Could You Survive As A Roman Soldier On Hadrian’s Wall?

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Could you survive as a Roman soldier on Hadrian's Wall? Join the History Hit YouTube team as we discover what life was like for Roman legionaries and auxiliary troops on the northern frontier of the Roman Empire. Joined by top Roman historian Dr Simon Elliott, we march along a section of Hadrian's Wall in full Roman armour, but will we make it to the safety of Birdoswald Roman fort? Thanks to the Trimontium Museum for providing the armour and weapons featured in this video: https://www.trimontium.co.uk/ In the 2nd century AD, the Roman army in Britain embarked on one of the most ambitious building projects in history. On the orders of the emperor Hadrian, a 73-mile-long wall was constructed, crossing northern Britain from the Irish Sea in the west, to the North Sea in the east, marking the northern limit of the Roman empire. Construction of the wall is now thought to have begun shortly after Hadrian became emperor in 117 AD, with the man himself arriving in Britain in 122 AD to check in on its progress. As for why it was built, that’s still the subject of fierce debate among historians. Was it purely a military fortification, a kind of customs barrier or simply a vanity project? What we do know is that soldiers from three different legions were drafted in to build it, helped no doubt by forced labour from the local population. But for most of its history, the wall wasn’t guarded by highly trained legionaries, it was manned by a garrison of perhaps 9,000 auxiliary troops.

Published 2022-10-26 · Watch on YouTube ↗
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