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By the end of the 1st century, the Romans had brought most of the western province of Britannia into the imperial fold. But Britons in the north of the country were having none of it. These barbarians, among them the Picts and the Brigantes, continued to harass the occupying forces until Emperor Hadrian, in Britain on a whistlestop tour of the vast Roman Empire, came up with a bright idea to separate "civilized" Roman territories from the unconquered barbarian wilderness. He'd build a wall!
Today, Hadrian's Wall is one of Britain's major ancient tourist attractions. But did this monumental defensive fortification manage to repel the marauding masses?
Click through the following gallery and find out how much of an obstacle it presented.
Hadrian was Roman emperor from 117 to 138 CE. He's regarded as having unified and consolidated Rome's vast empire.
In 121, Hadrian embarked on a tour of the Empire, west to east. His aim was to inspect troops and examine frontier defensives.
Hadrian arrived in Britain in 122. After visiting the country's lawless north, the emperor expressed concern over tribal revolts in the region.
There was unrest and rebellion in Roman Britain, and Rome's grip on the territory was being threatened by barbarian tribes, including the Picts.
It was Hadrian's wish to keep the Empire intact, which he believed had been imposed on him through divine instruction.
He hit upon the idea of building a wall to separate the Romans from the barbarians. Rome had already built a similar line of frontier fortifications in the provinces of Germania to divide the Empire and the unsubdued Germanic tribes. These defenses were known as the Limes Germanicus.
Construction of Hadrian's Wall began in 122. It's purpose was to separate the province of Britannia from contested land to the north.
The wall was to be 80 miles (128 km) long, 20 feet (six meters) high, and 10 feet (three meters) wide, and built of stone.
The wall's defenses were to be reinforced by turrets, ditches, milecastles, and 16 forts each capable of holding 500 to 1,000 troops.
These soldiers were to be drawn from all four corners of the Empire, including Spain, Switzerland, Germania, and North Africa. Some would also be recruited locally.
The initial construction of the wall took approximately six years. Expansions were made later, but by 126 it was largely completed.
As a physical barrier, the wall slowed the crossing of raiders, people intent on infiltrating its defensives smuggling animals, treasure, or slaves, and then returning with their loot.
The design of the wall also served symbolic and psychological purposes. It was a tangible statement of Rome's imperial power, and acted as a psychological barrier between the "civilized" Roman territories and the unconquered barbarian wilderness.
However, the mighty structure failed to deter the Romans' fiercest foes, the Picts.
Picts were inhabitants of Caledonia (modern-day Scotland) and were so named because of their use of culturally significant body tattoos. Picti means "painted one" in Latin.
The Picts, with both male and female warriors, harassed the Romans with frequent raids.
To counter their persistent enemy, the Romans began extending the wall, building a fort in the year 128 at Arbeia as a supply base.
In 138, Hadrian died, his wall still under siege by Picts who simply attacked the area around it. Hadrian's successor, Antoninus Pius, ordered the construction of a new defensive wall—the Antonine Wall—built further north in an attempt to quell a major uprising by the Brigantes.
Successive assaults on both Hadrian's Wall and the Antonine Wall tested Roman strength and resolve. In the 180s, the Picts even breached Hadrian's wall, albeit briefly.
Over the next two centuries, both walls held. In the late 4th century, though, barbarian invasions, economic decline, and military coups loosened the Empire's hold on Britain. Roman rule finally ended in Britain in 383 CE.
Hadrian's Wall still exists, despite almost all the standing masonry of the structure having been removed in early modern times and used for local roads and farmhouses.
None of its stands at its original height, though archaeological excavation over the years has exposed much of the top levels
Excavations have also unearthed some remarkable finds, including the well preserved ruins of Arbeia Roman fortress, the supply base built in 128.
Another exceptional archaeological site is Housesteads, a military outpost that served as an auxiliary fort for Roman troops. Housteads is the best preserved Roman fort in the United Kingdom.
Most of the wall can be admired by following the Hadrian's Wall Path. It runs for 84 miles (135 km), from Wallsend on the east coast of England to Bowness-on-Solway on the west coast.
A section of the path passes the foundations of Milecastle 39. Milecastles were small garrisons housing up to 30 Roman troops. As the name suggests, these garrisons were positioned at every mile (1.5 km) along the wall.
Walking the path is a relatively easy hike. The section between Chollerford and Walton is the highest and most rugged part of the path, at 1,330 feet (345b m).
Lying south of Hadrian's Wall and a worthwhile diversion is Vindolanda. Another auxiliary fort, Vindolanda in fact predates the wall, having been constructed in 85 CE.
Hadrian's Wall was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.
Then lesser known but equally compelling Antonine Wall was granted the same honor in 2008.
Sources: (England's North East) (Britannica) (Smithsonian Magazine)
Why did Roman Emperor Hadrian build a wall?
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LIFESTYLE History
By the end of the 1st century, the Romans had brought most of the western province of Britannia into the imperial fold. But Britons in the north of the country were having none of it. These barbarians, among them the Picts and the Brigantes, continued to harass the occupying forces until Emperor Hadrian, in Britain on a whistlestop tour of the vast Roman Empire, came up with a bright idea to separate "civilized" Roman territories from the unconquered barbarian wilderness. He'd build a wall!
Today, Hadrian's Wall is one of Britain's major ancient tourist attractions. But did this monumental defensive fortification manage to repel the marauding masses?
Click through the following gallery and find out how much of an obstacle it presented.