Among the most famous walls ever built are the Great Wall of China and Hadrian’s Wall in the north of England. Massive investments of money and labor were made to keep out unwanted invaders, so it must have been worth the effort to construct them.
Roman Emperor Hadrian wanted to defend the civilized southern part of England from the ruthless Scottish barbarians who lived in the north, hence he saw the need for this massive construction project. I’ve always been impressed with the engineering and building abilities of the Romans, and this wall is no exception. Building on it began in 122 AD. It extended 73 miles from the North Sea to the Irish Sea, and was the northernmost boundary of the Roman Empire for many centuries.
The plan was to construct a stone wall about 8 -10 feet wide, 12 – 15 feet high, fronted by a ditch where this was possible. There were towers ever 1/3 mile and a gate was built through the wall about every mile housing garrisons of up to 60 soldiers. Forts holding 500 – 1000 troops were built at roughly 7-mile intervals.
The photo below of Hadrian’s Wall provided last weekend’s One Clue Mystery photo. It was recognized by Professor Abe and George G. Congratulations!
When the Roman empire collapsed, the wall provided a useful source of stones, which were hauled away for building purposes. But enough of it remains that it’s well worth seeing and exploring. Hadrian’s Wall is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
(some of the Roman ruins at Houstead’s Fort)We’ve visited just two sections of Hadrian’s Wall during our travels to England. The more impressive was Housestead’s Roman Fort, set on an escarpment. It is the best preserved Roman fort in Britain. Here you can wander the ruins of barracks, see ancient communal toilets, and just enjoy the views.
(Hadrian’s Wall at Steel Rigg)
We also stopped at Steel Rigg, where the landscape surrounding the wall is beautiful, but it lacks the Roman history aspects that Housestead’s Fort provides. The landscape around here was used in the 1991 film ‘Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves’, starring Kevin Costner. You can see from the following photo how beautiful this area is:
I hope some day to be able to walk the entire length’s of Hadrian’s Wall. There are a variety of companies that facilitate this (for example, arranging accomodations, moving your bags, etc), letting you walk with a light day pack. Hope my knees are up to it, as it’s an adventure I’d absolutely love.
I also would like to refer you to one of the best photo essays of Hadrian’s Wall I’ve ever seen, by Ian Cook, right here on our website.
