Q&A YOU ASK, WE ANSWER
What was life like at Hadrian’s Wall?
SHORT ANSWER Despite the threat of attack at the edge of the Roman Empire, life at the wall could be tedious
LONG ANSWER If you were a Roman soldier garrisoned on Hadrian’s Wall and looking out to the wild north of Britain, you might be forgiven for thinking you were standing as far from civilisation as you could get. To be stationed on Hadrian’s Wall, which stretched from coast to coast, meant living at the very edge of the empire, constantly on the front line where the threat of attack from ‘barbarians’ loomed.
The forts and milecastles of Hadrian’s Wall tended to be garrisoned by auxiliary troops, who were not as well equipped or trained as the Roman legions. They had come from conquered territories across the empire, and among them were Syrians and Dacians (from modern-day Romania) to Spaniards and Gauls (France).
Life could be monotonous and the weather harsh, but the development of civilian settlements near the wall did offer social pursuits and entertainment. These vici may have been regarded as oases of Roman culture and sophistication in untamed Britain. Letters have been discovered suggesting friendships did form between soldiers at different forts and vici along the wall, or between the soldiers’ wives. As the years passed, soldiers became more assimilated into British culture and formed families in the thriving communities, like the one near the Vindolanda fort in Northumberland.
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