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

preview_player
Показать описание

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. This number was mostly made up of recruits sourced from the north-western provinces of the empire, but the records show that Romanian, Syrian and even North Africans were stationed there.

But the key question is, could you survive as a soldier on Hadrian’s wall?

In this video, History Hit presenters Luke Tomes and Louee Dessent set out on a 2-mile march along Hadrian's Wall, to discover why the northern frontier was one of the toughest postings in the Roman empire, and how your experience here might look very different, depending on your role and rank. Whipping both into shape and leading the march is Roman historian and author Dr Simon Elliott.

Will the three make it to the safety of the fort? Stick around to find out… and don’t forget to subscribe to the channel and hit the notification bell!

And remember, as YouTube subscribers, you can sign up to History Hit TV today with code YOUTUBE and enjoy 50% off your first 3 months!

#historyhit #hadrianswall #romanhistory

00:00 Hadrian's Wall
02:46 Our Centurion Arrives
04:27 Roman Soldier Weapons and Equipment
10:23 Roles and Responsibilities of a Roman Soldier
14:58 Roman Bridge and Marching Camp
17:30 Diet of a Roman Soldier
18:21 Roman Army Military Formations
22:13 Entry Requirements For Roman Legionaries
24:10 Birdoswald Roman Fort
33:35 Reflections
Рекомендации по теме
Комментарии
Автор

Hope you enjoyed guys! What do you think would've been the worst part of the job for a Roman soldier? 🤔

HistoryHit
Автор

People on that train would have been like… “did I just see Roman soldiers??” 😮😄

woooster
Автор

The real tough soldier was the cameraman who walked those miles carrying a heavy camera set without complaining

smoothjazz
Автор

"Are we there yet?" That's most likely an accurate quote

amberspecter
Автор

An interesting fat - 2000 years ago soldiers from around Basra in modern day Iraq were stationed at the Hadrian's Wall, at the whim of the senate. 2000 years later, soldiers from the area of Britain around the Hadrian's wall were stationed in Basra as part of an armed force lead by a certain other senate.

zuuzuuka
Автор

Hadrian's Wall was actually much taller in its original form. It was originally constructed with a base of stone and topped with a wooden palisade that stood around 20 feet (6 meters) tall. This made it a formidable barrier for anyone trying to cross into Roman Britain. However, over the centuries, much of the wall has been dismantled and used for building materials, so today it stands at a fraction of its original height. Despite this, Hadrian's Wall remains an important and impressive historical site that is well worth visiting.

Annoxium
Автор

if i had the choice i would want to be stationed at Vindolanda . The whole wall was well engineered . i always think of the letters that were uncovered at Vindolanda, asking for wool socks from home. all in all a great video ! bravo ! to everyone who participated in it !!! would love to see more on the wall, in the future !!!

davidcreager
Автор

I walked the wall back in 1977. It was quite and experience for me, as the Roman army was one of my main interest back then, and I was just starting to become an Archaeologist.

coleparker
Автор

This was really informative but also extremely entertaining! Loved seeing how much fun the presenters were having as Roman soldiers 😆

Sanakudou
Автор

Nice to see alot of this was filmed on my local dog walk, a little village called Gilsland in Cumbria/Northumberland.

lukedavidson
Автор

I live within 5 miles of Vindolanda so have had most of the information covered here forced into me by osmosis over the years - but it's still interesting to hear the changing interpretations of the history as more archaeology gets revealed. Thank you for dedicating a full episode to the topic.

I look forward to the episode where you both come back again in mid-January to repeat the walk in 8ft drifts... 😉

banksarenotyourfriends
Автор

There is an episode of Tasting History with Max Miller where he makes posca which he declares very refreshing. He also covers other Roman cooking and many other historical dishes. Highly recommended.

PersonalityMalfunction
Автор

The guys were wearing modern day boots. The Romans wore hob nail sandals! Great video as always, guys.

lorrainegreen
Автор

The Battle at Mons Grapius was one the rare instances that the auxilia was in the front lines. Usually the auxilia would hold the flanks of the legions, while the legions doing most of the fighting.

tituslaronius
Автор

Sin = left, dex=right! THAT'S where heraldry gets the terms dexter and sinister! I love it when I make an etymological discover!

Svensk
Автор

Great video lads, thoroughly enjoyed. Good effort on the Gladiator wheat field intro!

SirRodericSpode
Автор

I bet someone on that train said What? and got confused. So funny. Lol

ozelhassan
Автор

Great stuff. Always enjoy when history is bought to life.

Colaris
Автор

I'm a British expatriate living in Germany who occasionally motorcycles to the Isle of Man for the famous TT Races. One year I visited Hadrian's Wall after the TT while motorcycling around the North of England. Its well worth the visit but when I went it wasn't very well signposted which is typically British nonetheless I had no trouble finding it. I understand it was more a control point than a barrier against the barbaric locals.

paulwilliams
Автор

This was great and very informative. Great job guys

thejamaicanpolak