Situated in Northern England is one of the largest remnants of the Roman Empire: Hadrian’s Wall.
This amazing relic of the past was what divided the edge of the vast Roman Empire from the Pictish tribes north of the Wall in ancient Scotland, along with two other Walls that no longer stand. When completed, Hadrian’s Wall (sometimes referred to as the Roman Wall) spanned the width of England from the shore of the Solway Firth to Segendum (now Wallsend) on the River Tyne.
Although the Wall is no longer whole, today there are many areas where the scale of the construction can still be seen, as large sections remain.
The relic that is Hadrian’s Wall was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987 and as well as being the most popular tourist attraction found in northern England, was described as “the most important monument built by the Romans in Britain” by English Heritage.
History of Hadrian’s Wall
The building of Hadrian’s Wall began in 122 AD under the orders of the ruling Roman Emperor Hadrian. The Wall is a full 73.5 miles in length, a large undertaking that took a long time to finish: it is said that it took three Roman legions around six years of non-stop work to complete Hadrian’s Wall.
The Wall was created to include many small fortress areas, where Roman soldiers could stay to protect the Empire’s realm; these small fortress areas could only berth a small number of soldiers, but were enough to put off enemies situated north of the Wall from attacking.
The Wall was not created with uniform height and width. It’s dimensions varied greatly along its length, with some areas up to 6 metres wide while being 3.5 metres high, and others only 3 metres wide but 6 metres high!
Visiting Hadrian’s Wall
Because of the massive original length of Hadrian’s Wall, there are many places to go to view its beauty. There is also a Hadrian’s Wall path which runs for about 84 miles along the Wall and makes for a great day out rambling along this giant historical monument to Roman Britain’s past.
Many people also enjoy cycling along many of the routes set out close to the Wall, where visitors can enjoy its full splendour in the comfort of a bicycle seat.
Along the length of Hadrian’s Wall are many villages and other places of interest for locals and tourists alike.
Information Address:
Hadrian’s Wall Heritage Ltd
East Peterel Field
Dipton Mill Road
Hexham
Northumberland
NE46 2JT
Tel: 01434 609700