Short History Of... - Hadrian’s Wall

Episode Date: July 2, 2023

Nineteen hundred years ago, Hadrian’s Wall was built to defend against the northern tribes, and mark the extent of the Roman empire in Britain. But it also performed functions of trade and communication. Entire communities, of people from all over the Roman Empire, lived and worked in its shadow. But how did the Romans undertake such an extraordinary feat of architecture? What was life like for those who built it? And once the Romans finally decided to abandon it, what role did it play for those who came next? This is a Short History of Hadrian’s Wall. Written by David Jackson. With thanks to archaeologist and museum professional, Lindsay Allason-Jones. For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Now available for Apple and Android users. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It is the year 122 AD. In his quarters at the fort of Vindolanda in the north of Britannia, the camp prefect is writing a letter to his brother. He dips the metal nib of his stylus into black ink before scratching his message onto the two wooden tablets joined at one edge by leather cord. He takes his time, careful to get all the details down about the visitor he's expecting, and what an honor it is for him to act as host. When he has finished writing, the prefect goes out to inspect the camp. It's a typical cold, gray morning, but it's much busier than usual. The men he usually commands are the first cohort of Tongrians, soldiers

drafted in from other conquered lands, rather than true Romans. But as he walks, lifting the hem of his cloak from the ubiquitous mud, he greets a large group of Roman legionaries, here to act as security for today's noble visitor. There's still a little time until the big event, so he pauses at the exercise yard, watching his cavalrymen as they rehearse. They circle the arena on their galloping steeds, firing arrows unerringly into the head of an ox. It will make an excellent display for their visitor later on. Then he makes an inspection of some of his troops. They stand to attention, rigid-backed as he casts his discerning eye over their shields, weapons and armor. Despite the absence of sunshine, the armor gleams and he nods his approval. Now a messenger comes to find him.

Their guest and his entourage are approaching. The prefect arrives at the southern gates of the fort just as the call goes up to open them. Their arrival signaled by the blast of a cornum, or horn, a train of soldiers marches in. In their midst is a horse-drawn carriage, and seated upon it is the man that the prefect has awaited. It is the emperor Hadrian himself. The carriage comes to a stop, and the introductions are made.

Hadrian is offered refreshment from the camp's finest stores of wine and cured meats. Then the prefect escorts his leader past the hundreds of men gathered in the courtyard and up onto the dais. The crowd falls silent as the emperor lifts his chin and surveys them. For a moment the only sound is the occasional snort of a horse and the wind blowing in from the east. And then, Hadrian delivers his message to the troops. The prefect had been expecting a

few words to boost morale. After all, it's no picnic for the men of this camp, under constant threat of attack from the hostile tribes to the north. But what he hears instead is something that will change the lives of every man here. It will change the very landscape. Because standing on this windy platform, more than a thousand miles from home, the Emperor Hadrian now announces that a wall will be built here. A wall unlike any other.

It will be built from stone and stretch across Britannia. Their enemies to the north will look upon it and quake in fear. It will be a wall that will stand for centuries, lorded throughout Rome's vast empire. When the emperor finishes, there is a moment of silence, and then the assembled men burst into cheers. And though the prefect wonders whether such a project is even possible, as he meets the great Hadrian's gaze, he has no choice but to cheer along with them. Following the Emperor's visit to Britain, work began on the great barrier that is now known as Hadrian's Wall.

Built almost entirely from locally quarried stone, it stretches almost from coast to coast, a distance of 73 modern miles. Although it is often mistakenly believed to separate England from Scotland, it is in fact wholly contained in northern England. Always more than just a wall, it was built as a complex system of defense, a way of monitoring trade, a communication system. Communities sprung up along its length, and countless lives of people from all over the Roman Empire were played out in the forts and villages that served it. Though little remains today of the original wall, the site continues to be a source of incredible finds for archaeologists and historians. Excavations of sites connected to the wall inform much of what we know about life in

