For four centuries, the Great Wall of Hadrian marked the North West Frontier of Rome, an empire so vast the south east frontier rested on the Euphrates. Even today, the mighty stride of the Wall as it marches along the summit of the Whin Sill constitutes Rome’s grandest, most ambitious and enduring military monument. This course will explore why, how and by whom the Wall was built, and consider the roles it played locally, culturally and politically. We will look at the garrisons that manned it, the communities and people who lived and traded in its shadow, left their funerary monuments and their DNA behind them – our common cultural inheritance. Finally, we’ll look at the Wall’s rebirth as a World Heritage Site, the art and literature it has inspired and continues to inspire.

John Sadler

Residential: £435 Non-residential: £310