Chapter 1: What happened to Hadrian's Wall after the end of Roman rule?
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You'll also unlock hundreds of hours of original documentaries with a brand new release every single week covering everything from the ancient world to World War II. Just visit historyhit.com slash subscribe. 410 AD. A soldier stands guard on a stone rampart, looking out towards the rolling hills beyond. His name is Beliatus.
From atop his walkway, Belliatus can see for miles to his north and south. He is in a valley, with green fields in front and behind him, and steeping slopes on either side. He mans a turret that is connected to a large wall that had been there for hundreds of years, stretching from coast to coast, dividing Roman Britain from the lands of barbarians, Adrian's Wall.
For generations, Belliatus' family have been living on this distant frontier, ever since his great-grandfather was posted here from Germania almost a century earlier. He had gone on to complete his service, marry a local woman, and settle down in the area. Belliatus' family had stayed here ever since. The time of Roman rule over Britain had now ended.
Beliates and his comrades were no longer receiving orders from generals further south. There were no more Roman armies marching north to fight the Picts beyond. But for Beliates, his family and his comrades living on this frontier, their lives remained largely the same. Hadrian's Wall had not fallen.
The formidable fortifications of the wall would become new power centres, bastions of strength for the local peoples in this new post-Roman world. centres of faith and fealty. This is the story of what happened to Hadrian's Wall and its people after the Romans left Britain. Our guest is Dr Rob Collins, Professor of Frontier Archaeology at Newcastle University.
Rob, it is such a pleasure to have you back on the podcast. It's always a pleasure to be on the podcast. And we're doing it in person for the first time. I've come up north to see you. We're near Hadrian's Wall as we speak. It's great.
It's always good to get people up into the Roman frontier.
Yes. And I guess the big question, first of all, does the story of Hadrian's Wall, does it end when the story of Roman Britain ends? No.
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Chapter 2: Who were the communities living along Hadrian's Wall?
Fantastic. Eat that, Matt. We did a fun episode in the past about what's ancient and what's medieval. But if we start very much in the Roman period, so let's say maybe the 360s or the 370s AD, what do we know about Hadrian's Wall at that time? How monumental are the constructions along Hadrian's Wall? Give us a picture of Hadrian's Wall at that time.
Yeah, so the fourth century is a great place to start. One of the things which is most interesting is that if we look at our historical sources in the Roman period, we actually have the most evidence for conflict in the fourth century.
So as much as Hadrian's Wall is built around 120, and we think there's a war that's part of the process of building it, and we know that there are these other big events, actually, when we actually tally up those lists of some sort of conflict, it's mostly what's recorded is in the fourth century. So we know of events in the first half of the fourth century where
For example, the emperor Constantius Chlorus is campaigning in Caledonia and fighting against the Picts at the start of the fourth century. He dies in York and his death is what spurs on his son Constantine on that path to becoming the sole emperor of the Roman Empire. And Christianity then gets introduced. So the northern frontier has a place in big Roman history.
And we see this pattern of emperors or generals being sent to the north to kind of put the Picts in their place or to deal with, you know, some uprisings. It's not always clear why, but there's definitely, it's not a peaceful frontier in the fourth century. So we know there's lots of conflict, and not just in the first half of the fourth century, but through the fourth century.
It's really telling that Hadrian's Wall is not abandoned or given up, that it seems to be occupied through the 4th century. The archaeological evidence is very clear, the historical sources are telling us there is activity going on. Even as late as the Generalissimo Stilicho, in around 399, our sources are panegyric, so it's praise poetry of the imperial court to the greatness of Stilicho.
But within that, there's a reference to Stilicho commanding the legions against the Caledones or the Picts. I forget exactly what they call them. But Stilicho has clearly instigated some sort of campaign in northern Britain. That's around 400. So these things are still happening. So the start of the 4th century, we've got the Emperor Constantius Chlorus.
The end of the 4th century, we've got Stilicho under Honorius campaigning. So we can bookend that century with... The Pixar problem, defense of Northern Britain is still on the imperial agenda. It might be lower down, but it's still there. And Hadrian's Wall is definitely occupied. 350 is a really good starting point because politically, the Roman Empire is reasonably stable.
