Recent years have seen the publication of several important books concerning Hadrian's Wall. The Pilgrimage handbook is particularly significant as it provides a moment for reflection on the progress to improving our understanding of the Wall over the last decade. The tradition of the decennial Pilgrimage as the oldest tour to an archaeological site spans over 170 years, with what was originally a small gathering transforming into a week-long tour attracting over 200 delegates from across Europe, North America and Asia.
The handbook follows on from the format of two earlier volumes of the Pilgrimage series: Bidwell's 1999 handbook, which pioneered the present expansive format, while Hodgson's 2009 volume reported on the discovery of the likely Latin name of the Wall and of obstacles in front of the Wall, a previously unknown element of its anatomy. Following in these footsteps, Rob Collins and Matthew Symonds were appointed to compile this impressive offering. Collins’ work on the limitanei, and the later Roman period on the Wall more widely, has provided a distinctive strand to Wall scholarship over the last two decades, while Symonds’ research on the milecastles has challenged earlier notions of the limited responsiveness of fortlets to local social and landscape contexts. The two key themes of the Pilgrimage respond well to these interests, focusing on the issues of the construction of the Wall, driven by the fast pace of the debate surrounding this topic over the last decade, and the history of the wall under the later Roman empire. The handbook provides a very well thought-out, coherent and well-presented overview of the key developments. It is divided into four parts including a short introduction to the history of previous pilgrimages, a round-up of developments since 2009, followed by a substantial research and interpretative chapter, and a final section presenting short contributions on survey, excavation and publication along the Wall.
Chapter 2 summarises the heritage, partnership and project infrastructure that has shaped the research and management of the Wall. This section offers an overview of aspects of the continuing development of Hadrian's Wall as a heritage destination, starting with the progress towards the second edition of the Hadrian's Wall Research Framework, the vast stakeholder landscape and management of the Wall in the context of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site serial nomination. There is much to be learned from the achievements of the colleagues involved in this work; from the deployment of mobile apps to the benefits of fostering a thriving local community archaeology ecosystem. A close linkage between research and heritage management combined with financial investments has resulted in all 11 museums presenting the remains of the Wall having been subject to either partial or full refurbishment in the last decade. Another worthwhile point of reflection is offered by the successful synergy between public engagement and experimental archaeology, as seen through a series of large-scale public-facing events such as Illuminating Hadrian's Wall (2010) and Turma! (2018). The developments reflected on in this section showcase the strengths of a cross-sector partnership approach to maximising the World Heritage designation status.
Chapter 3 presents the interpretative work, collating, illustrating and contextualising the discoveries in the context of the key discussions in the field. The work is up-to-date, with many references to research that has not yet seen its final publication, but which provides indication as to the direction of future developments to our knowledge base. Not all aspects of the research on the Wall are given equal weighting, but this is a strength rather than a weakness, as this decision has allowed the collators to draw the reader's attention to where particular gains have been made in the last decade. For example, the material culture ultimately received a rather brief treatment, but a new section on sociolinguistics has showcased the value of this cross-disciplinary contribution to our understanding of the workings of multilingual frontier societies and of language as a function of the empire. The two key themes of the Pilgrimage feature prominently in the interpretative chapter. A significant section is dedicated to the advances to our interpretation of the role of the Wall in the transition from the late Roman period to the early medieval period. This part traces the last decade's additions to the analysis of late Roman stratigraphy on sites across the Wall and to understanding changes to the use of the fort interiors, much of which has been examined by Collins in a series of articles. This part is interesting as it refines earlier ideas about the abandonment of the Wall and speaks to what the end of the Empire might have meant in practice for the communities on the Wall, particularly given issues with obtaining dating through 14C in the period. Secondly, the discussion is important as the increased knowledge enabled revisiting old truths regarding the role of the remnants of military culture and infrastructure in the formation of early medieval Northumberland. The choice for the second theme to deal with the construction of the Wall responds to a significant shift in knowledge regarding the dating, sequence and interpretation of the earliest parts of the Wall. Planning and construction may have begun two years before a.d. 122, with a priority focus on selected areas in the initial phase. Although this in itself is not a new idea, originally a fringe position proposed by Stevens in the 1960s, the renewed evidence that substantiates it, and its significance to our interpretation of the Wall, are important. There is further support for the view that the Wall was a response to a violent threat and that work towards its construction triggered further unrest, with continuing warfare potentially into the 130s. This, alongside evidence reviewed in Britannia by Graafstal (2018), de-emphasises the old focus on standardisation in the building of the Wall. This interpretation adds to our view of the relationship of the Roman rule with local communities, and the communities’ agency in (violently objecting to) the execution of Hadrian's project.
There are too many themes presented in the volume to do them all justice, but two further interrelated strands are worth drawing attention to; the expansion of the environmental evidence, and base the place of rural communities in the frontier zone. These aspects are significant as they highlight work that is not focused on the military installations, and which adds much-needed texture to understanding local rural communities at the point of contact with the empire and after the Wall had been erected. Jacqui Huntley, who had contributed to the 2009 volume, and Sue Stallibrass have done a terrific job bringing the information together. New sources of data on landscape and economy have enabled advances in the knowledge of environmental exploitation, farming and livestock production in the frontier region. Together their work provides a valuable perspective on settlement patterns, and the relationship between land use and the army's presence. As they note, we have a very limited understanding of what most people living in the frontier regions were doing outside the forts and extramural settlements. The observations are complemented by Collins’ reassessment of new discoveries. The potential caravanserai or a market site just north of the Wall at Great Whittington is an example of the sort of surprise discovery that gives a better image of the wider frontier zone and how local communities were networked into it. Chapter 4 provides site-by-site reports on the excavation and survey. Among excellent summaries of larger-scale projects, this final section provides a handy summary of the myth-busting work at Maryport, which questioned old truths regarding religious practice in the military.
The publication of David Breeze's Hadrian's Wall, A Journey Through Time was timed to coincide with the Pilgrimage year. This popular guidebook focuses on the interpretation of the surviving remains of the Wall, told through an extensively illustrated series of short chapters. Primarily aimed at visitors to sites and walkers, the guidebook brings together archaeology, epigraphy and key objects from the Wall to tell the story behind the remains still visible on the ground. The chapters examine the key features of the architecture of the wall, its forts and milecastles to examine life on the frontier and the role of landscape in interpreting the Wall. The text draws attention towards features which can usually only be noticed when seeing the Wall with an experienced guide, culminating in a chapter dedicated to enigmas in the stonework of the wall and in its forts. The strength of the guidebook is that it captures the diversity and flexibility of the Wall as a frontier, while keeping the text concise and accessible to non-specialists. This highly visual volume contains a series of Mark Richards's original linescapes, which provide artistic renderings of some of the most iconic views of the Wall. The book contains over 150 photographs by Peter Savin, which take centre stage and tell a captivating story in their own right. Both the Pilgrimage handbook and Breeze's illustrated guidebook show change to the thinking about the Wall and the work towards communicating these understandings to the public.
