Following a visit to Britain in AD 122, the Emperor Hadrian ordered a continuous barrier to be built across the northern frontier. The wall ran 117 km (80 Roman miles) from Wallsend on the Tyne to Bowness on the Solway Firth, with milecastles, turrets and forts, fronted by a ditch and backed by a service road. It was built mainly by the three legions stationed in Britain, in stone in the east and turf in the west, and took some six years to finish. The Wall controlled movement and trade more than it blocked invasions. It is the best-known Roman monument in Britain.
Before and after
- 7 August 117 CEDeath of Trajan
- 2nd centuryRise of Montanism
- 26 April 121 CEBirth of Marcus Aurelius
- 122 CEConstruction of Hadrian's Wall
- 122 CEConstruction of Hadrian's Wall begins
- c. 125 CEOrigins of Edirne
- 2nd centuryConstruction of Pantheon
- September 129 CEBirth of Galen
- from 132 CE to 136 CEBar Kokhba revolt
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- 600 BCEFounding of Milan
- from January 27 BCE to January 395 CERoman Empire
- 11 May 330 CEConstantine dedicates Constantinople
- 25 March 421 CEFounding of Venice
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 2nd century.