of receiving knowledge of the outside world through the senses, or the recording of data using scientific instruments. The term may also refer to any datum collected during this activity.-Observation in science:A scientific method...
and signalling. However, very few milecastles are actually situated at exact Roman mile divisions; they can be up to 200 yards east or west because of landscape features or to improve signalling to the Stangegate forts to the south . Local
limestoneLimestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the mineral calcite . The deposition of limestone strata is often a by-product and indicator of biological activity in the geologic record...
was used in the construction, except for the section to the west of Irthing where turf was used instead, since there were no useful outcrops nearby. Milecastles in this area were also built from timber and earth rather than stone, but turrets were always made from stone. The Broad Wall was initially built with a clay-bonded rubble core and mortared dressed rubble facing stones, but this seems to have made it vulnerable to collapse, and repair with a mortared core was sometimes necessary.
The milecastles and turrets were of three different designs, depending on which
Roman legionThe Roman legion is a term that can apply both as a translation of legio to the entire Roman army and also, more narrowly , to the heavy infantry that was the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army in the period of the late Roman Republic and the...
built them — inscriptions of the
SecondLegio secunda Augusta , was a Roman legion, levied by Gaius Vibius Pansa Caetronianus in 43 BC, and still operative in Britannia in 4th century...
,
SixthLegio sexta Victrix was a Roman legion founded by Octavian in 41 BC. It was the twin legion of VI Ferrata and perhaps held veterans of that legion, and some soldiers kept to the traditions of the Caesarian legion....
, and
TwentiethLegio vigesima Valeria Victrix was a Roman legion, probably raised by Augustus some time after 31 BC. It served in Hispania, Illyricum, and Germania before participating in the invasion of Britannia in 43 AD, where it remained and was active until at least the beginning of the 4th century...
Legions, tell us that all were involved in the construction. All were about 493 metres (539 yards) apart and measured 4.27 square metres (46.0 square feet) internally.
Construction was divided into lengths of about 5 miles (8 km). One group of each legion would excavate the foundations and build the milecastles and turrets and then other
cohortCohort may refer to:* Cohort * Cohort , a group of proximate data and/or operations* Cohort , a group of subjects with a common defining characteristic — typically age group...
s would follow with the wall construction. it was finished in 128 AD
Early in its construction, just after reaching the
North TyneThe River Tyne is a river in northeast England. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers: the North Tyne and the South Tyne. These two rivers converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'....
, the width of the wall was narrowed to 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) or even less (sometimes 1.8 metres) (the "Narrow Wall"). However, Broad Wall foundations had already been laid as far as the
River IrthingThe River Irthing is a river in Cumbria, England and a major tributary of the River Eden.Rising in the hills around Paddaburn Moor in Border Forest Park, for the first 15 miles of its journey south it defines the border between Northumberland and Cumbria. After passing Butterburn Flow raised bog,...
, where the Turf Wall began, demonstrating that construction worked from east to west. Many
turretsTurrets can mean or be confused with:* Gun turret, in weapons, a gun mount that swivels, usually mounted on a naval warship, or other weapons platforms like planes, tanks, helicopters, etcetera....
and
milecastleA milecastle was a small fort , 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 Britain , hence the name.Along that wall, milecastles were...
s were optimistically provided with stub '
wing wall-Bridges:In a bridge, the wing walls are adjacent to the abutments and act as retaining walls. The wing walls can either be attached to the abutment or be independent of it....
s' in preparation for joining to the Broad Wall, offering a handy reference for archaeologists trying to piece together the construction chronology.
Within a few years it was decided to add a total of 14 to 17 (sources disagree) full-sized forts along the length of the wall, including Vercovicium (
HousesteadsVercovicium was an auxiliary fort on Hadrian's Wall, in the Roman province of Britannia. Its ruins are located at Housesteads in the civil parish of Bardon Mill in the English county of Northumberland, somewhat to the south of Broomlee Lough.-History:In the 2nd century AD, the garrison consisted...
) and Banna (
BirdoswaldBirdoswald is a former farm in the civil parish of Waterhead in the English county of Cumbria . It stands on the site of the Roman fort of Banna.-Middle Ages:...