You've got the sons of Constantine are still ruling. There's a confidence and faith in the Constantinian dynasty. This is the third generation of emperors from that family. The reforms that were instigated under the emperor's diocletian and then completed under Constantine are... are doing what they were supposed to do. The economy is restabilizing.
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Chapter 3: How did life change in post-Roman Britain?
You get another term, the castellani, the soldiers of the castles, which again gets applied to the soldiers in the frontiers with their permanent forts. But the one which has the widest use and the most staying power is the limitanei.
That's the one that's been in the Total Wars and everything like that. So people would have grown up hearing about the Limitani or whatever.
I'm partial to it because Limitus will be a reference to the frontier, to the limits of the empire. So it's the men of the frontiers, the soldiers of the frontiers. And in terms of scholarly use, that's the one we've used because there's not always a river, but there's always soldiers. So we can apply that to all those late Roman soldiers. And they have a distinct...
legal status, and I suppose structural position in Roman law. It is, you're right that these are soldiers and their families living in the frontiers. They, at some point in the early fourth century, we don't know exactly when, that status was given to them. And with that also comes inheritable status. So the sons of soldiers are legally obliged to also become soldiers.
So you can't just think of it as, well, who are the guys who are willing to go and join the army and stand guard at Hadrian's Wall? you have entire communities of multi-generational families who have been serving in the Roman army.
And when we look at some of our sources across the Roman period and compared to some of our inscriptions from Hadrian's Wall, we do know that most of the units at the forts based on Hadrian's Wall have been there more than 100 years, often 150, even 200 years in some cases.
So it's no longer the case of a vexillation of auxiliary soldiers from the mainland will be shipped over to help reinforce a particular place along the frontier. It's your family's duty, almost, if you live on Hadrian's Wall. Yeah. in the mid-4th century, then your son in the later 4th century will also be expected to stay there. And will they own land, do we think, as well in the area?
They definitely own land. And this is actually, there's an older debate, which is now mostly resolved, but it's still something that will be found in certainly more popular history books. There are some Roman laws that talk about the limitine and their ownership of land and farming or
charges that are brought up against soldiers because they're not doing their military duties, they're too busy running their farms. A lot of those are later, like the sixth or possibly even seventh centuries, and they're often more Byzantine than Western Roman. But we also know that the Roman army is a major landowner in and of itself.
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Chapter 4: What archaeological evidence exists about the forts along Hadrian's Wall?
everything around them. So make sure that they're doing their job in terms of defense, to make sure that they're getting their supplies, to make sure that they're maintaining their fortifications. He's also a judge. He is at the top of the food chain for judging matters of military law.
And he will also be the person who effectively is going to be negotiating ultimately with those barbarian chiefs. When he's having to talk to the civilian governor of Britannia Secunda, the province of Roman Britain that we're based in, when he's not getting the supplies, he's got to go argue with the governor of my men need that grain. Why are you not sending the grain?
It's his job to make sure this frontier is functional in the round. And we know that very clearly from a whole bunch of late Roman laws that tell the other duches what they're supposed to be doing or clarifying their responsibilities.
So is it the idea that as long as we can see that this role exists, that that position exists, then you can't say that these border forces are independent in any way because they're still very much part of the system? Exactly that. So, you know,
Archaeology as a discipline can be really difficult for us to get to the individuals, but what archaeology is fantastic at is identifying systems and relationships. And so if we think about, because we don't have the historical text that gives us that really easy answer, what we do have is excellent archaeological evidence.
So we need to think about how we use that evidence to understand those relationships and is this frontier system still in operation?
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Is there a cut-off point where that position no longer exists and then it sees that the logistics chains fall apart and then these communities just rely on their own cattle and their own agriculture to really survive and thrive?
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Chapter 5: What was the role of the Dux Britanniarum in the early 5th century?
And if we think of Comstime III, kind of building off that British desire, at least the British elite desire, to stay as part of the empire, he would have a real danger, there's a risk, to completely denuding Hadrian's Wall of its troops. Because basically he'd be opening the back door, as it were, for potential threat and invasion, which is then going to undermine his authority.