Roman Britain, and huge numbers of tourists flock to see it each year. But how did the Romans undertake such an extraordinary feat of architecture? What did it look like when it was first built? What was life like for those who lived and worked on and around it? And once the Romans finally decided to abandon it, what role did their great wall play for those who came next? I'm John Hopkins, and this is a short history of Hadrian's War. By the first century BC, the Roman Republic has established itself as a superpower in the Mediterranean. But with every leader intent on bringing glory to his own name, more territories are conquered

with every passing decade. Already it has expanded from Italy to occupy land in modern-day Greece, Turkey, Spain, and North Africa, and it shows no signs of stopping. During his conquest of Gaul, a huge area roughly comprising what is now France, Belgium, and others, Roman general Gaius Julius Caesar sets his sights on the mysterious island to the west. Caesar and his men land on Britain's southeast coast on two occasions, in 55 BC and a year later in 54 BC. What they find is a land of many warring Celtic tribes.

Thanks to the locals' fierce resistance, chiefly through the use of ambushes and guerrilla tactics, Caesar achieves little. Facing unrest back on the mainland, he withdraws his men from Britain to complete his subjugation of Gaul. Prizing personal progress above all else, eventually he returns to Rome to seize power as dictator. It is an act that leads to his eventual assassination in 44 BC. But Caesar's brief incursions into Britain result in a stronger trading relationship between the island and Rome. The connection grows over the next century, though it's not until 43 AD that another attempt is made to conquer it. Now Emperor Claudius comes to power, but to many he's seen as ineffectual, even something of a joke.

What he needs is a status symbol. And what could be better than bringing Britain under the control of the great empire? Something that even Julius Caesar could not accomplish. Lindsay Allison-Jones is an archaeologist and museum professional specializing in Roman Britain and Hadrian's Wall. The Romans were keen on world domination. They wanted to take over all the bits of the world that they could see, but Britain was particularly attractive to them. Britain had grain, it had cattle, gold, silver,

iron, hide, slaves, and hunting dogs. But also there was enough food on the island, so when the armies arrived, they would be self-sufficient as they moved up through the country. It had a lot going for it. And of course, Rome had been trading with Southeast England for some generations before. It wasn't exactly unknown territory. In 43 AD, a huge Roman force invades Britain once more. And though it's met with the combined forces of several tribes, this time it manages to establish a foothold in the southeast of the island. This time it manages to establish a foothold in the southeast of the island.

When Claudius himself arrives in the newly named province of Britannia, it is said that he does so on the back of an elephant. Probably the first time that the native population has seen such an incredible beast. The Romans install a governor and, over the next few years, push north and west across the island, attacking Celtic hill forts and making territorial gains. Some tribes welcome the innovations and wealth brought to them by the Romans and are willing to embrace their traditions and customs. But others are determined to fight back, and previously unheard-of alliances are forged between tribes to repel the invaders.

As they try to establish dominance, the Romans are assaulted from all sides, the Iceni in the east, the Brigantes in the north, and the various tribes from what is now Wales. After he becomes the new governor of Britain in 77 AD, Gnaeus Julius Agricola instigates an aggressive campaign to complete the conquest of the island. He drives his troops far north, right into the heart of what the Romans call Caledonia, later to become Scotland. The tribes here are the Picts, or Painted Ones, perhaps because of their habit of applying colorful dye to their bodies. But these fierce warriors have no intention of surrendering their land.

And although Agricola establishes a strong military presence as far as the highlands, the occupation is not truly complete. Conquering Scotland has never been easy for anybody. Edward I tried to do this and it's basically the geography is against invading armies. In the case of the Romans, the Romans fought in close order formation but the local tribes in Scotland, as we call it today, had not read the same instruction manual, fought using guerrilla warfare which is far better for the narrow confines of glens. far better for the narrow confines of glens. If you have a long load of troops heading north in the glens, you could get the first of your Roman troops up into the glens, but the tribesmen can come down at the side or attack the rear of your train,

