Hadrian's Wall: A Life

by Richard Hingley

Overview

In Hadrian's Wall: A Life, Richard Hingley addresses the post-Roman history of this world-famous ancient monument. Constructed on the orders of the emperor Hadrian during the 120s AD, the Wall was maintained for almost three centuries before ceasing to operate as a Roman frontier during the fifth century. The scale and complexity of Hadrian's Wall makes it one of the most important ancient monuments in the British Isles. It is the most well-preserved of the frontier works that once defined the Roman Empire.

While the Wall is famous as a Roman construct, its monumental physical structure did not suddenly cease to exist in the fifth century. This volume explores the after-life of Hadrian's Wall and considers the ways it has been imagined, represented, and researched from the sixth century to the Internet. The sixteen chapters, illustrated with over 100 images, show the changing manner in which the Wall has been conceived and the significant role it has played in imagining the identity of the English, including its appropriation as symbolic boundary between England and Scotland. Hingley discusses the transforming political, cultural, and religious significance of the Wall during this entire period and addresses the ways in which scholars and artists have been inspired by the monument over the years.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198707028
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	11/03/2015
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Richard Hingley is Professor of Roman Archaeology at the University of Durham. He is the author of a number of books that address the Roman Empire and Roman Britain, including works on the character of the Roman Empire and the significance of Roman models in modern society. He is Director of the Center for Roman Culture at Durham University and was in charge of the "Tales of the Frontier" project, a major initiative from which this book is derived.

Table of Contents

PrefaceIntroduction1. A Living Wall2. Hadrian's WallPart One: Picts' Wall3. Heavenfield: Christian Inspirations4. Lanercost Priory: The Wall and the English Border5. Ellenborough (Maryport): Recognizing Roman Civility in the border landscapePart Two: the Roman Wall6. Castlesteads: Reviving Interest in the Wall7. Newcastle and Carlisle: Reconstructing the Roman Wall8. The Mithraeum at Borcovicium (Housesteads): Reasons to be Cheerful? 9. Wallington Hall: Native Troops on the Wall10. The Clayton Wall: 'A New Era of Antiquarian Research'Part Three: Hadrian's Wall11. The Roman Gate at Hunnum (Halton Chesters): Ethnographic Time12. Birdoswald: Scientific Archaeology13. Whin Sill: Defending Ancient Springs14. The Gateway at South Shields: the Romanization of Tyneside15. The Hadrian's Wall Path National Trail: the Inclusive Monument16. Conclusions: The Archaeological ImaginationAppendix 1: Published accounts of the WallTable 1: Hadrian's Wall: A timelineBibliographyIndex