), each holding between 500 and 1,000 auxiliary troops (no legions were posted to the wall). The eastern end of the wall was extended further east from
Pons AeliusPons Aelius was an auxiliary castra and small Roman settlement on Hadrian's Wall in the Roman province of Britannia Inferior...
(
NewcastleNewcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England...
) to Segedunum (Wallsend) on the
TyneThe River Tyne is a river in northeast England. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers: the North Tyne and the South Tyne. These two rivers converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'....
estuary. Some of the larger forts along the wall, such as
CilurnumCilurnum or Cilurvum was a fort on Hadrian's Wall mentioned in the Notitia Dignitatum. It is now identified with the fort found at Chesters near the village of Walwick, Northumberland, England...
(Chesters) and Vercovicium (Housesteads), were built on top of the footings of milecastles or turrets, showing the change of plan. An inscription mentioning early governor
Aulus Platorius NeposAulus Platorius Nepos was a Roman politician of the early 2nd century.Platorius Nepos was governor of Germania Inferior. He was a close friend and possible kinsman of the Emperor Hadrian and may have accompanied Hadrian on his visit to Britain in 122. In this year he was made governor of Roman...
indicates that the change of plans took place early on. Also some time still during Hadrian's reign (before AD 138) the wall west of the Irthing was rebuilt in sandstone to basically the same dimensions as the limestone section to the east.
After the forts had been added (or possibly at the same time), the
Vallum"The Vallum" is unique of any Roman frontier. It is a huge earthwork which runs from coast to coast to the south of Hadrian's Wall. It was first mentioned by Bede , who referred to a vallum, or earthern rampart, as distinct from the wall or murus. We still use the term despite the fact that the...
was built on the southern side. It consisted of a large, flat-bottomed ditch six metres (20 ft) wide at the top and three metres (10 ft) deep bounded by a berm on each side 10 metres (33 ft) wide. Beyond the berms were earth banks six metres (20 ft) wide and two metres (6.5 ft) high.
CausewayIn modern usage, a causeway is a road or railway elevated on a sandbank, usually across a broad body of water or wetland.- Etymology :...
s crossed the ditch at regular intervals. Initially the berm appears to have been the main route for transportation along the wall.
The wall was thus part of a defensive system which, from north to south included:
- a glacis
A glacis in military engineering is an artificial slope of earth used in late European fortresses so constructed as to keep any potential assailant under the fire of the defenders until the last possible moment...
and a deep ditch
- a berm
A berm is a level space, shelf, or raised barrier separating two areas. Berm is a loanword from Dutch.-History:In medieval military engineering, a berm was a level space between a parapet or defensive wall and an adjacent steep-walled ditch or moat. It was intended to reduce soil pressure on the...
with rows of pits holding entanglements
- the curtain wall
- a later military road (the "Military Way")
- a north mound, a ditch and a south mound to prevent or slow down any raids from a rebelling southern tribe.
Garrison
The wall was
garrisonGarrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, of more than 50 men, but now often simply using it as a home base. The station is usually a city, town, fort, castle or similar...
ed by auxiliary (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
infantryInfantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of the Combat Arms they are the backbone of armies...
and
cavalryCavalry were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback in combat. Cavalry were historically the second oldest and most mobile of the combat arms...
. The new forts could hold garrisons of 500 men, while 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 SeverusLucius Septimius Severus was a Roman Emperor who reigned from 14 April, 193 until his death in 211. Severus was the first emperor of the troubled Severan dynasty, the last imperial dynasty of the Roman principate before the Crisis of the Third Century...
. The region near the wall remained peaceful for most of the rest of the third century. It is thought that some in the garrison may have
marriedMarriage is a social union or legal contract between individuals that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged by a variety of ways, depending on the culture or demographic...
and integrated into the local community throughout the years.
After Hadrian
In the years after Hadrian's death in 138, the new emperor,
Antoninus PiusTitus Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Arrius Antoninus , generally known in English as Antoninus Pius was Roman emperor from 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors and a member of the Aurelii. He did not possess the sobriquet "Pius" until after his accession to the throne...
essentially abandoned the wall, leaving it occupied in a support role, and began building a new wall called the
Antonine WallThe Antonine Wall also known as the Severan Wall, is a stone and turf fortification, built by the Romans across what is now the central belt of Scotland and is also known as the Clyde-Forth frontier line...
