What Was Life Actually Like For Romans Stationed on Hadrians Wall? with Dan Snow

[@williamberven-ph5ig]

It's amazing how much of the Roman Empire ruins still exist. My favorite was a trip to Pompeii. It was the slow season and lagging on a guided tour, I found myself on a street alone, quiet except for a crisp wind. For a moment I felt transported 2000 years into the past. The piles of pumice stones, ( still everywhere) exuded a burnt smell. I could almost hear the roar from the distant arena. A tour group rounded the corner breaking the spell but for those few moments, I was a time traveler. It was a truly magical experience I'll never forget.

[@luckyspurs]

Find historical experts so engaging and charismatic in a way to listen to. It's just fun listening to people who really care and are doing something they clearly love as a job. There's a bounce and energy to it.

[@badofcheese]

The guy from Newcastle Uni was a really good example of that. So engaging and enthusiastic.

[@xj3ewok]

Indeed he was so happy to be talking about something he loves

[@GeraldWalker-p6l]

That's what I like about Dan snow he doesn't try to make it about himself he just tries to present and he gets the best people he can find for information I think he's one of the best out there I think I might have got a little bit of a man crush on him on that special he did on the British Navy😮 just those shots of him sailing up and down the Thames river and his sailboat by himself was really really cool

[@crandleberrysadie]

Paul Cooper at Fall of Civilizations is also amazing.

[@barnzYT]

Some may be surprised but Jeremy Clarksons historical documentaries were really good to watch because he is genuinely interested in what he’s talking about you can tell, rather than just reading a script

[@amc5966]

Brilliant. Live an hour away from the wall, only visited a few times but learned more in this doc than anything else. Thankyou guys.

[@Bluefinn21]

You should visit the Hancock museum in Newcastle, it’s free entry and lots of info on our local history

[@nzessmam]

I live at the coast at the eastern end 5 miles from Wallsend

[@mkhanman12345]

I’m about to learn

[@williamrobinson7435]

Beautifully written and presented. Nice one Dan and team! 🌟👍

[@TerryHickey-xt4mf]

I am English but my parents took us off to the antipodes, after 60 years my (Australian) wife and I went back to see what my family had left all those years ago. One of my main objectives was to visit Hadrian's wall. We were not disappointed, just like the video, we were amazed at the sheer scale of the forts, something I knew nothing about when I was a kid. The one we went to housed 800 men, and the all the forts were quite close together.. The main road sort of follows the wall from coast to coast, and it took us quite a while to travel it by car. Just imagine having to 'build' your way across? My mate here in NZ is from Scotland, and we have endless fun discussing what we, and they, did all that time ago. The bottom line is at least after the Romans left we had viniculture, could walk the streets at night in safety, and indeed had decent streets to walk on at last. . Sewerage systems, baths, Latin, and of course the right of men to have a baby.

[@bn3121]

Brilliant reference 😂

[@reggawardle4874]

Don't forget the aqueducts 😂..went to infant school and was always told about the Roman fort under our feet..years later worked at said fort after schools got knocked down..brilliant it all was..it's arbeia..

[@b4d69]

another quite exceptional documentary. the problem with these, oddly enough, is they cannot be listened to passively while e.g. gaming or writing an essay; the quality is so superior i find i have to actively watch the documentary and keep my other tasks on standby for the duration (of course, a not unsavoury problem to have!)

[@katherinepotter1528]

Me too

[@bmyra]

​@@katherinepotter1528Same here. I couldn't risk missing a word, and had to rewind a few times when to make sure I didn't miss anything.

[@SpLiC3]

What a wonderful documentary. More Rome, Greece etc please Dan mate, i can't get enough of antiquity. Thanks again History Hit, brilliant.

[@greghustwaite7450]

I love this documentary, thank you. I live in the town of Wallsend - Tyne & Wear in an estate called Hadrian Park, although my town is usually documented as where the wall starts. I have the attraction of the Segedunum fort ruins a 20 minute walk away with an accompanying museum yet it's good to get more depth into the walls past.

[@APT1066]

Dan entirely squandered the opportunity to say 'Biggus, Dickus'.

[@benjamin_jacob.]

Wait until he finds a relief of Incontinentia Buttocks. edit…pun NOT intended

[@lisalesinszki7536]

😂😂😂😂 He’s got a wife, you know…….

[@benjamin_jacob.]

@@lisalesinszki7536 that lisp of his absolutely kills me!

