Hadrian's Wall

I know--it's just a stone wall. It's a bunch of rocks, thrown together near the English/Scottish border--like thousands of miles of stone fences in that area.

But it isn't--it' isn't just a bunch of rocks thrown together to make a fence.

It's a bunch of rocks thrown together to make a fence some 2000 years ago to mark the "edge of the world" for the Roman Empire.

And all of my nerd sensors were going crazy while we were there and I nearly cried.

Seriously.

If you don't know anything about Hadrian's Wall, well, shame on you. Go get a book and read or be a cheater and look at the wikipedia article on it. Or, let me tell you a bit about it.

It was built around 122 AD, when the Emperor Hadrian was ruling the most formidable empire in the world (the Roman one, duh). Part military defense from the crazy Blue Men Group in the North (now known as Scotland) and part trading post, it ran 75 Roman Miles (about 73 in our miles), nearly coast to coast in the northern bit of England. Along the wall, forts were built to house the Auxiliaries (so, not really Romans, but employed by the Romans) to help man the trading posts and fight off the rouge tribesmen from the North. Hadrian claimed the wall was built to help keep "intact the empire." Rebellion was always an issue for the Romans in the British Isles and, actually, they wouldn't stay in Britain for long before it was determined to be too much of a hassle.

I've dreamed of walking along Hadrian's Wall for several years. The Romans believed that their Empire was "the world" and that anything beyond it was, well, less than Rome. To see the "edge of the world," as it were, and to walk along a wall that had been built 2000 years ago seemed like a dream to me.

But dreams really do come true!

I did it!

I walked along Hadrian's Wall, just this week. I touched the stone, I gave it a hug and a kiss even, and I shared it with my family--my Mum was even there!! Henry even stood on the wall, looked north, and gave us a bit of an oration, telling those Blue guys to keep away or the Romans would get them! We talked about the might of the Roman Empire, what it would have been like to man the posts along the edge of the world, so far from "civilization."

So yeah, at first glance, it does look like a bunch of stones thrown together, lining the pastures of a farmer or edging the road of the A69 in northern England, but it isn't. Pull your car over, jump out, and take a step back in to history.

SPQR!!

Seriously, I could have sat here all day, taking in the beauty of the wall. 

We actually visited two parts of the Wall: one, that was just along the side of the road, the ruins of an outpost for the auxiliaries. Then, we headed down to a part right by Birdoswald Fort (which closed just as we got there, darn!). The part by the Fort was the long bit that was mostly in tact. So cool!!!