, about 160 kilometres (100 mi) north, in what later became known as the
Scottish LowlandsThe Scottish Lowlands , although not officially a geographical area of the country, in normal usage is generally meant to include those parts of Scotland not referred to as the Highlands , that is, everywhere due south and east of a line The Scottish Lowlands (a' Ghalldachd, meaning roughly 'the...
through the short strip running West South West to East North East from coast to coast sometimes referred to as the
Central BeltThe Central Belt of Scotland is a common term used to describe the area of highest population density within Scotland. Despite the name, it is not geographically "central", but in fact in the south of the country....
or
Central LowlandsThe Central Lowlands or Midland 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 the Southern Uplands Fault to the south...
. This turf wall ran 40 Roman miles (about ) and had significantly more forts than Hadrian's Wall. Antoninus was unable to conquer the northern tribes, so when
Marcus AureliusMarcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus was Roman emperor from 161 to his death in 180. He ruled with Lucius Verus as co-emperor from 161 until Lucius' death in 169...
became emperor he abandoned the Antonine Wall and reoccupied Hadrian's Wall as the main defensive barrier in 164. The wall remained occupied by Roman troops until their
withdrawal from BritainThe Roman departure from Britain was completed by 410. The archaeological records of the final decades of Roman rule in Britain show undeniable signs of decay. Urban and villa life had grown less intense by the fourth quarter of the fourth century, pottery shards are not present in levels dating...
.
In the late fourth 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 fifth century. Enough also survived in the eighth century for
spoliaSpolia is a modern art-historical term used to describe the re-use of earlier building material or decorative sculpture on new monuments...
from it to find its way into the construction of Jarrow Priory, and for
BedeBede , also Saint Bede, the Venerable Bede, or Beda , was a monk at the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth, today part of Sunderland, England, and of its companion monastery, Saint Paul's, in modern Jarrow , both in the Kingdom of Northumbria.He is well known as an author and...
to see and describe the wall thus in
Historia Ecclesiastica 1.5, although he misidentified it as being built by
Septimius SeverusLucius Septimius Severus was a Roman Emperor who reigned from 14 April, 193 until his death in 211. Severus was the first emperor of the troubled Severan dynasty, the last imperial dynasty of the Roman principate before the Crisis of the Third Century...
:
But in time the wall was abandoned and fell into ruin. Over the centuries and even into the twentieth century a large proportion of the stone was reused in other local buildings.
It fascinated
John SpeedJohn Speed was a historian, now best remembered as the cartographer whose maps of English counties are often found framed in homes throughout the United Kingdom....
, who published a set of maps of England and Wales by county at the turn of the seventeenth century. He describes it as 'the Picts Wall' (or 'Pictes'; he uses both spellings). The maps for Cumberland and Northumberland 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 which he sets out a description of the wall itself.
John Clayton
Much of the wall has disappeared. The preservation of what remains can be credited to
John ClaytonJohn Clayton was an antiquarian and town clerk of Newcastle upon Tyne, England during the nineteenth century. He worked with the builder Richard Grainger and architect John Dobson to redevelop the centre of the city in a neoclassical style, and Clayton Street in Newcastle is named after him...
. He trained as a lawyer and became town clerk of Newcastle in the 1830s. He became enthusiastic about preserving the wall after a visit to
ChestersCilurnum or Cilurvum was a fort on Hadrian's Wall mentioned in the Notitia Dignitatum. It is now identified with the fort found at Chesters near the village of Walwick, Northumberland, England...
. 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. Eventually he had control of land from
Brunton Brunton is a village in Northumberland, England. It is about north of Alnwick, a short distance inland from the North Sea coast.- Governance :Brunton is in the parliamentary constituency of Berwick-upon-Tweed....
to Cawfields. This stretch included the sites of Chesters,
CarrawburghCarrawburgh is a settlement in Northumberland. In Roman times, it was the site of a 3½ acre auxiliary fort on Hadrian's Wall called Brocolitia, Procolita, or Brocolita This name is probably based on the Celtic name for the place, and one possible translation put forward is 'badger holes'...