So it's actually in Constantine III's self-interest to make sure that that frontier is secure. So I think there are between the evidence of the lack of coins and also just thinking in terms of, you know, what does a usurper want? Power in a stable basis of followers. Then there's a logic to not denuding Hadrian's law of its soldiers. At the same time,
Maybe he's tried to appoint a Dux Britanniarum who is a political appointee and loyal to him, or maybe he's happy with that Dux. These are the unknowns, the things we don't know. It would be great if we found some sort of journal of the Dux Britanniarum, Dear Diary, 408, Christmas Day, no letter from Constantine III. We don't have any of that sort of source.
But there's nothing that shows, archeologically, some sort of immediate collapse in the fifth century. And this is where I think it's really important with the archaeological evidence to acknowledge, you know, different interpretations, how different people might interpret different evidence. And the underlying challenge of that is dating. How do we date change over time?
What do we see as the rapid collapse and falling apart of a building? What do we see as a longer term decline? And so there are, you can imagine different processes. So if we think, uh, if we kind of do a thought exercise and think about, right, well, let's say the army is stripped from Hadrian's wall in Northern Britain and all the forts are kind of maybe not necessarily abandoned.
There might still be people living around, but the soldiers are taken away. What does that mean? Well, the first question becomes, are those military buildings, are they just given up entirely? in that they become empty shells and they kind of slowly become ruinous? Or would other people move in and think, well, there's a convenient empty building. I can take that.
I've always fancied having my own baths. I might make use of that. So that's the first question. And the archaeological evidence shows that many of the buildings in the forts along Hadrian's Wall that we've excavated, we can see some form of occupation and activity there.
It might look a bit different, not what we'd call traditionally Roman or expect in terms of Roman architecture, but it's there, and it's often a reworking of that Roman space. And just because it doesn't look like it did maybe 100 years before doesn't mean it's not Roman, because we can also look at the villas further south in Roman Britain. and see similar sort of things happening.
We can look at Roman towns in the 5th century and see similar sort of things happening. So we have to also be careful when we look at the 5th century that just because it doesn't look like something might In AD 300 or AD 200, that doesn't mean it's not Roman. It's just maybe a different sort of Roman.
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Chapter 6: How did the identity of people living near Hadrian's Wall evolve?
And sifting out what are the grains of truth from later literary elaboration is always a challenge. But there's these little breadcrumbs and hints that... Wow.
In that regard, I mean... Does the archaeology seem to affirm this idea that these communities that endure along Hadrian's Wall over time transform into the W word, into like war bands, into these little kind of kingdoms?
I think I would say absolutely yes. I have colleagues, you know, other esteemed doctorally trained people who might argue otherwise, and that is great. That's what is really good about scholarship. We debate the evidence, and that helps us think critically and fresh.
I think the key thing is if we look at the evidence that we have from the Roman forts, and not just along Hadrian's Wall, but elsewhere in the wider frontier region, the legionary fortress in York, at Catterick, the fort in Catterick, Maryport on the coast of Cumbria, I'm sorry, I'm stopping. I can't remember some of the other forts now at the top of my head. But there are a number of forts.
It's not just along Hadrian's Wall, where we can see similar evidence for continued occupation and activity beyond the end of Roman Britain. And so I think that tells us two important things, that even if we argue about who is living in those forts and who are they descendants of, are they descendants of the former Roman
military communities, the Mitinei, which I think they were, but even if they are new migrants or living in those, I mean, maybe not far off migrants, maybe just the local communities moving into that space. the fort itself is still seen as a useful and maybe even a desirable location to live in.
Because it's got the fortifications. It's a fortified settlement.
And suddenly you're no longer in the protection of a big, bad empire, right? So I think those changing conditions that will happen when you're not necessarily part of a stable political entity security is going to become a much higher priority. So regardless of their ancestry, the people living in those forts are still seeing those forts as desirable.
And we should also see them, I would say, as the elite settlements of this region. So when we look at the evidence for the same period in Wales, in the southwest of England, hill forts. Hill forts come back. They come back, don't they? They come back again.
