Journey to Britannia: Bronwen Riley (130 AD)
This week we are setting sail for the Roman province of Britannia to traverse the empire's north-western frontier – Hadrian's Wall.
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Hadrian’s Wall is the largest archaeological feature remaining from Roman Britain, a 73-mile line of fortifications stretching from the River Tyne on the east coast to the Solway Firth on the west.
Building was begun by the Emperor Hadrian in 122 AD, during a visit to this remote, unruly corner of his empire. On his orders, work began replacing the existing road with a vast ditch, stone or turf wall with watchtowers and forts, where crossings were located, at regular distances.
Designed to work with the topography, the wall spans northern England at its narrowest point and follows a geological fault comprised of a dramatic cliff facing north. Astonishingly, only five percent has been excavated to date, so new finds and evidence are unearthed surprisingly often – there is still so much for us to discover about life along this extraordinary boundary, which lay at the north-western frontier of the Roman Empire.
In this episode we follow in the footsteps of a brilliant young general making his way from Rome to Britain to take up his post as governor of this outpost of the empire in 130AD. Sextus Julius Severus, ‘the first of Hadrian’s best generals’ might not have been thrilled at the prospect of moving here, but what the province of Britannia lacked in sunshine, culture and cuisine, it more than made up for in military significance and danger.
The British, and even more so their Pictish neighbours to the north, were notoriously troublesome and belligerent, requiring no less than three Roman Legions (to say nothing of the enormous wall) to keep them under control. Severus now found himself in charge of these soldiers, some 18,000 of them, from across the Empire – a huge responsibility and a significant career move.
Our navigator on this travel through time is Bronwen Riley, a historian who traced this journey in her rigorously researched yet highly readable book, Journey to Britannia. She brings life in the second century into vivid focus by taking us to the dodgy quayside bars of Antica Ostia where the snacks were questionable and the wine was liberally watered down and into the private thoughts of Dutch soldiers on Hadrian’s Wall desperate for a taste of home.
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Show Notes
Scene One: July 130 AD. Severus and Minicius Natalis prepare to leave Rome, they visit relatives and plan for the long months ahead on the road and in their new lives in Britain.
Scene Two: October 130 AD. On one of his many peregrinations around the empire, Hadrian visits Egypt (holiday hotspot of the ancient world) with a vast entourage including both his wife and his lover, travelling in unparalleled style and luxury on a ship with purple sails (probably).
Scene Three: 130 AD. Severus reaches Britain and begins his journey northwards taking in the major cities and camps along the way, meeting officials and inspecting his soldiers.
Momento: A souvenir cup from Hadrian’s Wall in all its enamelled glory but also would love to visit a bookshop to see if some Greek antiquary/interpreter has transcribed any British poetry or Druidic philosophy!
People/Social
Presenter: Violet Moller
Guest: Bronwen Riley
Production: Maria Nolan
Podcast partner: Ace Cultural Tours
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About Bronwen Riley
Bronwen Riley is a writer, editor and deviser of historical and literary journeys in Britain, Byzantium and beyond. She has a special interest in the Classical world and in Romania, both life-long passions. She is a director of the Transylvanian Book Festival (transylvanianbookfestival.com). Read more about her creative writing project with the Romanians on Hadrian’s Wall at bronwenriley.co.uk/dacians-on-the-wall. Her latest book Journey to Britannia from the Heart of Rome to Hadrian’s Wall AD130 (Head of Zeus) is now out in paperback.
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