,
HousesteadsVercovicium was an auxiliary fort on Hadrian's Wall, in the Roman province of Britannia. Its ruins are located at Housesteads in the civil parish of Bardon Mill in the English county of Northumberland, somewhat to the south of Broomlee Lough.-History:In the 2nd century AD, the garrison consisted...
and
VindolandaVindolanda was a Roman auxiliary fort located at Chesterholm, just south of Hadrian's Wall in northern England, near the modern border with Scotland; it guarded the Stanegate, the Roman road from the River Tyne to the Solway Firth...
. Clayton carried out excavation work at the fort at
CilurnumCilurnum or Cilurvum was a fort on Hadrian's Wall mentioned in the Notitia Dignitatum. It is now identified with the fort found at Chesters near the village of Walwick, Northumberland, England...
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. His successful management produced a cash flow which could be invested in future 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 at gambling. Eventually the
National TrustThe National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
began the process of acquiring the land on which the wall stands.
At
Wallington HallWallington 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. It is a Grade I listed building....
, near Morpeth, there is a painting by
William Bell ScottWilliam Bell Scott , British poet and artist, son of Robert Scott , the engraver, and brother of David Scott, the painter, was born in Edinburgh....
, which shows a
centurion-Military:* Centurion, professional officer of the Roman army* Centurion tank, British battle tank* HMS Centurion, name of several ships and a shore base of the British Royal Navy-Transport:* Centurion Engines, German series of aircraft engines...
supervising the building of the wall. The centurion has been given the face of John Clayton.
World Heritage Site
Hadrian's Wall was declared a
World Heritage SiteA UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site that is on the list that is maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 state parties which are elected by their General Assembly for a four-year term.A World Heritage Site is a...
in 1987, and in 2005 it became part of the larger "Frontiers of the Roman Empire" World Heritage Site which also includes sites in
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
.
Hadrian's Wall Path
In 2003, a National Trail footpath was opened which follows the line of the wall from
WallsendWallsend is a town in North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. Wallsend derives its name as the location of the end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 42,842.-Romans:...
to
Bowness-on-SolwayBowness-on-Solway is a small village of less than 100 houses on the Solway Firth separating England and Scotland. It falls in North-West Cumbria to the west of Carlisle on the English side. The western end of Hadrian's Wall is a major tourist attraction, along with beaches and wading birds...
. Because of the fragile landscape, walkers are asked only to follow the path in summer months.
Rudyard Kipling
English Noble Prize-winning author
Rudyard KiplingRudyard Kipling was a British author and poet. Born in Bombay, British India, he is best known for his works of fiction The Jungle Book , Kim , many short stories, including The Man Who Would Be King ; and his poems, including...
contributed to popular image of the "Great Pict Wall" in his short stories about Parnesius, a Roman legioner who defended the Wall against the picts and vikings. These stories are part of
Puck of Pook's HillPuck of Pook's Hill is a historical fantasy book by Rudyard Kipling, published in 1906, containing a series of short stories set in different periods of English history. The stories are all told to two children living near Pevensey by people magically plucked out of history by elf Puck, or by Puck...
cycle.
Roman-period names
The only ancient source for its provenance is the
Augustan HistoryThe Augustan History is a late Roman collection of biographies, in Latin, of the Roman Emperors, their junior colleagues and usurpers of the period 117 to 284...
. No sources survive to confirm what the wall was called in antiquity, and no historical literary source gives it a name. However, the discovery of a small enamelled bronze Roman cup in Staffordshire in 2003 has provided a clue. The cup is inscribed with a series of names of Roman forts along the western sector of the wall, together with a personal name and the phrase
MAIS COGGABATA VXELODVNVM CAMBOGLANNA RIGORE VALI AELI DRACONIS.
Bowness (
MAIS) is followed by Drumburgh-by-Sands (
COGGABATA) until now known only as
CONGAVATA from the late Roman document, the
Notitia DignitatumThe Notitia Dignitatum is a unique document of the Roman imperial chanceries. One of the very few surviving documents of Roman government, it details the administrative organisation of the eastern and western empires, listing several thousand offices from the imperial court down to the provincial...
