4 ms·

Slightly related: I always get surprised by how "small" Hadrian wall is. I mean, it was just to demarcate tthe point where the barbarians "should not" cross I b

Slightly related: I always get surprised by how "small" Hadrian wall is. I mean, it was just to demarcate tthe point where the barbarians "should not" cross I believe? For sure it wasn't working as a regular wall to stop any invasions.

londons_explore 3y ago
Even a 1 foot high wall is hard to sneakily move at night. It's a marker on the ground of 'my territory' vs 'your territory'. If you catch someone the wrong side of it, they have no excuse of 'oh, I thought this was my land'.
londons_explore 3y ago
The wall is nearly 2000 years old. It used to be 15 feet high and 10 feet wide. [1] Nearly everything else that old has fallen down to the foundations. It turns out nature is good at knocking stuff down till it's about a foot high, and then just leaves the footings of all the walls. Plenty of castles and stuff have 1 foot high walls now. Also, people steal the stones to build other stuff. But it's more effort to steal stones already buried in the ground. [1]: https://www.google.com/search?q=how+high+was+hadrians+wall https://www.google.com/search?q=how+high+was+hadrians+wall
- lawlessone 3y ago
  Yeah , people take stones to clear land for farming or to build walls to enclose their farms. Can't be too mad about it though, the wall was probably relatively new to them
  - scott_w 3y ago
    Also historical preservation was less important to the people at the time when life was, frankly, much harder than it is today. Most well preserved buildings today are the ones that were useful to keep around - for their original or for a new purpose.
    - lawlessone 3y ago
      Roman ruins in post roman Britain must have looked almost magical.
tssva 3y ago
It was 3m thick and 4.2m tall with guard posts every 1/3rd mile. Seems like pretty significant defense to invasions.
- jjgreen 3y ago
  ... with each guard muttering to themselves "what a shite posting" (in Latin).
dhx 3y ago
It may have originally looked a bit more like the wall of Rindoon, County Roscommon, Ireland: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rindoon_Wall_28-10-2015.JPG https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rindoon_Wall_28-10-2... Rindoon is one of the most intact medieval villages (ruins). Thankfully it hasn't yet been vandalised, reconstructed or commercialised. As common for archaeological sites across Ireland, it is an amazing place to visit, particularly as you'd probably have it all to yourself to explore depending on season and day.
toyg 3y ago
Dude, it's a ruin. It's like saying you're surprised most houses in archeological digs have no standing walls.

londons_explore 3y ago

Even a 1 foot high wall is hard to sneakily move at night. It's a marker on the ground of 'my territory' vs 'your territory'. If you catch someone the wrong side of it, they have no excuse of 'oh, I thought this was my land'.

londons_explore 3y ago

The wall is nearly 2000 years old. It used to be 15 feet high and 10 feet wide. [1] Nearly everything else that old has fallen down to the foundations. It turns out nature is good at knocking stuff down till it's about a foot high, and then just leaves the footings of all the walls. Plenty of castles and stuff have 1 foot high walls now. Also, people steal the stones to build other stuff. But it's more effort to steal stones already buried in the ground. [1]: https://www.google.com/search?q=how+high+was+hadrians+wall https://www.google.com/search?q=how+high+was+hadrians+wall

lawlessone 3y ago
Yeah , people take stones to clear land for farming or to build walls to enclose their farms. Can't be too mad about it though, the wall was probably relatively new to them
- scott_w 3y ago
  Also historical preservation was less important to the people at the time when life was, frankly, much harder than it is today. Most well preserved buildings today are the ones that were useful to keep around - for their original or for a new purpose.
  - lawlessone 3y ago
    Roman ruins in post roman Britain must have looked almost magical.

tssva 3y ago

It was 3m thick and 4.2m tall with guard posts every 1/3rd mile. Seems like pretty significant defense to invasions.

jjgreen 3y ago
... with each guard muttering to themselves "what a shite posting" (in Latin).

dhx 3y ago

It may have originally looked a bit more like the wall of Rindoon, County Roscommon, Ireland: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rindoon_Wall_28-10-2015.JPG https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rindoon_Wall_28-10-2... Rindoon is one of the most intact medieval villages (ruins). Thankfully it hasn't yet been vandalised, reconstructed or commercialised. As common for archaeological sites across Ireland, it is an amazing place to visit, particularly as you'd probably have it all to yourself to explore depending on season and day.

toyg 3y ago

Dude, it's a ruin. It's like saying you're surprised most houses in archeological digs have no standing walls.