and it really is very difficult. I think also, to be honest, the Roman tendency to stop fighting during the winter and retreat back to winter bases meant that they didn't really consolidate their gains every year. They had to almost start again each year, moving forward. Eventually, Agricola is recalled to Rome, and his troops are mostly pulled out of Scotland. Over the next few decades, urban areas grow across most of Britain, linked by an extensive network of roads. But while the population becomes ever more Romanized, the tribes to the far north remain problematic. To keep them at bay, the Romans establish a string of fortresses at the top

of their territory, from Corbridge in the east and Carlisle in the west, linked by a road called the Stain Gate. This situation hardly alters until the era of the Emperor Hadrian. Publius Aelius Hadrianus is born in Rome in 76 AD. His wealthy family hail from a region near modern-day Seville in Spain. When his father dies, the ten-year-old Hadrian is made the ward of his father's cousin, the man who will become the Emperor Trajan. Reaching adulthood, Hadrian gains extensive military experience as a general during the conquests of what is now Romania and Iraq. The connection with Trajan means power is never far away, and he becomes a consul and a governor of Roman provinces. But things step up a gear when Trajan dies without nominating his successor.

Hadrian wastes no time in proposing himself as the obvious choice, claiming that the late ruler had adopted him as his son and heir. Since it's a pronouncement made with the backing of his extensive personal army, it's accepted by most of the presiding senators. Those who reject his claim are summarily executed. And the first coins minted under Hadrian's new reign, depict the contested adoption ceremony that underpins his right to imperial rule. Up to now, Rome's leaders have been motivated by expansion of claiming ever more territory for the empire. But Hadrian's viewpoint is somewhat different. I think Hadrian was a very intelligent man, very complex man, but also a very pragmatic person.

And when he succeeded Trajan as emperor in 117, he realized that the victory-seeking activities of his predecessors had resulted in the empire being overstretched. And without some sensible action on his part, the situation would not be sustainable. So he decided not to expand the empire. He was probably the only emperor who really didn't want to expand the empire. He realized that you had to consolidate your gains. You had to find out what was going on on the ground. And in fact, he visited most of the provinces, most of the frontiers of the Roman Empire. He was probably more popular with his troops than he was with the authorities back in Rome. He was very rarely in Rome. And of course, the seat of the power was with the emperor. So the people back in Rome

weren't really in the thick of the decision-making. Now that might've been purposeful on his part, but it did mean that he had very little interference in what he did. And because he was on the ground and could see the situation at most frontiers, and he lived like a soldier while he was on these visits, he understood how an army worked and how power should be consolidated. consolidated. On his extensive travels around the provinces, Hadrian orders the construction of physical borders to mark the perimeter of the empire. In Germany, for example, he oversees the installation of a continuous wooden palisade, stretching from the Rhine to the Danube, separating the conquered lands from the areas containing unsubdued Germanic tribes. conquered lands from the areas containing unsubdued Germanic tribes. When he visits Britain in 122 AD, he has similar ideas, but this time on a much grander scale.

The frontier he proposes will stretch almost from coast to coast at the neck of Britain, south of what is now the border between England and Scotland. It will run a total of 73 modern miles, or 80 of the shorter Roman miles. But Hadrian wants to build a frontier that will last. This time, he wants to build with stone. Much of the wall is to be built along a sill, a naturally occurring inland cliff of igneous rock that acts as a huge step up in the landscape. Plans for the construction itself are ambitious. It is to be 15 feet high and 10 feet wide with walkways along the top. At every mile along the wall, there will be a guarded gatepost called a mile castle, also built from stone. Equally spaced between each pair of mile castles, built from stone.

