He Roman empire It spread throughout Europe and North Africa. In his imperialist zeal he came to Britannia . However, in the north of the island, the Pictish tribes presented a serious problem and Rome decided to build a wall to protect themselves, maintain peace, foment the economy and mark the border of the Roman empire ; it is known as the Hadrian's Wall . It began to lift the year 122 following the orders of the emperor Hadrian and its length reached the 117 km . Many of us knew their existence thanks to films like " The legion of the eagle "Or" King Arthur " Join us to know 10 Curiosities of the Hadrian's Wall, the last frontier of the Roman Empire.
10 Curiosities of Hadrian's Wall
1. Although we imagined it as a stone curtain, in reality it was much more than that. I had a ditch in front and a vallum (fortification of a Roman camp) and sometimes other obstacles to protect it. Also in its structure there were small towers, forts and forts for the most numerous garrisons. A military road ran parallel to the Wall joining all the fortifications.
2. It was built by the Roman legionaries themselves and it took 15,000 men working for 6 years.
3. We know the name of some of the men who built the Hadrian's Wall . Each centurion was assigned a length to build and when they finished, they often inscribed on a stone the name of that centurion. In the collection Clayton 53 stones with names are preserved.
4. When the Roman Empire disappeared, the Wall was not abandoned and the population continued to live in its buildings. In some sectors have been evidence of modifications until the year 410.
5. Currently you can only see 10% of what the Wall was . Many of the stones that composed it were reused in other constructions throughout the centuries. Even in 1746, a road between Newcastle and Carlisle was built with materials extracted from Hadrian's Wall .
6. Historians think that Adriano himself was able to design or devise the Wall. It is known that this emperor, who visited during his life a large number of Roman provinces, probably was in Britain around the year 122. At that time, marked by frequent conflicts, it was when the construction of the Hadrian's Wall .
7. We have said that along the wall there were three types of buildings: towers, forts and forts. The latter were very important and not only for military reasons. Recent studies have shown that civil settlements were established next to the Roman forts. They were people who settled on the edge of these great Roman buildings attracted by the possibility of business providing the army of everything you need.
8. In archaeological excavations in the Hadrian's Wall Two mournful and very mysterious events were discovered. The first was the find in "Housesteads Roman Fort", in 1930, of two skeletons buried under the floor of the village tavern stuck to that strong one. The peculiarity is that in one of the two the tip of a dagger was found between the ribs. Everything pointed to some type of criminal event and the subsequent burial of the bodies in a secret manner. Unfortunately, the bones disappeared during the Second World War and we have not been able to study with the existing methods that today would have shed light on the mysterious event.
The second finding was made between the remains of "Chesters Fort". Several workers were working on the drainage of the excavations of the fort that filled with water with the rain when they accidentally found the hot springs or "bath house". Surprisingly within its walls they found 33 skeletons . What could happen? As in the first case, the skeletons disappeared and it was not possible to study what the causes of death might have been, whether they were Roman or civil.
9. Until 1929 a single family was the owner of more than 32 km. from Hadrian's Wall . It all started when John Clayton , which is known as "The savior of Hadrian's Wall" He was 4 years old and his father bought a mansion known as "Chesters" that had in his garden the remains of the Roman fort of Cilurnum. Young John became interested in the Wall and its history and when he died, in 1890, he had 5 forts: Fort Chersters (Cilurnum), Carrawburgh Fort, Housesteads Fort, Fort Vindolanda and Fort Carvoran. The Clayton family cared for their inheritance until 1929 when it was divided. A part of the Wall, "Housesteads Fort" which is the best preserved piece, was donated by a descendant of Clayton to the National Trust. It is currently managed by English Heritage and is a tourist attraction that receives thousands of visitors annually.
10. The last of these curiosities of Hadrian's Wall We have loved it and it is much more current. George R.R. Martin, the author of the novels (" Song of ice and fire") on which the series is based " Game of Thrones ", He was inspired by the Hadrian's Wall to create "The Wall" that kept the Savages and the Walkers away from the Seven Kingdoms. George R.R. Martin visited Hadrian's Wall in 1981.
What do you think of these curiosities of Hadrian's Wall ? Do you know more? Share them with us!
Images: Diego Sideburns , Tyler Bell , Peter Hurford ,