. Next comes Stanwix (
VXELODVNVM), then Castlesteads (
CAMBOGLANNA).
RIGORE is the ablative form of the
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
word
rigor. This can mean several things, but one of its less-known meanings is ‘straight line’, ‘course’ or ‘direction’. This sense was used by Roman surveyors and appears on several inscriptions to indicate a line between places. So the meaning could be 'according to the course'.
There is no known word as
vali, but
vallum was the Latin word for an earthen wall, rampart, or fortification; today
vallum is applied to the ditch and
bermA berm is a level space, shelf, or raised barrier separating two areas. Berm is a loanword from Dutch.-History:In medieval military engineering, a berm was a level space between a parapet or defensive wall and an adjacent steep-walled ditch or moat. It was intended to reduce soil pressure on the...
dug by the Roman army just south of the wall. The genitive form of
vallum is
valli, so one of the most likely meanings is
VAL[L]I, ‘of the
vallum’. Omitting one of a pair of double consonants is common on Roman inscriptions; moreover, an error in the transcription of a written note could be the reason: another similar bronze vessel, known as the
Rudge CupThe Rudge Cup is a small enamelled bronze cup found in 1725 at Rudge, in Wiltshire. 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 Hadrian's Wall, thus aiding scholars in identifying the forts correctly...
(found in Wiltshire in the 18th century) has VN missing from the name
VXELODVNVM, for example, although the letters appear on the Staffordshire Moorlands cup. The Rudge Cup only bears fort names.
The name
AELI was Hadrian's
nomen, his main family name, the
gens AeliaAelius was the nomen of the ancient Roman gens Aelia. Among its members was the Roman Emperor Hadrian.* Publius Aelius Paetus , consul 337 BC* Gaius Aelius Paetus, consul 286 BC* Publius Aelius Paetus , consul 201 BC...
. The Roman bridge at Newcastle-upon-Tyne was called
Pons Aelius.
DRACONIS can be translated as ‘[by the hand – or property] of Draco’. It was normal for Roman manufacturers to give their names in the genitive (‘of’), and ‘by the hand’ would be understood. The form is common, for example, on
Samian wareSamian ware is a kind of bright glossy red Ancient Roman pottery, also known as terra sigillata although definitions vary somewhat, and on the continental mainland terra sigillata is a generic term for all red glossed Roman pottery, including Arretine ware, African Red Slip and other types...
.
The translation, therefore, could be:
"Mais, Coggabata, Uxelodunum, Camboglanna, according to the line of the Aelian wall. [By the hand or The property] of Draco." Another possibility is that the individual's name was Aelius Draco, which would only leave us with an unspecified
vallum, 'wall'.
Forts
The Latin and Romano-Celtic names of some of the Hadrian's Wall forts are known, from the
Notitia DignitatumThe Notitia Dignitatum is a unique document of the Roman imperial chanceries. One of the very few surviving documents of Roman government, it details the administrative organisation of the eastern and western empires, listing several thousand offices from the imperial court down to the provincial...
and other evidence:
- Segedunum (Wallsend
Wallsend is a town in North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. Wallsend derives its name as the location of the end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 42,842.-Romans:...
)
- Pons Aelius
Pons Aelius was an auxiliary castra and small Roman settlement on Hadrian's Wall in the Roman province of Britannia Inferior...
(Newcastle upon TyneNewcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England...
)
- Condercum
Condercum was a Roman fort at modern-day Benwell, a suburb of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It was the third fort on Hadrian's Wall, after Segedunum and Pons Aelius , and was situated to the west of the city. Today, nothing can be seen of the fort or its adjoining wall, as the site is covered by...
(Benwell HillBenwell is an area in the West End of Newcastle upon Tyne, England.-History:Benwell village was recorded in A.D. 1050 known as Bynnewalle which roughly translates as "behind the wall" or "by the wall". Referring to its position relative to Hadrian's Wall...
)
- Vindobala
Vindobala was a Roman fort at the modern-day village of Rudchester, Northumberland. It was the fourth fort on Hadrian's Wall, after Segedunum , Pons Aelius and Condercum. It was situated about to the west of Condercum. The name Vindobala means “White Strength”...
