In the past I’ve discussed many of Rome’s great engineering feats -- Aqua Marcia, Caesar’s bridge over the Rhine, and the siege works at Masada, to name a few. The Romans were the greatest engineers of antiquity because structure and organization were fundamental to their view of the world.
For this post, we turn to Hadrian’s Wall, that enigmatic barrier built across Northern Britain in the early 120s A.D. There are many holes in the story of the wall including the purpose of its construction -- but its existence can't be disputed as you can see from the photographs below.