Equally spaced between each pair of mile castles, two guarded turrets will be used as observation towers, allowing the Romans to keep an eye on their unpredictable neighbours. His biographer said that the Britons could not be kept under control and that was why Hadrian built the wall. But there already was a frontier line, a road known today as the Stain Gate, which ran south of the line which Hadrian's Wall finally took. And of course, the wall was built along the wind sill. So anybody

coming from the north would be faced with this 15-foot cliff, which would have made it even more tricky to get over. I think also, if you've got a large barrier, particularly made of stone, which again, the locals would never have seen the like of before, there's a certain psychological part of that, that any revolting tribesmen would have given pause for thought when they saw the strength of this line. And also psychologically for Hadrian, he wanted a line on a map. He wanted to say, I think, that he had expanded the empire slightly. It had moved a few miles north, which may not be a major gain, but he could actually

say he had consolidated the province of Britannica, and Britannia would have had to put up with it. There's an economic benefit to the wall, too. The mile castles will be the only permitted crossing points going either north or south. This way, the Roman guards can not only restrict access, but also monitor trade traffic and raise revenue by levying taxes. Construction gets underway shortly after Hadrian's visit. The work is undertaken by legionaries, the crack troops of the Roman army. Three legions are involved, each of them 5,000 men strong. They possess not only the discipline, fitness, drive and command structure to get the work done, but also the technical skills.

Among their number are trained surveyors, architects, engineers, quarrymen, and stonemasons. At Fallowfield Fell Quarry, about half a mile south of the wall, a light rain is falling. But the men laboring here barely notice it. There's too much work to be done. Huge scar is being carved into the hillside, where the workers are removing chunk after chunk of stone for the new war. One Roman, a stonemason, chews the last of his bread and swills it down with a mouthful of ale. His break finished, he gets to his feet and heads back to the face. He passes dozens of men, some breaking blocks, some loading, some fixing tools. Now he stretches out his neck and gets to work.

Striking his chisel with a heavy mallet, he pounds another divot into a huge block of stone in the hillside. After a few minutes, he stands back, satisfied that the line of holes is sufficient for the next stage to begin. After inserting iron wedges into the hollows, he begins to hammer them into the boulder. Another man joins him, and soon there's an immense cracking noise as the rock splits. The stonemason calls out to warn the other workers nearby, and jumps back to avoid the boulder-sized piece that crashes to the ground in front of him. Then he goes to where it's come to rest. After chiseling out a new hole, he inserts tapered metal legs, then links them together with a shackle and pin to form a large eyelet.

When this is done, he shouts to the men operating the hoist who attach a chain and lift the rock out of the ditch. Other men take charge of it then, splitting it further and then loading the blocks onto wagons. And while the prepared materials are transported to those working on the wall itself, the stonemason gets started on the next section of the rock face. The stonemason gets started on the next section of the rock face. It's been calculated that the Roman masons working on the wall have to cut, shape and fit approximately 18 million pieces of stone. But that's not the only challenge they face. The first triumph was the surveying that had to go into building it in the first place to make sure that the wall was going to follow a line which was feasible, which took the best use of the terrain,

but also didn't go through bogs or other problems like that. Now, normally when it came to the Stonewall, the courses were built in horizontal lines. But when you get into very steep parts, you can't do that. They have to step the wall, step the courses. And that's pretty impressive. Although on paper, it looked like this is where you start, this is what you're going to do, and you're going to do it all the way along. It's quite clear that as they went, they had the practical sense to realize what they couldn't do and came up with solutions to solve any of the engineering problems. I particularly like the culverts under the wall and the soggy bits. There are culverts under the wall so the rainwater doesn't flood and back up against the wall and undermine it foundation.

They found every possible problem and they seem to have solved every possible problem as they went along. But in some places the original plans need to be scaled back. Sections of the wall can only be eight feet thick instead of the planned ten. And one length of the frontier towards the western coast is initially built from turf and timber, although this later will be rebuilt in stone. Despite these cutbacks, the wall still takes around six years to build. The wall itself is not the only defensive measure. In some parts, a ditch is dug in front of it and filled with sharpened wooden stakes, making it extremely difficult to approach the wall en masse from the north. The soldiers are also ordered to carve a channel that runs parallel to the majority of the wall along its south side.

