Hadrian's Wall

Also known as Vallum Aelium, Hadrians Wall, Picts' Wall, Roman Wall

defensive fortification in Roman Britain

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Hadrian's Wall is a defensive fortification built by the Roman Empire across northern Britain, constructed starting around 122 CE to protect Roman-controlled territory from unconquered peoples to the north. It remains one of the most significant physical remnants of Roman Britain and provides important archaeological evidence about Roman military strategy and daily life during the occupation.

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Wikidata facts

Official website: www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/hadrians-wall
Image: Section of Hadrian's Wall 1.jpg
Height: 6
Width: 1.8

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inception: 0122-00-00
native label: Vallum Aelium
Commons category: Hadrian's Wall
Commons gallery: Hadrian's Wall
social media followers: 12942

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Article

A view of a partially-reconstructed section of Hadrian's Wall. The upright stones on top are a modern addition, to deter people from walking on it.

Hadrian's Wall (also known as the Roman Wall or Picts' Wall) is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. Running from Wallsend on the River Tyne in the east to Bowness-on-Solway in the west of what is now northern England, it was a stone wall with large ditches in front and behind, stretching across the whole width of the island. Soldiers were garrisoned along the line of the wall in large forts, smaller milecastles, and intervening turrets. In addition to the wall's defensive military role, its gates may have been customs posts.