HADRIAN'S WALL, PAL

This 120 kilometer wall stretches across Northern Britain. When the Roman Empire expanded its territory to Britannia in the middle of the 1st century, they were under constant attack by local tribes. Emperor Hadrian ordered the construction of a defensive wall to keep intruders out. The wall was to stretch from the West coast in the Irish Sea to the East coast in the North Sea. The wall was 6.5 meters high and 3 meters thick. There was a ditch on the northern side to repel enemies. There were military check points every 1.5 kilometers along the wall. Nearly 10,000 soldiers were stationed here in what was the northernmost part of the Roman Empire. These are the remains of Vindolanda fort where 500 soldiers were once stationed. 70 years of excavation have revealed clues about living conditions for Roman soldiers at the time. The Army was extremely well equipped.

Among some of the 20,000 articles unearthed, some reveal an unknown side of the soldier's life apart from fighting. Archaeologist Robin Birley points out that there are some signs of relaxed military discipline. Over 1,000 child shoes and female sandals were excavated, along with some articles believed to be children's toys. Military regulation prohibited soldiers from marriage; however many of them had families.

Some military secrets were written in Latin on these wooden plates. Some of the pieces contain words which one would not expect to be written, such as "Army Deserter" and "Expulsion". Why did well-disciplined Roman soldiers try to run away? Robin Birley believes that they may have wanted to flee extensive troop movements. Roman Empire was often stretched to capacity. Soldiers spent long periods traveling from one battlefield to another. When they moved, they were away from their loved ones. Escaping from the army was the only option if they wanted to see them. Gradual change in the life of roman soldiers started on the northern front line. It was an early sign of beginning of the decline of the Roman Empire, at the height of its prosperity

What is this about, mate?

Well, this blog is a sad attempt at starting an education-oriented diary where my beloved students can involve themselves into the magical world of learning. I bet they'll love this more than a kick in the bum.