Called the Valum, it's 10 foot deep and in some places passes through solid rock. With the earth they've removed, they create a huge mound either side, making the combined fortification some 120 feet wide. I think it's a belt and braces problem, which is the reason for the Valum. In a sense, it was practical. The Valum cuts back the number of crossing places where you could

get through Hadrian's Wall. Under the original plan, you have a mile castle, a fortified gateway, basically, every Roman mile. Now, that's going to take a lot of manpower to secure. So by building the vallum, a double ditch and bank arrangement to the back, you find yourself with the crossing places only being at the forts and the main roads that run north-south. So immediately you've cut back on the amount of manpower that you need. But talking about the valour with modern soldiers,

they all feel that if you have a frontier, it is foolish to just look beyond the frontier to the advancing enemy. The enemy can still be behind you. You've subjugated the people. They're often very pleased about it and rebellions can rise up behind you. So when I've talked to modern soldiers, they've all been absolutely 100% that they would have built something like the Valum if they were in charge of Hadrian's Wall. With the wall complete, the number of personnel required on site remains substantial. Every turret and mile castle must be manned. The forts are like mini-towns, each occupied by 500 to 1,000 troops and cavalry, plus support staff. It has been estimated that a total of almost 10,000 men may have been stationed at the wall.

But with the expertise of the elite legionaries needed elsewhere, those remaining are mostly auxiliary troops, often consisting of young men from conquered territories. Though working for the army who subjugated your homeland may be a bitter pill to swallow, the Romans know how to sweeten the deal. Enlisting comes with plenty of benefits. The Roman army pay is generous, and its soldiers are well looked after. They get to learn trades such as engineering and metalwork, and, after 25 years of service, an auxiliary is entitled to full Roman citizenship, with all the rights and privileges that go with it. The practice makes eminent sense from the Roman point of view. Conscripting young men from

defeated lands provides the manpower needed to cover its huge empire. But this dispersal of young men to other regions also makes rebellions less likely in their home countries. Here, the system results in a truly multicultural community. Soldiers guarding and maintaining the wall come from all over the empire, including Syria, Germany, Gaul, and even Russia. The various races and nationalities intermix, bringing with them their own cultures, languages, and religions. And all these soldiers can't exist in a vacuum. Where there is money, trade will quickly follow.

Alongside the various forts at the wall, settlements spring up. Merchants arrive keen to do business. Presence of the wall transforms the whole area into a bustling, cosmopolitan region. It's early evening, and a lone soldier is heading back to his fort at Birderswil. He has just completed his shift at one of the turrets along the wall. As usual, it has been a fairly tedious stint, and he is glad to get away from the cramped enclosure. Passing through the wooden gates of the fort, the soldier walks past the stables and the granary, and comes to the barracks where he shares a room with seven other men. In the ante-room, he puts down his weapons and oval shield and removes his armor,

and then he moves through to the inner bedchamber to change his clothes. Now the soldier heads over to the administration building, or principia. He states his business to the sentry and goes inside, heading first to the strongroom to collect his pay. As an auxiliary soldier from Dacia, he earns much less than what a Roman legionary would make, but to him it's still a handsome sum. He rubs the coins together in his fingers as he scans the other faces, seeking out a scribe. Finding just the man, he settles at a table to dictate a letter to his girlfriend. Just the man, he settles at a table to dictate a letter to his girlfriend. As the scribe scrapes his words onto a wax-covered tablet,

the soldier talks about his hopes that she will soon be able to join him here. Then, before going outside, he makes a visit to the temple and prays that his wish will be granted. Now, back in the open air, he strolls out to the vicus, the nearby civilian settlement, and heads for the inn. The beer here is more bitter than at home, but it hits the spot. He'd intended to have just a quick drink before meeting his friends at the bathhouse, but this evening the atmosphere in the inn is cheery.

