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'In The Wall, Alistair Moffat's fascination shines through as he captures the enormous endeavour of the builders along with the captivating human stories the stones still tell after nearly two millennia.' --The Scotsman
wonderfully entertaining ... a real joy --Independent
'Quite simply fascinating' --Casemate Magazine
wonderfully entertaining ... a real joy --Independent
'Quite simply fascinating' --Casemate Magazine
Product Description
Hadrian's Wall is the largest, most spectacular and one of the most enigmatic historical monument in Britain. Nothing else approaches its vast scale: a land wall running 73 miles from east to west and a sea wall stretching at least 26 miles down the Cumbrian coast. Many of its forts are as large as Britain's most formidable medieval castles, and the wide ditch dug to the south of the Wall, the vallum, is larger than any surviving prehistoric earthwork.Built in a ten-year period by more than 30,000 soldiers and labourers at the behest of an extraordinary emperor, the Wall consisted of more than 24 million stones, giving it a mass greater than all the Egyptian pyramids put together. At least a million people visit Hadrian's Wall each year and it has been designated a World Heritage Site. In this new book, based on literary and historical sources as well as the latest archaeological research, Alistair Moffat considers who built the Wall, how it was built, why it was built and how it affected the native peoples who lived in its mighty shadow. The result is a unique and fascinating insight into one of the Wonders of the Ancient World.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
If you've any interest in Roman Britain I think you will love this book. It is aimed at a `Time Team' audience, with IQ exceeding their shoe size but no specialist knowledge of architecture. The book is actually about more than Hadrian's Wall itself - Moffat describes events from the Roman invasion of Britain onwards and places the policy of building the Wall in context. His style is very readable and informative, and the pace never flags. Certainly some of it is conjecture, but it is fairly clear this is what you are reading and it really helps the tale - a good example is his imagining the scene when Hadrian came to survey the site of the Wall as the building commenced.
This is not a guidebook as such, although reading it before a visit would greatly enhance a trip. I certainly enjoyed having Google's image search to hand so that I could look for more photos to complement the extra selection already in the book.
Unusually for me, I don't have anything critical to say about this book - I thought enough of it to buy it in hardback at full price and don't regret the extra expense for one minute. Thoroughly recommended.
This is not a guidebook as such, although reading it before a visit would greatly enhance a trip. I certainly enjoyed having Google's image search to hand so that I could look for more photos to complement the extra selection already in the book.
Unusually for me, I don't have anything critical to say about this book - I thought enough of it to buy it in hardback at full price and don't regret the extra expense for one minute. Thoroughly recommended.
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is an excellent book, with some very good colour photographs, of which many I have never seen before. The first half of the book concentrates on the Roman Invasion of Britain and settlement, and it was far from easy for the Romans, the "Briticulli" (Nasty little Brits) were a constant thorn in the Empires side.The description of the wall's construction is given,how cement was made and its risky transport,and each teams general labourer, the Roman equivalent of a "Tea boy".The Wall even became a tourist attraction shortly after construction,providing its own equivalent of souvenir mugs,although I doubt they said "We are having a ball on Hadrians Wall!" A very fine book,if you are interested in the wall,or Roman Britain, I can certainly recommend this book.Throughout there are also what I would describe as "factoids" or points of interest e.g. Togas & trousers,cuisine,forts,tattoo's etc.The Antonine wall is also featured together with its construction.A great account of this frontier and if you include the great sea wall it stretched as far south as Ravenglass.The Vindolanda Letters bring people and daily life alive,even the gruesome discovery of severed heads that had been attached to stakes.The Roman's could be equally brutal.
So sit back and let your mind drift back to life on the Roman frontier!
So sit back and let your mind drift back to life on the Roman frontier!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This excellent book tells not only of the building of Hadrians wall but also gives an account of Romes invasion of Britain in 55Bc to its final withdrawal in 410AD
Hadrians wall which was built between 122-130AD srretched 73 miles from wallsend-on-Tyne in the east to Bowness in the west was enhanced by a sea wall of 26-50 miles down the Cumbrian coast.On the wall and behind it were numerous forts for observation and accomodation.
The wall occupied the activities of 30,000 Roman soldiers was built of stone in the east and stone and earth inthe west being 12 feet wide narrowing to 7 feet as it progressed west.
The function of the wall is usually considered a defence mechanism to prevent attacks from Picts and Scotts from the north but more recently it has been thought it was built to a)define the northern border of the Roman embire b)to control trade or c)to keep the soldiers occupied.
Throughout the book there are numerous insets that describe in detail various aspects of Roman life.
The photographs are good and give a good insight of what remains of the wall
A book to be recommended.
Hadrians wall which was built between 122-130AD srretched 73 miles from wallsend-on-Tyne in the east to Bowness in the west was enhanced by a sea wall of 26-50 miles down the Cumbrian coast.On the wall and behind it were numerous forts for observation and accomodation.
The wall occupied the activities of 30,000 Roman soldiers was built of stone in the east and stone and earth inthe west being 12 feet wide narrowing to 7 feet as it progressed west.
The function of the wall is usually considered a defence mechanism to prevent attacks from Picts and Scotts from the north but more recently it has been thought it was built to a)define the northern border of the Roman embire b)to control trade or c)to keep the soldiers occupied.
Throughout the book there are numerous insets that describe in detail various aspects of Roman life.
The photographs are good and give a good insight of what remains of the wall
A book to be recommended.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Interesting take on the historical reasons for the Wall
Moffat is not a classical historian as such, and this book sets out a different approach to the history of Hadrian's Wall to some of the other texts on the subject. Read more
Published 1 month ago by ReadThis,LikedThis
Engaging read of an important part of British and Roman history
I'm always fascinated by history around Britain during the Roman occupation, and was delighted to find this comprehensive looking book on Hadrian's Wall. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Keen Reader
Heartily Recommended
A couple of years ago I holidayed in Northumbria and whilst exploring the Borders, I picked up a copy of Alistair Moffat's 'The Reivers' (I had been looking for George MacDonald... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Vauban
Superb history for everyone
Alistair Moffat has the knack of personalising history so you can get down to the nitty gritty of life as it was lived. This book doesn't disappoint in any way whatsoever. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Colin Martin
The Wall That Hadrian Built
This book is actually a history not just of Hadrians Wall but of the entire Roman occupation of Britian. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Neil Lennon
Perfect for Academics and Arm-chair Historians Alike
What makes this book excellent is the way that it just doesn't engage with the Roman Wall and her builders, but the cultures, economics and politics of it's existence. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Dignitas
Excellent, Informative Enjoyable
Having walked Hadrians Wall & visited many of the places mentioned in the book. It was enthralling to read about the history, not only of this particular monument, but the history... Read more
Published 6 months ago by kevster635
A good read
This book makes a great holiday read if you're not a novel addict, especially if you happen, as we were, to be spending your holiday in Northumberland. Read more
Published 10 months ago by H. Schwacke
Inspiring!
A fantastic, interesting and incredibly readable book by a brilliant author. I was looking for an interesting, un-stuffy read for someone who is a newcomer, or has an enthusiastic... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Jemima Williams
Great narrative, what about some better maps & diagrams?
I won't repeat the comments of others about the great narrative, but for me the paperback's spoilt by having only one small 5 inch map of the wall (with only c20 place names - the... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Alan P. Chadwick
Listmania!
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