[@gregor393]

W. H. Auden got it right - Roman Wall Blues Over the heather the wet wind blows, I've lice in my tunic and a cold in my nose. The rain comes pattering out of the sky, I'm a Wall soldier, I don't know why. The mist creeps over the hard grey stone, My girl's in Tungria; I sleep alone. Aulus goes hanging around her place, I don't like his manners, I don't like his face. Piso's a Christian, he worships a fish; There'd be no kissing if he had his wish. She gave me a ring but I diced it away; I want my girl and I want my pay. When I'm a veteran with only one eye I shall do nothing but look at the sky.

[@AnnaAnna-uc2ff]

Wonderful. Thank you.

[@jokir67]

They didn’t really touch on the vallum that much in this but there are some parts where it is walkable and the ditches and undulations are still there, admittedly not as deep now. Even after 2000 years the earthworks are still apparent! When you were digging those ditches could you have imagined millennia later they would still be a visible feature? I find that amazing.

[@michaelcleary7065]

Having worked on many large earthworks projects I wonder if anything I've built will still be here in milliena to come 🤔

[@TerryHickey-xt4mf]

That is just what I thought when I visited Stonehenge recently, twice the age of Hadrian's wall, and hard to believe it was built 2000 years before Christ., considering how seemingly barbaric some civilizations were in the past, (and still are in some parts). Plundering the stones etc must have been a full time job, they are big! and we are lucky they are still some there at Stonehenge after 4000 years of English winters, endless invasions, and local plundering. When I was a kid, and before we emigrated to Ausi in the 1960's, Stonehenge was still an unknown, I carved my name on one, as it was not 'protected' in those days. Sacrilege I know, but the day before we visited it this year somebody painted it orange. Luckily it was all back to normal the next day after the water blasters got into it. After all, 10000 people visit it on a good day, and over 15000 later that week on the summer solstice before dawn. When I was a kid you would be lucky to get 10 in a day, and by the way, I found out dawn is VERY early at that time of year!

[@Faz99Master]

A fantastic documentary/journey! A subject I knew absolutely nothing about. Now to dig in deeper!

[@BMW7series251]

Brilliant. Thanks Dan & Team.

[@Maybeabandaid9]

Lovely. I know how I am spending my Thursday evening.

[@samuelgarrod8327]

Must be short evenings where you are....

[@terencegamble4548]

Thoroughly enjoyed this video. Thank you. History Hit gives me another dimension to my understanding of the human condition over time.

[@waltbilous5898]

I loved your documentary. Many years ago, on a tour if the UK, I visited one section of the wall and vowed to one day, return to see more of it,. Maybe I will someday hike the entire length of the wall. Hiking is probably one of the best ways to see the wall and the beautiful countryside.

[@Fatherofheroesandheroines]

23:40 so..Biggus Dickus DID exist!

[@hunter-et3ty]

this made my day hahaha

[@ScandzaVaeringjar]

No sire.. that is horizontalis dickus !

[@luckyspurs]

Could he pronounce S's though.

[@tt8807]

🤭

[@TerryHickey-xt4mf]

remember, he wranked highly in wrome.!

[@jonbaxter2254]

An incredible piece of history you can actually see and wander about on.

[@EGSBiographies-om1wb]

Thsi vid was well worth my time to watch. As an ignorant Yankee,I didnt know anything about Hedrons Wall until I saw a vid from Simon Whistler a couple years ago.

[@ichbinzwardummaber]

Just noticed again these days, how much inspiration J.R.R Martin gained from british history War of the roses, the Hadrian Wall and everywhere smaller things all over the history of Westeros, like Aegon the Conqueror inspired by the Norman Invasion

[@samuelgarrod8327]

🥱

[@badofcheese]

I live right by Hadrian’s wall. Don’t pay enough attention to it. Very interesting.

[@TerryHickey-xt4mf]

you don't see much of it from the main road, just the signs.

[@nohbuddy1]

11:08 I always love in shot/reverse shot with interviews how they have to get the person asking questions to nod lol

[@nzessmam]

Arbeia is not actually part of the wall. It was the supply depot for the wall located in modern day South Shields on the south side of the river mouth. The most easterly fort was Segadunum found in Wallsend. On the North bank of the Tyne. Arbeia is well worth a visit - it not only has a reconstruction of the western gatehouse but it has reconstructions of a barrack block and the commandant’s house. I have been many times.