He ends up drinking much more than he intended, and then almost doubles his wages in a game of dice. When he heads back to his quarters, he's a little worse for wear, but happy with the weight in his purse. If he works hard and keeps this streak of luck, maybe he'll be able to pay for his girlfriend's passage out here sooner than he hoped. than he hoped. Though the wall is now fully established, Hadrian never sees it finished. After his visit to Britain, he continues on his travels across the empire. On a visit to Asia, he meets a young man called Antinous. Despite being married, Hadrian falls in love and Antinous becomes his constant companion, traveling with him on his tour. But tragedy strikes when the 20-year-old

drowns while sailing down the Nile. Devastated, Hadrian founds a new city near to where his lover died, naming it Antinopolis in his honor. He erects statues and monuments to his memory and insists that Antinous is worshipped as a god, an unprecedented act for anyone outside of the imperial families. Indeed, more images of Antinous will survive into later millennia than that of any Roman, other than Augustus and Hadrian himself. Less than a decade later, Hadrian dies, probably from heart disease. He is 62 and has ruled the Roman Empire for 21 years. His successor is his adopted son. His reign is mostly peaceful, but he does demonstrate

aggression in Britannia. Taking the decision to abandon Hadrian's Wall, he pushes his troops northwards. When Hadrian died in 138, he was followed by Antoninus Pius. Now, Antoninus Pius was an emperor in the old mold. He was somebody who wanted to have a triumph to his name. He wanted to expand the empire. And so he insisted on shifting the frontier up to the Antonine Wall. It's only a few miles, it's not really very far, but this was the next narrowest part of Britain.

So on a map, it probably looked perfectly sensible. There wasn't the stone there, they went back to the old way of building in turf and timber and where the Antonine War survives reasonably undamaged, it is a very spectacular thing, I mean it's quite a depth, it's very impressive, but there was one major flaw in it in that they hadn't waited until they had subdued all the tribes in between the line of Hadrian's War and the new line of the Antonine War. So you had some very unpleasant tribes such as the Novantian Galloway who really were not happy people and that you now have enclosed them within your empire. So I think the Antonine War soldiers would have been continually looking towards their rear as well as to the north. And in fact, Antoninus Pius seems to have given up on the idea even before he died.

They were already beginning to withdraw from the Antonine Wall in about 158. So I think he realised that he'd blown it. It had not been a sensible thing to do. it, it had not been a sensible thing to do. The troops pull back to Hadrian's Wall, which by this time requires some refurbishment. It does an adequate job of keeping the enemy hordes at bay for the next twenty years, but in 180 AD tribes manage to breach the wall and kill a Roman general and his troops. Following this attack, defenses are tightened up. The gates are narrowed to permit only pedestrian traffic,

and advance forts are constructed north of the wall. The next Roman leader to have a notable impact is Lucius Septimius Severus. He's made a name for himself as a formidable foe, having once had the naked, dead body of a defeated enemy laid out on the ground so he could ride his horse over it, before murdering the dead man's family, for good measure. Aggression and ruthlessness characterize his reign. After waging war in the Middle East, he adds the northern half of Mesopotamia to the empire before annexing further territories in Africa. But then, another land attracts his attention. Septimius Severus was an emperor who wanted a good victory. And I think he was somebody who found the fact that Rome had not conquered the whole of the Bishales rather irksome.

who found the fact that Rome had not conquered the whole of the Bishales rather irksome. He saw Hadrian's Wall as an essential part of his advance into Scotland. He turned South Shield's Roman fort on the River Tyne into the most enormous grain store to supply the advance north. He also realised that Hadrian's Wall had fallen into quite a lot of disrepair and under him the central sector of Hadrian's Wall had fallen into quite a lot of disrepair, and under him, the central sector of Hadrian's Wall was repaired and strengthened. He even ended up building a slightly narrower wall, about six feet wide, on top of the ruins of the earlier wall, and that does suggest that he was moving at some speed. He didn't have time to rebuild the whole wall,

he just built another wall on top. This, of course, had the benefit that Hadrian's Wall survived in the central sector possibly more than it would have done if it had just continued to deteriorate so septimius severus he he really did use hadrian's war as his base and he certainly ensured that it survived severus along with his family and an army of up to 50,000 soldiers, makes the land his home. For the next three years, the whole of the Roman Empire is ruled from the city of York. Aged 63, Severus and his son Caracalla lead the Roman army north of Hadrian's Wall and deep into the heart of Caledonia. It is a hard-fought campaign over difficult terrain,

and the Roman army suffers heavy losses against the guerrilla tactics of the ferocious tribes. Severus finally declares victory in 210 AD, having established dozens of army encampments across the region. But unrest among the tribes continues. Severus doesn't soften his approach. He tells his army commanders, let no one escape sheer destruction, not even the babe in the womb of the mother, if it be male. Before his bloodlust can be satisfied, Severus falls ill. He dies in York, and his son Caracalla returns to Rome, where, proving himself to be his father's son, he murders his own brother before seizing the throne.

