Life on the edge: Hadrian’s Wall and Rome’s frontiers

Aims

This course aims to: 

• introduce Hadrian’s Wall and the frontiers of the Roman Empire
• examine Roman reasons for creating frontier systems and the varied responses of local groups to them  
• understand the rich legacies of Hadrian’s Wall and its continuing influence in the modern world

Content

It can be easy to imagine Hadrian’s Wall as a distant frontier in remote country, populated by rain-soaked Roman soldiers dreaming of Italy while gazing forlornly over bleak and deserted uplands. The reality was very different. Recent archaeological work has demonstrated that the region split apart by the Wall was home to sophisticated and sizable farming communities that had developed over centuries. The emperor Hadrian’s decision to divide this previously open ancestral land changed their way of life forever, with individual responses ranging from collaboration to resistance. At the same time, Hadrian’s Wall was just one component of a much larger network 
of Roman frontiers. 

Studying the Wall within the context of this wider system will equip you with knowledge of the extraordinary consequences of the Empire’s desire for border security.

As the Wall divided, so too it united. Few of the soldiers manning the frontier were drawn from Rome or even Italy. Instead, the majority were recruited or conscripted from occupied territories, bringing together individuals from as far afield as Spain and Syria. Many of these soldiers were accompanied by families, servants, or slaves, creating an extraordinary kaleidoscope of cultures as peoples from across the Empire were assembled in northern England. The juxtaposition of their traditions with mainstream Classical influences and the culture of the local Britons created a distinctive frontier society. 

Archaeological evidence will allow you to see how ideas drawn from across the Roman world could be combined with startling results.

One consequence of the Wall changing the nature of the world around it was that new threats emerged, forcing the frontier to be adapted in turn. Following the collapse of imperial control, the Wall’s fame saw it exploited by powers seeking to cast themselves as Rome’s heirs, while the former frontier also helped forge notions of English and Scottish nationhood during the medieval period. Indeed, the Wall continues to influence both national and international debates on a range of topics.

Assessing the post-Roman afterlife of the frontier will show you how Hadrian’s decision to build a wall is still influencing lives in unpredictable ways today.

Presentation of the course 

The course will take place in a classroom setting, with PowerPoint presentations used to introduce the key themes and background information for the day, as well as the sites and finds that are being examined. Group discussion will be encouraged at appropriate points.

Course sessions

1. Rome’s frontiers 
   At their greatest extent, Rome’s frontiers stretched for over 10,000km, through 20 modern countries on three continents. Building, manning, and supplying this network was one of the Empire’s most extraordinary achievements. The individual frontier systems creating this whole, though, were far from uniform, raising questions about what these differences signify. This session will introduce Rome’s frontiers, the evidence that we use to study them, and the army that built them. It will also outline the methods that we use to understand these monuments. 
2. Building the Wall 
   The scale of Hadrian’s Wall marks it out as exceptional among Rome’s frontier systems. In this session we will take a close look at the circumstances facing the Roman army in Britain, and why their conquest of the island was never completed. The nature of life in what would become the frontier zone will be carefully assessed, and the unusual design of Hadrian’s Wall emphasised by comparing it with the near-contemporary frontier in Germany. Responses to the Wall during Hadrian’s reign allow us to gauge its initial impact.   
3. Frontier societies 
   The edge of the Roman Empire was not just populated by soldiers. Instead, families, servants, slaves, priests, traders, and more made their homes in the frontier zone. A wealth of evidence from Hadrian’s Wall reveals this extraordinary cultural mixing at work, with one scholar noting that ‘almost every corner of the empire can be seen represented’. We will examine these frontier societies and see how the different ideas and traditions they brought together created something new. 
4. Winds of change 
   Establishing the frontiers set great change in motion. Not only did they trigger radical shifts to preexisting power structures, modes of movement, and population distribution in their vicinity, but they also relied on distant production centres to meet military supply needs. Reworking the rhythm of life in the region allowed new threats to emerge, which in turn forced adaptations to the frontiers. The effects of wider problems, as the Empire grappled with woes ranging from plague to economic calamity, were felt on the frontiers. In this session, we will address how they evolved during the later Roman period.  
5. Long division 
   It can be easy to imagine that the frontiers only held significance during the Roman period, and swiftly ceased to matter once the Empire collapsed. Delving into the rich post-Roman afterlife of Hadrian’s Wall reveals a different story, with activity in former military bases continuing well after the end of imperial control. A range of powers and authorities went on to exploit the Wall as a vehicle to justify their own actions, assumptions, or ambitions, while the frontier is still used to score points on subjects ranging from modern border controls to climate change. In this session, we will investigate the Wall’s rich legacies and ask what Rome’s frontiers achieved.  

Learning outcomes

You are expected to gain from this series of classroom sessions a greater understanding of the subject and of the core issues and arguments central to the course. 

The learning outcomes for this course are:

• an understanding of the nature, use, and implications of the evidence used to create our knowledge of Rome’s frontiers
• an appreciation of how the division of previously open land provoked different reactions from different groups 
• a sense of the impact of Rome’s frontiers at a human level
• familiarity with the long-term impact of Hadrian’s Wall and the ways in which its meaning has evolved from the Roman period down to today

Required reading

Breeze, D J, The frontiers of imperial Rome (Barnsley: Pen & Sword 2019) 
ISBN: 9781526760807

Symonds, M F A, Hadrian’s Wall: creating division (London: Bloomsbury Academic 2021) 
ISBN: 9781350105348 - This is a core book

Typical week: Monday to Friday 

Courses run from Monday to Friday. For each week of study, you select a morning (Am) course and an afternoon (Pm) course. The maximum class size is 25 students.   

Courses are complemented by a series of daily plenary lectures, exploring new ideas in a wide range of disciplines. To add to your learning experience, we are also planning additional evening talks and events. 

Evaluation and Academic Credit  

If you are seeking to enhance your own study experience, or earn academic credit from your Cambridge Summer Programme studies at your home institution, you can submit written work for assessment for one or more of your courses.  

Essay questions are set and assessed against the University of Cambridge standard by your Course Director, a list of essay questions can be found in the Course Materials. Essays are submitted two weeks after the end of each course, so those studying for multiple weeks need to plan their time accordingly. There is an evaluation fee of £75 per essay. 

For more information about writing essays see Evaluation and Academic Credit. 

Certificate of attendance 

A certificate of attendance will be sent to you electronically after the programme.