[@livethefuture2492]

Interestingly it kind of reminds me of the berlin wall...especially in the physical layout of the wall with successive belts of obstacles and even the actual height of the wall which again feels very reminiscent that particular style of barrier.

[@divinadecosio]

I found Roman Empire history to be just fascinating, so much that one of my little dog's name is Dacia and the other one is Galia.

[@travisinthetrunk]

I see Dan Snow, I click.

[@sniper60605]

He is good, his father was great as well.

[@erpthompsonqueen9130]

Thank you. Watching from Alaska. 🤔

[@Deluxedracula]

Dan Snow saying in a posh accent “Why is there a penis on the wall” made me do a double take and rewind haha

[@AnnaAnna-uc2ff]

posh?

[@Deluxedracula]

@@AnnaAnna-uc2ff Yeah, he’s related to Royalty or married to Royalty or something like that, plus did the whole Cambridge/Oxford thing

[@williamberven-ph5ig]

That's where the Romans kept them.

[@1999worldfamous]

So the kids at my school were carving protection wards into the desks at school? How nice of them.

[@gaius_enceladus]

"Brrrrrrr.......... it's cold up here, by Jupiter. I hope Livia can send me some thick woolen socks, by Mercury! "

[@Exiledk]

We don't know that it was so cold back then.... it may have been warmer.

[@jareddemarzo8196]

An Asterix reference?

[@Jayjay-qe6um]

American author George R.R. Martin has acknowledge that Hadrian's Wall was the inspiration for "The Wall" in his best-selling series A Song of Ice and Fire.

[@fredsmith112]

I was lucky to visit Palmyra thirty years ago. This tomb stone is similar to palmaryne tower tombs, Also there's a headstone of a roman citizen from Syria at Barh museum as well, google dead cities and you will see roman villas still being used as dwelling in Syria

[@whereweregoingwedontneedroads]

Lost count the amount of times i have walked the wall. Great scenery. Tough in parts.

[@glenharrison123]

Another great film,thanks Dan!

[@Blisterdude123]

Rather unpleasant, one imagines. The Romans even came up with a slang word for the people up there, found written on a soldiers' note to home, and found nowhere else in the Roman record. 'Brittunculi', or 'nasty little Britons' lol

[@dotdashdotdash]

I wonder what they would think of Londinium these days...

[@zomgbat]

@@dotdashdotdash What does this even mean?

[@scoobyview]

@@zomgbatmore balderdash from the ‘everything’s fallen!’ Bore brigade who have no idea how diverse Rome was.

[@wodensol5000]

​@@scoobyview They literally discuss it in this video that they purposefully split up ethnic groups and put them into other areas to prevent rebellion and demoralise them. The Roman empire would have worked regardless. You're essentially saying that it's a good thing, the diversity of the empire, when they did it for power and control. Trying to equate that to modern day diversity, saying it's a good thing, is laughable and shows a lack of understanding of the Roman empire. With or without diversity, the empire would have worked, and it's diversity was a BAD thing. It relied on slavery, on forcing groups apart, on colonialism, on genocide, on war and torture and death. The modern western world now relies on diversity in a similar way. To break up ethnic and cultural groups. Postering that it's only a good thing, and that any detraction is just right wing hokey-pokey, tells me you need to read your history books again, and then again. Obviously it's not all doom and gloom, but the argument is far, far more nuanced. The Roman empire was BAD for non Roman culture and ethnic groups, but it was good, in a base way, for the individual. Once you had the Christianisation of Rome, interestingly, so-called pillars of morality, you see all this played out at an even more perverse, grander scale. So whenever the Christian right applaud Rome as being great, I can't help but laugh.

[@scoobyview]

@@wodensol5000 all I said was that it was diverse.

[@ivodebruijn]

29:55 The Batavians were not Belgians but a Germanic tribe from present day The Netherlands. They lived within the Roman borderlands in the Rhine delta and were exempt from taxation. Instead, they supplied the Roman army with special troops, mostly troops that were specialized in fighting in estuarine conditions. Even the personal bodyguards of the emperor were Batavians at some point.

[@brinta2868]

@ivodebruijn The man was correct though calling them Belgians. Look up "Gallia Belgica" on Wikipedia. It was a province of the Roman Empire which included Batavia. All people in the province were considered "Belgae" after its largest tribe in present day Belgium. Words and names can have different meanings in different contexts.

[@ivodebruijn]

@@brinta2868 A quick search on the always dependable Wikipedia tells me that that's not correct. Batavia was in fact part of the "Germania Inferior" province. But that might have not always have been te case of course.

