Author(s): Alistair Moffat

History

Hadrian's Wall is the largest single Roman monument in the world and the most impressive Roman legacy north of the Alps. In 2006, more than a million people visited some part of the 73-mile long site, and four years ago it became a World Heritage site and a path was laid out along its whole length. "The Wall" tells the story of Hadrian's Wall, its makers, its effect and its impact on northern Britain. An extravagant folie de grandeur? An effective military barrier? A string of customs posts? Encompassing all of these things and much more, the Wall is a staggering phenomenon.With more than 24 million stones, its mass is greater than all of the Egyptian pyramids, and its scale is almost beyond grasp. 30,000 soldiers and craftsmen worked for 10 years to complete it, and when the great sea-wall down the Cumbrian coast was completed, it stretched for around 120 miles. Native kings must have shuddered at this amazing barrier. There is evidence that the garrison rendered the surface of the Wall and painted it white. A stunning statement of imperial power - throwing a girdle of stone across the waist of Britain. "The Wall" will be the first substantial treatment of the Wall for 30 years.