When I walked Hadrian's Wall back in 2014, I mainly walked and gazed around randomly and took lots of photographs. That trip was as much about the walk and 'having a holiday' as it was about seeing the Wall. It wasn't difficult to appreciate Hadrian's Wall, after all, it's very much there 'before your eyes'.
Hadrian's Wall Walk, 2014 (6 days)
Walking the Antonine Wall, however, is very different. The distance is much shorter and its more ditch than wall - but at the same time, it's infinitely more enchanting in all its mystery. As I've begun this virtual journey, I've started to understand that the history of the Antonine Wall is just as (if not more) important than the remains it has left behind for us to see.
It's a challenge - the Antonine Wall. A great challenge if, like me, you love history and are willing to engage at least a little with the story beneath the stones.
A great starting point is the main Antonine Wall website and app. The resources they offer are little short of amazing. I love the app and look forward to a point where I can get outdoors and try it out as a true augmented reality experience. In the meantime, however, don't miss it - go, go and explore, and enjoy all the hard work the team at antoninewall.org are putting into the visitor experience. Visit them on Facebook or Twitter, enjoy a regular postcard from the Antonine frontier lands, get tips on learning for kids at home and in the classroom, or even pick up tips on how to play a Roman boardgame like Latrunculi.
And, if you like to dig deep and become a digital archaeologist, there's no site better than that of the Scottish Society of Antiquaries where you can definitely 'stand on the shoulders of giants' and learn from all the greats who dug the wall long before you were born. Their publications section will keep you busy for years, I guarantee it.
If, on the other hand, you're a map freak, like me, another great resource is Canmore's 1954 Antonine Wall OS Archaeological Survey. It's a great way to visually peel back the layers.
If all that fabulous information is already 'out there' why am I bothering with this blog? Well, I wanted something personal, a space where I could think and play, collate resources that would enhance my personal journey along the route of the wall. Finding information for yourself is all part of the fun. Learning about the myriad projects going on in Roman history in the UK is fun. If I stuck to one site, I wouldn't get the benefit of all those things. And, in my own small way, creating this blog allows me to curate available content in my own way - in a way I can easily understand and find things. It also means I can combine the history with other things I like, like photography, walking, enjoying local history from different time periods and, the best thing, I get to feed my map addiction regularly.