Hadrian's Wall remains the northern frontier of Roman Britain for the next two hundred years. By the start of the fifth century, the southern part of the country is coming under increasing attacks by invading Saxons. The north sees more unrest, but Rome is facing its own problems closer to home. Rebellions break out across much of the empire, and there are attacks on its frontiers. When Germanic tribes overrun Rome itself in 410, the decision is taken to withdraw the forces from Britain. of the 5th century, there were very few troops that would have been regarded by Rome as being official Roman troops. Many of them were just veterans, and many of them would have actually been born in Britain. So they wouldn't have been able to go home because they were already home.

Several of the forts remain occupied for some time after the withdrawal. At Burdeswald, for example, there is evidence that a commander stays and becomes a local chieftain. Without the steadying hand of the Romans, however, and with the problems of invading foreign tribes, the British landscape begins to alter. Though much of the original Roman infrastructure deteriorates, some old forts become the bases of later towns and settlements. But as time goes on and the wall is no longer maintained, much of it slumps into ruin. Resourceful locals repurpose the ready-cut stones

for building structures across the region. As you drive along Hadrian's Wall today, you can see that farmhouses, churches, just field walls are full of Roman stones. You can still find occasionally a farmer is rebuilding a wall. You might find a Roman inscription or piece of sculpture in Trident. That's happened on a number of occasions. And of course, churches at Corbridge and Cholleton churches have got substantial amounts of Roman stone in, complete archways and such like. But I recently was asked to go and have a look at a farmhouse

just immediately north of Hadrian's Wall in the central sector to look at a bit of altar. And as I was there, I noticed that the steps leading up to the top floor of a barn had been made out of a Roman arch, and that had never been spotted before. That was quite exciting. It seems to have been the arch of the headquarters building at Chester's Fort. of the headquarters building at Chester's Fort. But as the wall is broken down, lawlessness and tribal conflict in the surrounding regions builds.

By the 16th century, this has evolved into fighting between rival extended families or clans. It's the middle of the 1500s, and a man is making his way back to his family's farm after visiting the local town. He's been to see the Warden of the March, a local law enforcement official. Holding his horse's reins tightly, he scans the wide, wild landscape for any sign of the Reavers, the borderland bandits who ambush families and travelers and steal their possessions and livestock. It seems every week there's a new attack. It's only a matter of time before it's his turn to be targeted, regardless of the warden's promises to stay vigilant.

Crossing a muddy field, in the shadow of the ancient Roman wall that has stood for centuries, the farmer heads towards a squat stone building. He gets to the heavy wooden gates at the same time as his sons, who are bringing the herd in from the fields. The animals are led across the yard and into the building, and while they're being tended to, the farmer closes and bolts the doors from the inside. Followed by his sons, the farmer climbs the ladder in one corner. At the top, he pushes open a wooden hatch and emerges into the single room of his home where his wife is preparing a meal. Once everyone is inside, the ladder is pulled up and the hatch bolted.

The family sit down to wooden bowls of stew made from their own cattle. Through the narrow slit of a window, the farmer watches the sky redden and grow dark over the wall just to the north. There are huge gaps in it now. Most of the houses, including his own, have been built from its stones. He can only hope that the three feet thick walls of his home do a good enough job of protecting him and his family. walls of his home do a good enough job of protecting him and his family. The family bed down for the night, but hours later, the farmer is woken by a sudden noise. He jumps out up from his straw mattress and runs to the window. In the dim moonlight, he can make out the shadowy figures of men on horseback. It's the Reavers. Urgently, the farmer tells his son to find weapons and light candles. When they're ready, he flings open the hatch, but immediately a thick cloud of smoke and a wave of heat rushes upwards.

