Hadrian’s Wall
Although Rome has built numerous important defensive walls, Hadrian’s Wall was the most famous defensive barrier in the Roman Empire, and essential in protection of the northwestern section of the empire. It was a, “frontier developed to a higher level of defensive efficiency than any other in the history of Rome” (Divine, pp. 5). However, the Wall of Hadrian wasn’t only the most important wall in the Roman Empire. Because of the wall 's important role in early Roman history, its distinctly Roman construction, and its forts and milestone castles, Hadrian 's Wall was the definitive Roman structure in Great Britain.
History
The Emperor of Rome at the time was Hadrian, who lived from AD 76-138. Hadrian was the first
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Instead, they used a considerably simpler method.
The main technique the Romans used in constructing Hadrian’s Wall was opus incertum. Opus incertum used irregularly shaped uncut stones and places them randomly in their special cement, opus caementicium. The Roman concrete was exceptionally strong and durable, and can be seen in many Roman architectural structures throughout their empire.
“Roman concrete (opus caementicium), like modern concrete, is an artificial building material composed of an aggregate, a binding agent, and water. Aggregate is essentially a filler, such as gravel, chunks of stone and rubble, broken bricks, etc. Binding agent is a substance which is mixed with the aggregate wet (water added) and solidifies when it dries, or "sets." Many materials, even mud, can be a binding agent, and used to make, what we generally call, mortar. Historically lime or gypsum, mixed with rubble stones, have been used as binding agents in making a strong mortar” (Roman Concrete).
Nevertheless, this was a standard concrete technique in history, the Romans decided to strengthen their concrete mixture with another substance.
In order to create their special concrete, the Romans introduced into the principal concrete mixture a fundamental component; pozzolona, a special volcanic dust found in central Italy. “Pozzolona created an exceptionally strong bond with the aggregate. In most parts of the Roman world,
The history of cement itself goes back thousands of years. The first sign of cement use comes from the Egyptians, with the use of lime as the “calcareous adhesive”, which they burnt and powdered and can be found cementing the pyramids together still. The Greeks were the next to use lime mortar, “prepared much as it is prepared today.” They also found that certain volcanic deposits combined with water gave increased strength and durability to the mortar. This technological advance was copied by the Romans who were able to make an “admirable hydraulic cement” as they saw constructing a building out
After Hadrian’s conquest in A.D. 84, Hadrian needed a way to protect the Roman Empire. So Hadrian ordered that a wall was to be
On January 24, A.D. 76 Publius Aelius Hadrianus was born in Rome. Hadrian’s family lived in Italica and for more than three centuries; and at the age of ten
Hadrian’s Wall is a Roman defensive barrier that guarded the northwestern frontier of the province
These materials were used to build specific structures and technology. First of all, whenever they had to have water travel across valleys or other open landscapes, the Romans built bridges made of arches. These arches saved materials and money, as it took less to build arches than to build a solid wall. Also, arches were much more stable than a wall and were easily repairable. It was easy for pedestrians and vehicles to pass through the arches, too. However, when
Concrete was a recent invention which the Romans were still learning how to use. Not knowing exactly how strong the substance was the Romans
Hadrian is also known for the construction of buildings in other countries as well, such as the Hadrian’s Gate in southern Turkey, the Hadrian’s Theaters in Carthage and Hadrian’s Wall. The wall was primarily built for the Roman citizens living in southern Britain (now today known as Scotland) were plagued by several attacks, so Hadrian decided to build a wall in order to protect the citizens. According to historical information, these
When the Roman Emperor Hadrian visited Britain in 122 AD he recognised the difficulties in establishing control in Caledonia and saw that it would be impossible to introduce the Picts to the Roman way of life. The Emperor therefore ordered the construction of a great defensive wall which would mark the northern limits of his empire and consolidate the hold on those parts of Britain already subdued. Hadrian's empire would not include Caledonia. The Romans also had to defend Hadrian's Wall, against attacks by Picts and other tribes these people lived in northern Britain, outside the Roman part. Soldiers sent to defend the wall lived in forts and camps.
Hadrian was born in Rome on Jan. 2, 76. The event of him becoming the new emperor of
According to ancient Roman legend, Romulus founded the city of Rome in 753 BC. Around this time a small group
When reading of the concrete that the ancient Romans used, and learning of their unique mixture of volcanic ash and slaked lime (“pozzolana”) I find it most interesting that this concrete still proves to be standing in some places today! It is said to be less sturdy than what we use here in America (Andrews, 2012) but no doubt it gave modern civilization the ingenuity to create what we use today.
In addition to the works of Trajan, Hadrian’s Wall can also superficially symbolize the happiness and prosperity of the Roman Empire as asserted by Gibbons. The emperor Hadrian built Hadrian’s Wall after returning from his visit to Britain. The construction of the wall was an attempt by Hadrian to set up permanent borders for the Roman Empire and show the strength that the Roman Empire had during the reign of Hadrian by doing so. The construction of the wall, while showing strength and wealth, also can symbolize the empires struggle with its borders, and even more so, citizenship. The wall itself symbolized the Roman Empire’s tensions with the peoples surrounding the empire. The wall showed how the empire needed a structural device to maintain some level of peace within the empire.
In this quotation from the author Vitruvius, he explains the process and creation of concrete, emphasizes on its durability and how it can withhold the forces of nature. This new formula had a higher silica content then before, which essentially allowed to concrete to set under water and made it stronger then before.10 Overall, the use of concrete was crucial to construction in ancient Rome because it was extremely durable compared to other materials such as brick, stone, or wood.11 Having a successful and powerful empire was very important to the Roman’s as they believed that without a strong foundation, a strong empire would not be possible.12
Throughout this entire process of the construction of the wall, Hadrian was a constant presence in the region, ensuring that everything is running smoothly, as well as making sure that the soldiers were happy. He personally met with the troops and encouraged practice drills as well. Today, Hadrian’s Wall is a UNESCO World Heritage site and it is still well preserved and much of the wall is still standing, even though certain area of the wall were removed, especially the stones being taken to build several monasteries, and not to mention, the pillaging by the locals. Also, the area serves as a popular 73 mile long walking trail, attracting thousands of tourists each year. The Hadrian’s Wall is preserved and maintained under the management of
At first glance of the masonry of the wall, the composite structure shows that some parts are not attributes to the reconstruction during the sixteenth century but can be attributed to another series of repairs made by Mamluke, Ayyubid or other earlier Islamic rulers. Meanwhile, lower sections such as the base sections, give evidence of construction committed by Roman or Byzantine builders. Reading through Hamilton’s excavation report, a person can correspond each different style and set of masonry to reconstruct the sequence of the wall’s construction. According to Hamilton’s report, there were two distinct styles of surface treatment that predominated over all others, and there was a third important class of masonry represented by three individual stones. The earliest detected type of masonry was Style A which is represented by three individual stones. Style A was found below courses 11 and 12 of the curtain. As Hamilton’s team excavated the area, they found remnants of an area they had limited information about.