Hadrian's wall, which is about 80 miles long, became, when Hadrian had it built in 122 A.D., a very efficient barrier. Elevated most of the time along a line of hills and cliffs facing the north and joining the North Sea to the Irish Sea, from Newcastle to Carlisle, it was surrounded by ditches. Every mile a fort (a "mile castle") hosted the centurions. All this military infrastructure remained efficient for three centuries.
But at the beginning of the 5th century, the Roman Empire, as it was declining neglected this remote border. The soldiers abandoned their posts little by little. Many settled down in the area and became simple peasants. And as the centuries went by, the wall was looted by the farmers who used many of its stones to build other walls, their houses, and their churches. Thus, some Roman stones are to be found in the foundation and the crypt of the Hexham Abbey.Today, visitors can still walk on some parts of the Wall and admire magnificent landscapes. They can visit the museums of the Wall. There, what life was like in Roman times, in these wild outposts, is pictured with great realism together with a real life-like quality.