(Rudchester)
- Hunnum
Hunnum was a Roman fort north of the modern-day village of Halton, Northumberland. The name “Onnum” means “The Rock”, and probably refers to Down Hill situated to the east of it. It was the fifth fort on Hadrian's Wall, after Segedunum , Pons Aelius , Condercum and Vindobala...
(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 near the village of Walwick, Northumberland, England...
(Chesters aka Walwick Chesters)
- Procolita (Carrowburgh)
- Vercovicium (Housesteads
Vercovicium was an auxiliary fort on Hadrian's Wall, in the Roman province of Britannia. Its ruins are located at Housesteads in the civil parish of Bardon Mill in the English county of Northumberland, somewhat to the south of Broomlee Lough.-History:In the 2nd century AD, the garrison consisted...
)
- Aesica
Aesica was a Roman fort, one and a half miles north of the small town of Haltwhistle in Northumberland. It was the ninth fort on Hadrian's Wall, between Vercovicium to the east and Magnis to the west. Its purpose was to guard the Caw Gap, where the Haltwhistle Burn crosses the Wall...
(Great Chesters)
- Magnis (Carvoran)
- Banna (Birdoswald
Birdoswald is a former farm in the civil parish of Waterhead in the English county of Cumbria . It stands on the site of the Roman fort of Banna.-Middle Ages:...
)
- Camboglanna
Camboglanna was a Roman fort. It was the twelfth fort on Hadrian's Wall counting from the east, between Banna to the east and Uxelodunum to the west. It was almost west of Birdoswald, on a high bluff commanding the Cambeck Valley...
(Castlesteads)
- Uxelodunum (Stanwix
Stanwix is a district of Carlisle, Cumbria in North West England. It is located on the north side of River Eden, across from Carlisle city centre. Although long counted as a suburb it did not officially become part of the city until 1912 when part of the civil parish of Stanwix became part of the...
. Also known as PetrianaPetriana was a Roman fort. It was the largest fort on Hadrian's Wall, and is now buried beneath the village of Stanwix, Cumbria, England.-Roman name:...
)
- Aballava
Aballava or Aballaba was a Roman fort on Hadrian's Wall, between Petriana to the east and Coggabata to the west...
(Burgh-by-Sands)
- Coggabata
Coggabata, or Congavata, was a Roman fort on Hadrian's Wall, between Aballava to the east and Mais to the west. It was built on a hill commanding views over the flatter land to the east and west and to the shore of the Solway Firth to the north...
(DrumburghDrumburgh is a small settlement in Cumbria, England. It is northwest of the City of Carlisle and is on the course of Hadrian's Wall....
)
- Mais
Mais, or Maia, in Cumbria, England was a Roman fort on Hadrian's Wall, and was the last fort at the western end of the Wall....
(Bowness-on-SolwayBowness-on-Solway is a small village of less than 100 houses on the Solway Firth separating England and Scotland. It falls in North-West Cumbria to the west of Carlisle on the English side. The western end of Hadrian's Wall is a major tourist attraction, along with beaches and wading birds...
)
Outpost forts beyond the wall include:
- Habitancum
Habitancum was an ancient Roman fort 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....
(Risingham)
- Bremenium
Bremenium was an ancient Roman fort located at Rochester, 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....
(Rochester Rochester is a small village in north Northumberland. It is five miles north-east of Otterburn on the A68 road between Corbridge and Jedburgh...
)
- Fanum Cocidi
Bewcastle Roman Fort was a Roman fort, built to the north of Hadrian's Wall as an outpost fort and intended for scouting and intelligence. The Roman name for the fort was Fanum Cocidi , and means 'The Shrine of Cocidius', a deity worshipped in northern Britain...
(BewcastleBewcastle is a large civil parish in the City of Carlisle district of Cumbria, England.According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 411. The parish is large and includes the settlements of Roadhead, Shopford, Blackpool Gate, Roughsike and The Flatt. To the north the parish extends...
