HADRIAN’S WALL 1900 FESTIVAL
This year hordes of visitors will be descending on the UK’S greatest Roman architectural site to join in the celebrations marking the 1,900th anniversary of the beginning of its construction.
Ordered by Emperor Hadrian on his arrival in Britannia in AD122 to “separate the barbarians from the Romans”, it took three legions six years to complete this epic feat of engineering, and remained the north-west frontier of the Roman empire for nearly 300 years.
The 73-mile (80 Roman miles) long wall runs from Wallsend on the River Tyne in the east to Bowness-on-solway in the west.
A year-long programme of events and activities along the UNESCO world heritage site, will launch on Hadrian’s birthday (January 24) and run through to the celebration of Saturnalia (the Romans’ favourite festival) on December 23. Highlights include a contemporary artwork that uses the fabric of the region’s landscape, an off-the-wall Japanese manga series bringing Roman history to life like never before and fantastic falconry displays at Chesters Roman Fort and Birdoswald Roman Fort.
The Haltwhistle Walking Festival is celebrating with a new weekend walk Emperor Hadrian’s Round.
Among the blockbuster English Heritage events will be the Clash of Romans, a fiercely fought competition with swords, shields, bows and arrows.
And the wall’s most famous fort, Vindolanda, will be staging Roman’s Return: Big Birthday Bash with military displays and a traditional Roman camp.
More info: 1900. hadrianswallcountry.co.uk haltwhistlewalkingfestival.org english-heritage.org.uk