Matthew Symonds - Böcker

Hadrian’s Wall is universally recognised as a Roman frontier monument par excellence, with its numerous attractions visited by over half-a-million tourists per annum and the archaeological study of the monument feeding into teaching and research around the world.The Wall occupies a leading role within the specialist area of Roman Frontier Studies, yet it still has so much more to offer. This volume presents a series of thematic case studies that are geographically focused on Hadrian’s Wall and the wider frontier zone, while also demonstrating how work in this region can advance understanding of core issues for Roman archaeology more generally. Each case study combines the latest research and thinking by specialists in their field, presented in an accessible format appropriate for enthusiasts, students, and professionals working in archaeology and/or Classics.As well as providing an overview of current thinking about the frontier, the volume focuses in on the Wall and its communities; the use of stone, from source to structure; evidence for conflict and violence; religion and belief, in life and death; aspects of material culture; and the Wall as a cultural phenomenon.

The Roman army enjoys an enviable reputation as an instrument of waging war, but as the modern world reminds us, an enduring victory requires far more than simply winning battles. When it came to suppressing counterinsurgencies, or deterring the depredations of bandits, the army frequently deployed small groups of infantry and cavalry based in fortlets. This remarkable installation type has never previously been studied in detail, and shows a new side to the Roman army. Rather than displaying the aggressive uniformity for which the Roman military is famous, individual fortlets were usually bespoke installations tailored to local needs. Examining fortlet use in north-west Europe helps explain the differing designs of the Empire's most famous artificial frontier systems: Hadrian's Wall, the Antonine Wall, and the Upper German and Raetian limites. The archaeological evidence is fully integrated with documentary sources, which disclose the gritty reality of life in a Roman fortlet.

Over its venerable history, Hadrian’s Wall has had an undeniable influence in shaping the British landscape, both literally and figuratively. Once thought to be a soft border, recent research has implicated it in the collapse of a farming civilisation centuries in the making, and in fuelling an insurgency characterised by violent upheaval. Examining the everyday impact of the Wall over the three centuries it was in operation, Matthew Symonds sheds new light on its underexplored human story by discussing how the evidence speaks of a hard border scything through a previously open landscape and bringing dramatic change in its wake. The Roman soldiers posted to Hadrian’s Wall were overwhelmingly recruits from the empire’s occupied territories, and for them the frontier could be a place of fear and magic where supernatural protection was invoked during spells of guard duty. Since antiquity, the Wall has been exploited by powers craving the legitimacy that came with being accepted as the heirs of Rome: it helped forge notions of English and Scottish nationhood, and even provided a model of selfless cultural collaboration when the British Empire needed reassurance. It has also inspired creatives for centuries, appearing in a more or less recognisable guise in works ranging from Rudyard Kipling’s Puck of Pook’s Hill to George R. R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones. Combining an archaeological analysis of the monument itself and an examination of its rich legacy and contemporary relevance, this volume presents a reliable, modern perspective on the Wall.