) (north of Birdoswald)
- Ad Fines
Ad Fines may refer to Ancient Roman settlements at:* Chew Green near Alwinton in Northumberland, United Kingdom* Pfyn, Switzerland...
(Chew GreenChew Green is the site of the ancient Roman encampment Ad Fines in Northumberland, England, north of Rochester and west of Alwinton...
) http://www.genuki.bpears.org.uk/NBL/Gaz1868.html
Supply forts behind the wall include:
- Alauna
Alauna , was a fort in the Roman province of Britannia...
(MaryportMaryport is a town and civil parish within the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England, in the historic county of Cumberland. It is located on the A596 road north of Workington, and is the southernmost town on the Solway Firth. Maryport railway station is on the Cumbrian Coast Line...
)
- 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 building on the site were cleared in the 1970s. It is managed by Tyne and Wear Museums.- Original fort :The fort stands...
(South ShieldsSouth Shields is a coastal town in Tyne and Wear, England, located at the mouth of the River Tyne. The town has a population of 82,854, and is part of the metropolitan borough of South Tyneside, which includes the riverside towns of Jarrow and Hebburn and the villages of Boldon, Cleadon and...
)
- Coria
Coria was a fort and town, located south of Hadrian's Wall, in the Roman province of Britannia. Its full Latin name is uncertain. Today it is known as Corchester or Corbridge Roman Site, adjoining Corbridge in the English county of Northumberland.-Name:The place-name appears in contemporary...
(Corbridge Corbridge is a village in Northumberland, England, situated west of Newcastle and east of Hexham. Villages in the vicinity include Halton, Acomb, Aydon and Sandhoe.-Roman fort and town:...
)
- Vindolanda
Vindolanda was a Roman auxiliary fort located at Chesterholm, just south of Hadrian's Wall in northern England, near the modern border with Scotland; it guarded the Stanegate, the Roman road from the River Tyne to the Solway Firth...
(Little Chesters)
- Vindomora
Vindomora was an auxiliary castra on Dere Street, in the Roman province of Britannia Inferior...
(EbchesterEbchester is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated to the north of Consett and to the south east of Whittonstall.The parish church, which is dedicated to St. Ebba is of ambiguous origin, being of partly Norman construction with a foundation, described as being pre-Conquest...
)
See also
- Anglo-Scottish border
- Antonine Wall
The Antonine Wall also known as the Severan Wall, is a stone and turf fortification, built by the Romans across what is now the central belt of Scotland and is also known as the Clyde-Forth frontier line...
- Via Hadriana
The Via Hadriana was a route established by Hadrian running from Antinopolis to the Red Sea at Berenike. It was finished in 137 AD. Traces of the road line were noted by Couyat and Murray who recorded the sites of several small mansios in the southern part of the road, but few in the north and...
- List of 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.-History:The Gask Ridge was constructed sometime between 70 and 80 CE...
- Hadrian's Wall long-distance footpath
The 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 84 miles , from Wallsend on the east coast of Great Britain to Bowness-on-Solway on the west coast. The path runs through urban areas, and over moors...
- 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 Scotland. The present-day county is a vestige of an...
- History of Scotland
The history of Scotland begins around 14,000 years ago, when humans first began to inhabit what is now Scotland after the end of the Devensian glaciation, the last ice age...
- List of walls
- Offa's Dike
- Roman Britain
Roman Britain was those parts of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire between AD 43 and about 410. The Romans referred to their province as Britannia...
- Rudge Cup
The Rudge Cup is a small enamelled bronze cup found in 1725 at Rudge, in Wiltshire. 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 Hadrian's Wall, thus aiding scholars in identifying the forts correctly...
- Separation barrier
The term separation barrier is a wall or fence constructed to limit the movement of people across a certain line or border, or to separate two populations. These structures vary in placement with regard to international borders and topography...
- 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 1552 to mark the division of the Debatable lands and thereby settle the exact boundary between the Kingdoms of Scotland and England.-Introduction:The...
- Silesia Walls
Silesia Walls are a line of three parallel earthen ramparts and ditches that run through Lower Silesia in Poland, by the towns Szprotawa and Kożuchów . The walls are about 2.5 meters tall and, at their widest, 47 meters. They run for about 30 kilometers...
External links