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Chapter 7: What evidence suggests continuity of occupation along Hadrian's Wall?
are calling themselves Romans and identify themselves as Romans. And if they can connect themselves to the Byzantine court of Justinian or something, they do. There definitely is a perceived advantage and probably cultural cachet for still being considered Roman. Christianity comes into that, though, too. Because Christianity is the Western successor of Rome.
And sometimes to be Christian is to be Roman. And so parts of Europe that were never part of the Roman Empire, but they convert to Christianity, also start talking about the Roman faith or call themselves Roman as a synonym almost for Christian. And so the way those two processes work, perhaps side by side, will be another factor.
So I think they probably still see themselves as Roman at some level, but what might change is where in their, I guess, their mix of identity that falls. It might be that in 400, you would see yourself as Roman first, in Britain second.
And
You know, in 500, you might see yourself as a Briton first, and perhaps not only a Briton, but a Briton of a particular tribe or group or kingdom. And then Roman might be third or fourth. So, you know, identity is such a complex thing.
It can shift so easily. Completely. And it's so interesting when talking about this kind of period, the fall of Hadrian's Wall or the end of Hadrian's Wall. I can appreciate it seems like the purpose of Hadrian's Wall has clearly shifted and is very much transformed with the communities and how they're living as you get to the 5th century.
My question to kind of align with the fall of Hadrian's Wall, even at that time, is we've talked about how the forts keep being in use and keep being centres. So I'm presuming those fortifications are maintained. But what about elsewhere along the wall? You know, those long stretches between forts and mile castles and so on.
If you don't have a dux Britannic or Britanniorum anymore, kind of a central authority sending supplies up, does the rest of the wall fall into disrepair quite quickly?
That is a fantastic question, and we really don't know. It's difficult to know when the wall curtain itself is collapsing. And it will partly depend, I suspect, on the quality of build. There are a few pieces of evidence I can point to that will give us a few hints.
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Chapter 8: How did Hadrian's Wall influence power dynamics in early medieval Britain?
And in that sense, you kind of have to think about those other historical needs. Why would they take apart Hadrian's Wall? Is it easy to do? More of the destruction comes from farmers from the 18th century. Once the English-Scottish border is, people are confident that the peace will last, it's more farmers kind of saying, actually, I can expand the farm. I can make this farm more profitable.
I'm not going to be reaved every couple of years. And it's expanding of the farms. It's agricultural improvements. And so where you see more Hadrian's Wall stone is when you travel along Hadrian's Wall and you look at the farms and the old barns and outbuildings and such, rather than, say, the castles and the churches.
So that sort of purposeful robbing and reuse is a much more recent and modern phenomenon.
And also, I guess, when you do go those stories later, you know, of Vikings attacking Lindisfarne or whatever. Or even, I guess, in the case of the Picts, I think I keep using the Picts, but of course, they're not just warlike figures. They're more than that. But in the case of raiders, they'll use the sea. They'll go around, right? And that's the idea as well, I guess.
And I mean, let's not forget the Romans created a fantastic infrastructure for Britain. I mean, those Roman roads survive. They have medieval names. So the main road from York... up to what would have been, you know, Gravend, you know, near the Antonine Wall is called Deer Street. And that's Deer Street from Dera, the early medieval kingdom, which was broadly Yorkshire.
It's the road to Dera or the road from Dera. And so that Roman road has retained its medieval name. The road south of Hadrian's Wall, which was used through the Middle Ages, is called the Stain Gate, the stone road. But it's a Roman road. So if you're raiding from the north or coming from northern England and raiding into Scotland,
you're really still using the Roman road network, which has gates through the wall. So you're not always having to climb over the ruins of the wall to get where you need to go. And I suppose if the wall was in the way for some of those key routes, that's where it's more likely to be cleared and robbed. But the topography itself, the landscape, is channeling movement.
And so the Roman roads are often built in those places which are best for movement. In that sense, we don't need a bunch of picks coming with battering rams and picks and buckets to take away the wall. They'll just take Deer Street.
Yes, actually, and that also hits upon another point. If we go back to those early kingdoms that emerge in those old Roman forts in, let's say, the 5th century, I guess by also using those forts… They control the traffic. So they can control trade going north and south of the wall.
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