He slams the hatch shut again, knowing that the reavers have lit a fire directly below it. Picking up a bow and some arrows, the farmer returns to the window. His cattle are already being led away. He tries to steady his bow and take aim, but it is too dark, and the risk is too great of hitting his own animals. So he watches helplessly as his livelihood disappears through the hole in the great wall that once offered his ancestors protection. Now all he can do is try to escape his burning home with his life. We do know that by the time you get to the 16th century, you have the weaving families who are fairly lawless lot. There were a number of families, particularly the Armstrongs and others like that, who just preyed

on travellers. And the central sector of the war became very much the Armstrongs' domain. They lived in a tower house they built in the south gate of Housestead's Roman fort. And of course, because they were so lawless and attacked any travellers, they effectively stopped any research on Hadrian's War. For a very long time, Camden, in the Elizabethan period, said he couldn't visit the central sector because of the rank robbers thereabouts. So it obviously put him off. It is not until the Union of the Crowns in 1603,

in which Scotland and England become ruled by the same king, but things become more civilized. But even then, it's a while until people take an interest in the wall as an historic monument. In the mid-nineteenth century, the historian John Hodgson is the first to establish that the wall was in fact built by Hadrian, and not by Septimius Severus, as was the common belief before then. Another historian introduces the numbering system for the mile castles and turrets that will become standard. Around now, the first efforts are made to preserve what is left of the wall. The antiquarian and local official John Clayton uses his considerable personal wealth to buy up land containing sections of the wall.

He then commissions excavations and restoration. Much of what can be seen of the wall today is thanks to his efforts, and, after his death, parts of his land are acquired by the National Trust. In one of their buildings, Wallington Hall in Northumberland, a painting shows a Roman supervising the building of the wall. The centurion has been given the face of John Clayton. Despite the attempts at conservation, quarrying of the area continues well into the 20th century. But a public campaign results in the Ancient Monuments Act of 1931, finally stopping the devastation.

Protection of the wall is further strengthened when it is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. Today, the items found at Hadrian's Wall have become a rich source of information on the Roman Empire and life in Britain. There is next to no evidence of writing among the pre-Roman population of Britain, but objects from the wall offer insights of life from the time of its construction. Wooden writing tablets found at Vindolanda and various stone inscriptions provide records of building work and of the lives, deaths, and beliefs of the people who made their homes in its shadow.

Despite its status as a World Heritage Site, Hadrian's Wall remains an unguarded monument. Thousands hike the full length of the wall annually. Many more come just to marvel at it. Major attractions, such as Hausted's Roman Fort, receive in the region of 100,000 visitors per year. They come not only to learn about this wall's fascinating history, but also to reflect on its symbolism and what it can tell us about how we live our lives today. There is something in the human psyche that wants to keep other people out. And the most obvious way of keeping somebody out is to build a wall around your property. A wall doesn't always work.

And I think what's been absolutely fascinating to watch over the last few generations is how walls don't work as a defensive mechanism against incursions. The Berlin Wall didn't last very long and came down remarkably quickly. The Berlin Wall didn't last very long and came down remarkably quickly. It's always interesting to see modern dictators particularly who like to build walls. And you just feel like saying, have you read your ancient history? Walls don't work. Next time on Short History Of, we'll bring you a short history of King Richard III. Richard is often viewed as kind of a cruel, tyrannical, monstrous figure. But there's lots of evidence here that he wasn't.

Some of the evidence that survives is so unclear and ambiguous that you and I could read exactly the same passage from a chronicle and I could say, well, there you go, that proves Richard was innocent. And you go, no, hang on. If you read that this way, it proves he's guilty. And it's that inability to get to a final answer, I think, that keeps the debate alive and keeps us guessing. It's like the murder mystery, but the last page has been ripped out. That's next time.