Hadrian’s Wall Vallum Aelium also known as the Roman Wall, Picts’ Wall, or Vallum Hadriani in Latin is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. Running from Wallsend on the River Tyne in the east to Bowness-on-Solway in the west of what is now northern England, it was a stone wall with large ditches in front of it and behind it that crossed the whole width of the island. Soldiers were garrisoned along the line of the wall in large forts, smaller milecastles and intervening turrets. In addition to the wall's defensive military role, its gates may have been customs posts. A view of Hadrian's Wall showing its length and height. The upright stones on top of it are modern, to deter people from walking on it. Hadrian's Wall Path generally runs very close to the wall. Almost all of the standing masonry of the wall was removed in early modern times and used for local roads and farmhouses. None of it stands to its original height, but modern work has exposed much of the footings and some segments display a few courses of modern masonry reconstruction
