Abstract:
Hadrian’s Wall in Britain has been extensively studied, although traditionally it has only been considered in a Roman context, or even in isolation- as an architectural marvel or monument. This paper will explore a new perspective of the Wall by examining the region which surrounds it and analysing the Wall not as a ‘Roman’ structure in a ‘Native’ landscape, but as part of a wider, connected, and interactive social and cultural matrix. Using primarily archaeological evidence, this thesis will analyse and discuss the development of what will be called the ‘Greater Wall Region’ from the late pre-Roman Iron Age until the post-Roman period. This analysis will then be used in discussions of how the population of the Greater Wall Region reacted to and interacted with various stimuli-including the Wall- and thereby creating, confirming and challenging pre-existing assumptions of the Wall and its relationship with northern Britain.