This book contains four substantial studies scrutinising aspects of the evidence for the design and form of the curtain, milecastles and turrets of Hadrians Wall as preserved in the primary archaeological record. Together they constitute a fresh assessment of the original appearance of the Wall and its structures, a matter of long-running controversy since nowhere does any part of the Wall survive to full height. The nature of the top of the curtain, and the form of superstructures over milecastle gateways, are not simply structural details of merely academic interest: the contributors show that both have a profound impact on how we interpret the function of the linear barrier both in its initial conception and as used over three centuries by the Roman army.
List of Figures
List of Tables
Introduction Derek A. Welsby and Nick Hodgson
Laying out the ground plans of turrets and milecastles on Hadrians Wall
Derek A. Welsby
Introduction
Turrets
Milecastles
Discussion
Conclusion
Acknowledgements
Bibliography
Did Hadrians Wall have a wall walk? Paul Bidwell
Introduction
The width of the Wall
Walls blocking turret recesses
The line of the later Stone Wall in relation to the stone turrets originally
built as part of the Turf Wall Chamfered stones from a string course
The bridges on the line of the Wall
A crenellated parapet
Weaponry and use of the Wall-walk as a fighting-platform
Surveillance, patrols and defence
The Antonine Wall
Conclusions
Acknowledgements
Bibliography
The stones from a chamfered string course on Hadrians Wall and their
implications for the appearance of the Wall-top Nick Hodgson
Introduction
The chamfered string course stones
The chamfered string course and the wider question of parapet and wall-walk
The wall-walk as a fighting platform or a sentry walk
Acknowledgements
Appendix 1: Published records of chamfered string course stones from
Hadrians Wall
Appendix 2: The Berm Obstacles
Bibliography
Milecastle gate towers: present or absent? Derek A. Welsby
Introduction
Discussion
The presence or absence of towers over milecastle gateways
Tower or no tower?
Conclusion
Acknowledgements
Appendix
1. Inventory of milecastle gates where there is relevant data for
use in this study
Appendix
2. Measurements of the visible stonework in milecastle and fort
gates along Hadrians Wall
Bibliography
Derek Welsby completed a PhD on Roman military archaeology, going on to spend most of his career excavating along the Nile and in the deserts of Central and Northern Sudan. For much of that time he was an assistant keeper based in what is now the Department of Egypt and Sudan at the British Museum. He has excavated on Roman sites in the UK, Turkey and Libya and has travelled extensively throughout the Empire.
Nick Hodgson holds a BA degree from Oxford and PhD from Newcastle. He was formerly Principal Keeper of Archaeology, Tyne & Wear Museums (now Northeast Museums). He has excavated and published widely on Hadrians Wall and is currently preparing the results of the long-running excavations at South Shields Roman fort, at the eastern end of the Wall, for publication.
