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Experience Britain's greatest Roman monument: 2000 years in the making
Staggering in the planning; masterful in its execution; awe-inspiring in its scale. There can only be one historic monument in Britain that truly lives up to all this (dare we say) hype. And that’s Hadrian's Wall, our Roman Frontier.
Let's deal with the figures, which are somewhat dazzling for a small island nation. Around 150 miles of World Heritage Site from South Shields to Ravenglass, including 73 miles - or 80 Roman ones, if you prefer - of Wall (of course, not all standing now - the passing millennia have taken their toll). There were once over 30 forts on the Frontier, including 16 along the line of the Wall itself alongside coastal, outpost and supply forts. (Did you know that they were all in the shape of a playing card?) Not to mention around 80 milecastles and 160 turrets, a ditch to the north and the great defensive Vallum earthwork to the south. Phew!
