The story of Hadrian's Wall

In AD 122, the Roman emperor Hadrian ordered a wall to be built right across the island, and you are standing beside it. Hadrian's Wall ran 73 miles, from Wallsend on the River Tyne in the east to Bowness-on-Solway in the west. In its final form it was a stone wall with large ditches in front and behind.

Soldiers lived along it in large forts, in smaller 'milecastles' and in turrets between them, and its gates may also have worked as customs posts, controlling who and what passed. It is the largest Roman archaeological feature in Britain. What happened to it?

In early modern times almost all the standing stone was taken away to build local roads and farmhouses, so no part of it stands to its original height today; but modern excavation has uncovered much of its base. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a long-distance footpath runs close beside it. Walk a stretch, lay a hand on the stones and think of the soldiers who guarded Rome's northern frontier.