Hadrian's Wall

Two large works of fortification were built by the Romans against the "Barbarians" of the north. The more northerly of the two was the Antonine Wall, known as Grim's Dike from the Firth of Forth to the Firth of Clyde; the other was Hadrian's Wall, marked on some maps as "Roman Wall", which extended from Wallsend near Newcastle upon Tyne to Bowness to the west of Carlisle on the Solway Firth, a total distance of 73mi/117km. It was begun in A.D. 122 by Aulus Platorius Nepos, and completed in 132. The wall was built primarily for defense, but was provided with gates for north-south traffic.

The Wall runs from the Irish Sea to the North Sea, adapting itself to the landscape in wide curves and gentle gradients. It was faced on both sides with small, regularly coursed stones, with a core of rubble and mortar. It was reinforced by a wide ditch, the vallum, on the north side and a rather smaller ditch to the south. The wall was up to 10ft/3m thick and 20ft/6m high; now its height is nowhere greater than 6ft/2m. Along its length there was a series of forts (17-19 in number) accommodating 500 or 1,000 men, with barracks and headquarters buildings, storerooms and workshops. At regular intervals of a Roman mile between the forts were milecastles which no doubt served as lookout posts. Between every two milecastles were two turrets or watchtowers to provide continuous surveillance of the whole frontier and raise the alarm if danger threatened. Along the rear of the Wall ran a military road. The total garrison of the Wall probably amounted to some 10,000 men, who came from all parts of the Roman Empire, including Britain. Small settlements, with shops, inns and temples grew up in the vicinity of the forts.

It is established that the Wall was overrun by the northern tribes on more than one occasion. It was several times renovated and improved, the last occasion being in 369, but in the end it had to be abandoned. In subsequent centuries the Wall was used as a convenient quarry of building material, and Roman stones can be seen in churches and private houses in the area. A walk along the Wall is now a very popular form of recreation, although no one but a specialist or particularly enthusiastic amateur archaeologist would want to traverse its whole length, since for long stretches there is not much to see. The better preserved forts, however, are well worth visiting, and there are considerable sections of the Wall which are still extremely impressive. The most rewarding part is between Chollerford, north of Hexham, and Greenhead, within the Northumberland National Park.

A good walk is from Housesteads to the village along the wall. It is one of the best preserved sections of wall and provides some of the most spectacular scenery.