Breeze can be considered as having his own brand in Hadrian's Wall scholarship: a brand characterised by thorough research, accessibility and clarity of expression, which allows his work to reach beyond the traditional audience of Hadrian's Wall archaeologists. This glossy paperback book is no exception and is an adaptation of Breeze's 2019 Rhind lectures, a series of talks traditionally delivered by eminent scholars for the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.
Chapter 1 offers little in the way of surprises for readers already familiar with the history of Hadrian's Wall. It sets the scene for early modern investigations of the Wall and covers the work of two crucial 19th-century characters: J. Collingwood Bruce and J. Clayton. The highlight of the chapter is a fascinating discussion of the early paintings and engravings of Hadrian's Wall. The work of the Richardson brothers under both Bruce and Clayton is compared to lithographs from J. Story, highlighting significant but often overlooked differences between the two, as the work of the latter updated the views of the former. The reader is left wanting to know more about the artists who operated in the shadows of the scholars.
Chapter 2 deals with the characters and institutions who dominated Wall research through the 20th century, starting with J.P. Gibson and F.G. Simpson, and concluding with the Ministry of Works’ excavations between 1970 and 1978. Of particular interest are Breeze's observations on the development of a ‘normative discourse’, an accepted narrative of the history and function of Hadrian's Wall. This narrative, in turn, gave rise in the 20th century to what Breeze calls ‘an age of certainty’, in which researchers believed that all of the complexities of Hadrian's Wall had been unravelled. In a powerful metaphor, Breeze compares traditional ‘Wall periods’, outlined by E. Birley in 1930 and accepted by Simpson, to a straitjacket, into which new evidence was retrofitted. Breeze also stresses how generational changes have represented pivotal points in the history of Hadrian's Wall research, with the proponents of fresh ideas having to bide their time, waiting for their mentors to retire.
Chapters 3 and 4 outline Breeze's vision of the five ‘plans’ or phases of use of the Wall. Chapter 3 focuses on ‘plans’ A and B, or the Wall during the Hadrianic period. Space is given to all the traditional debates: what was the original function of turrets and milecastles? How did it change after the so called ‘fort decision’? Was there a Wall walk? The author draws some clear conclusions, informed by an in-depth knowledge of Hadrian's reign, and outlines ‘plans’ A and B for Hadrian's Wall as the plans to transition from a physical barrier in the landscape to a springboard for action in the north, as well as an imposing, if ‘overreacting’ line of control. Chapter 4 focuses on plans C to E: the Wall after Hadrian and until the end of the fourth century. The author argues that a major incursion from the north, in or around a.d. 180, led to the reappraisal of the Wall as an effective defensive line (plan C). A period of relative peace and stability followed in the third century and saw garrison numbers depleted (plan D). This was followed by the creation and dispatching of new-style units along the Wall (plan E), which radically modified some forts’ intramural features, as seen, for example, at Housesteads and Vindolanda.
Chapters 5 and 6 move from discussing the function of the Wall through time to exploring the wide-ranging implications of its presence and the research it has inspired. Chapter 5 is dedicated to the impact of the Wall on civilian life, both for native Britons and for the inhabitants of the forts’ extramural settlements. In this chapter, the author complements his knowledge of the nature of military deployment on the Wall with evidence from recent finds’ studies and reports from rescue excavations. Chapter 6 concludes the book by reflecting on the changes brought about by the inscription of the Wall in the UNESCO World Heritage list. These include changes of direction in the Hadrian's Wall research framework, an increased number of visitors and the damage to the fabric of the Wall that the commodification of the monument has introduced.
The book does not read like a collection of lectures, but more like an expertly narrated introduction to an extremely complex subject. The author employs all his proficiency to integrate new sources into well-rehearsed debates, crafting a linear narrative that, despite the lack of surprising conclusions and the limited mention of material culture as an interpretive tool, will function as an attractive ‘quick-reference’ tool on every Romanist's bookshelf.
