Who built Hadrian's Wall

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Q.� Why

A.� According to one of Hadrian's biographers, it was built to separate the Romans from the Barbarians.� There are many theories; the most probable is that it was constructed to mark the northern boundary of the great emperor's empire.

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Q.� A bit of background

A.� Julius Ceasar first invaded the south coast of Britain in 55 BC. He returned the next year and defeated the 4,000 war chariots of the Catevellauni. Thus began the Roman occupation of Britain. (Click here to read about the later Battle of Kent) By the time Hadrian became Emperor in 117 AD the Roman Empire had ceased to expand. Hadrian was concerned to consolidate his boundaries.

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Q.� What form did the wall take

A.� It was - and is - magnificent. Work started in the east on a stone wall, 15ft high, which went as far as the River Irthing, near Gilsland. Further west, the wall was initially built of turf, then fortified in stone. Every mile there was a milecastle guarded by at least eight men. Between milecastles were two turrets for sentries who kept a close watch on the movement of goods, people and animals crossing the frontier.

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Q.� Just those fortifications

A.� No. Several large forts were built along the wall, housing auxiliary soldiers, many from Belgium and Germany. The forts also served as crossing points and civilian settlements grew around them. To the north of the wall was a deep defensive ditch. Another ditch, the vallum, was flanked by earth mounds to the south. The vallum, with crossing places at forts, was the Roman equivalent of the barbed-wire fence controlling civilian movement into modern military sites.

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Q.� So what happened to this great wall

A.� Like the Roman Empire, it went into decline. By the early 400s, Britain became cut off from Rome. Frontier defences were neglected. Soldiers began to drift away when Rome stopped sending their pay. The wall started to collapse and its stones reappeared in local farmhouses, walls and even churches.

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Q.� Is it worth visiting now

A.� A resounding yes! Today, the best remaining sections of the wall in Northumberland are only 3ft high but they are still impressive. You can get to them from signposted car parks off the B6318, Military Road, which runs parallel to the A69, Newcastle to Carlisle, Highway. Other sections may be seen in the neighbouring counties of Cumbria and Tyne & Wear. Hadrian's Wall is feted as the most important monument built by the Romans in Britain. It was designated a World Heritage Site in 1987.

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By Steve Cunningham