How Long Is Hadrian’s Wall (And Why)?

Exact Answer: 73 Miles

The great wall built during the reign of the emperor Hadrian is known as the Hadrian’s Wall. It is also known by the name the Roman Wall. It is located in the northern part of England, Britain.

Hadrian’s Wall is considered to be the greatest Roman-style infrastructure in entire Britain. It is one of Britain’s ancient monuments that attracts a lot of tourists to the country. It is located entirely in the province of England.

It is considered a British cultural icon has also been declared as a world heritage site in 1987 by UNESCO. It is indeed an outstanding infrastructure and showcases the astounding features of Roman architecture.

How Long Is Hadrian’s Wall?

The construction of the Hadrian’s Wall was originally planned to be 10 feet tall. However, it was later reduced to 8 feet. This great wall encompasses the entire British island.

It extends from the east of England to the west covering a distance of about 73 miles. Thus, the length of this wall is about 73 miles or 80 Roman miles. It took nearly 6 years to entirely build this wall. Thus, Hadrian’s Wall is as long as 1620 yards or 1480 meters.

About 42 miles of the entire wall is made using stone and the remaining path with turf. The part of the wall made with stone was 3 meters i.e 9.8 feet thick with a height of about 4.2 meters i.e 14 feet tall. On the other hand, the wall prepared with turf had a thickness of 6 meters i.e 20 feet with a height that is the same as the stone part of the wall.

There are certain shreds of evidence that state the construction of Hadrian’s wall was such that its shining surface could reflect the sunlight that is evident even from a distance of a few miles. Also, there is Hadrian’s walk path which is about 11 miles longer than Hadrian’s wall, spanning over a distance of 84 miles taking about 6 – 8 days to walk the entire path.

Why Is Hadrian’s Wall This Long?

Hadrian’s Walls has been the northwest frontier of the Roman empire that lasted for about 300 years. It is quite long and covers a large expanse of distance. It was built by emperor Hadrian’s men following his visit to Britain in AD 122.

The purpose which this wall served was to have a strong defensive structure to keep the empire intact. It was constructed with the military purpose to keep any trouble from the north towards the other side of the wall. This wall is said to be the first of its kind covering a distance over 70 miles from sea to sea.

It served dual purposes, first to keep the troublesome northern tribes out and to safeguard the Roman people within the Hadrian’s Wall. Moreover, there is a ditch in front of Hadrian’s wall that is about 6 meters i.e 20 feet away from the structure. This ditch was approximately 3 meters i.e 9.8 feet deep and 8.2 meters i.e 27 feet wide.

Hadrian’s Wall has numerous observation points on it which are between two guard posts. It is constructed majorly from stones and turf. The average wall height is about 5 meters high with 3 meters depth.

It is notably considered as one of the greatest infrastructural walls constructed by one of the greatest empires in the ancient history of the world. It serves as a symbol and evinces the architectural skills of people in ancient times during the period of the Roman empire.

Conclusion

Built by the Roman army, the Hadrian’s Wall is one of the largest Roman infrastructures which is a popular British cultural icon. It is a defensive fortification prepared with turf and stone, mainly intending to keep the enemies on the other side of the Hadrian’s Wall. It is 118 km i.e 73 miles long with 4 – 6 meters thickness. Famously called the frontiers of the Roman empire, it has also been declared by UNESCO as a world heritage site.

References

1. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1179/lan.2011.12.2.41
2. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-roman-studies/article/hadrians-wall-19391949/AB8827163C0E77B03482ADF2819B5020