It is unique in the Roman World. A spectacular and complex stone barrier measuring 74 miles long and up to 15 feet high and 10 feet thick. For 300 years Hadrian’s Wall stood as the Roman Empire’s most imposing frontier and one of the unsung wonders of the ancient world. Almost 2,000 years after it was built, Hadrian’s Wall is proving to be a magical time capsule – a window into the human past. Archaeologists have properly excavated less than 1per cent of it, but they have unearthed extraordinary findings. With presenter Julian Richards Timewatch journeys back through time to unlock the secrets of a lost world. Archaeologists have unearthed the most powerful and colourful insights in the military purpose of the wall bat also into the political and social life of the Roman Empire. Returning to Vindolanda, one of the Roman Forts, to recommence a dig on the Commanders House, hoping to find evidence that Hadrian himself had stayed there on his visit to the wall and to unlock further secrets about his army. Unearthing an astonishing collection of 1,500 Roman Commanders, soldiers, slaves and their families at the empires Northern frontier. The secrets of Hadrian’s Wall is an evocative and visual journey along the wall and back through time. An extraordinary collection of archaeological findings bring a unique understanding not only of the wall and the people who built and defended it, but also of the Roman’s whose empire dominated Europe for half a Millennium.
