19August2008
First Post
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The Roman occupation of Britain has left indelible evidence to remind us of a tumultuous episode that covered over 450 years of our history.
I used to walk a section of unspoiled Roman road near my home in Dorset. As my mind wandered the dogs would race about diving through shrubs that had grown up through the road’s surface. Apart from this growth and the general grassing over, that road remained exactly as it had been when it was built by the very troops that marched it.
One hundred and fifty feet to the west of that four mile section lies a group of Saxon burial mounds. They must have generated similar thoughts to mine among a succession of Legionaries as they marched across the seasons over fifteen hundred years ago.
Hadrian (AD 76-138) started building his wall in AD122, some say perhaps playfully that he ordered the construction to keep his troops busy, others that he wanted to mark the northern extremity of his Empire and provide political and economic stability south of the stones.Either way it remains a potent symbol of Roman power, more so to those who would have born witness to daily life along a massive, living military fortification.Today it remains either gently decaying or in the more interesting sections, being progressively restored to give a striking glimpse of life in antiquity.
I would like to fly my paramotor down it from West to East over three days for the joy of seeing it and to film as much of it as I can. Spring 2009 is my preferred time but a lot will depend on the weather as the time approaches.
This painting is interesting, named “The Romans Cause a Wall to be Built for the Protection of the South”. The original Painting is held in Wallington House, Northumberland, England
The Painting shows a centurion supervising the building of Hadrian’s Wall. The centurion has been given the face of John Clayton, who was responsible for saving parts of the Wall from loss.
It looks to me as though the artist set himself up near the location in the photograph shown. See if you can work out the lie of the land and where the artist took his scene from. It reveals something of the techniques he used to paint the picture, I think he painted in the studio and got the lighting wrong. You decide.