[@brinta2868]

@@ivodebruijn "The northeastern part of Gallia Belgica was split off and renamed Germania Inferior, later to be reorganized and renamed as Germania Secunda." Wikipedia

[@lws7394]

@@brinta2868 So you should know the man talking here was wrong ! In Ceasars days the Rhine delta was part of Belgica, but from 89AD part of the province Germanica Inferior. The construction of Hadrians Wall was from 122AD on. Furthermore the use of 'Belgians' and 'Syrians' is not right . There were no Belgians or Germans , but Belgae from currentday Belgium and Northern France. The Belgae were Celtic tribes, whereas the Batavii and Eburones were 'Germanic' tribes. The Eburones being from the Belgian/Dutch/German border area is open for debate, but the Batavii were from the Rhine, Waal, Maas river area, The actual Roman Rhine border. As you say 'Words have different meaning in different contexts' . We are talking about the 2nd and 3rd century AD here. So Simon Elliott mentioning the 'Batavians, from the Rhine Delta, were 'Belgians' is plain wrong and very sloppy for a historian.. ( I may assume that the man knows that the Rhine goes through Netherlands, not through Belgium ).

[@androd-87]

I’ve up there twice. It’s amazing.

[@skyhigh1154]

Gottah love Dan 😊

[@troygaspard6732]

It blows my mind to think of Romanian teen boys manning part of Hadrian's Wall.

[@liamkisbee8117]

It blows my mind to think a Latin empire once ruled Britain and we once spoke Latin, there would have been men from allover the empire here once upon a time

[@patelien]

Hence the phallic reliefs. Humans aren’t always immature darlings

[@Czer141]

Great work

[@aspenrebel]

I've been to Hadrian's Wall as a kid. I forget exactly where along the wall. I believe it some places along the wall they had like bathhouses or steam rooms. But those may have just been for the Upper Crust.

[@Stoney_AKA_James]

Looks like I'm not the only one binge watching somme of Paul's older videos! #RIP_Paul!

[@Whoosh0001]

Absolutely great episode. Thx.

[@THEJMAROCK91]

Grabbing popcorn right now

[@jimmyoconnell6167]

I live at the End of it Wallsend Newcastle

[@Onthecouch-r5r]

I've been up there on exercise with the army in January it was brutal and that was with cold weather kit.

[@withnail70]

You needed to show some artists' impressions of how the wall looked at its full height, in its heyday, rather than just the gatehouse at Arbeia. There are plenty of them. And it needed to be done near the start of the video, to impress the uninitiated, particularly children, who might see you standing next to the present day remains and think 'What's all the fuss about ? It doesn't look so imposing to me ! How did that keep the barbarians at bay for 450 years ?' Also, there are the magnificent views of the wall as it passes the crags between Twice Brewed and (ex 😢) Sycamore Gap, to show how the Whin Sill escarpment added to the wall's height, which you should have included earlier rather than just one brief shot at the end. Even Ant & Dec did a better job of depicting the lives of the garrisons and local farmers living along the wall, how it acted as a porous control point, illustrated by the fascinating letters written on preserved wax tablets, a unique glimpse of 'history from below' not found in other parts of the Roman Empire. A bit lazy again, Dan. 😢

[@cocomix9718]

It may have only have had a timber palisade but the Antonine wall in Scotland is massive in comparison to Hadrian's wall. Many times higher and wider, it makes Hadrian's wall look like something round a garden on a housing estate!

[@tomjones7593]

For some years I was privileged to fish for trout from a boat on Crag Loch (the only 'loch'/lake in England); it is always the first drone photo when the Wall is shown; it is called 'crag' because to the south (Roman) side of the lake is a near-vertical cliff of maybe 300 feet in height; to attack the wall a barbarian from the North would have had to- swim the freezing cold loch (it's quite deep) and climb the cliff and THEN attack the Romans. Seems an unlikely battle plan; however even at that the legions built their wall atop the crag I used to imagine the boredom of a soldier gazing northwards from up there, knowing that if he lived to be a hundred he would never see action in that place. I wonder if they stole down and fished for the trout ?

[@joe-vl3nd]

Great show

[@50brian50]

I was born Wallsend. Our terrace house was built on the remaining of the wall they we're pulled down in 1976 they now have the segedunum fort

[@Luubelaar]

I visited the wall in September this year (2024). Wanted to go to Birdoswald but it's quite out of the way, I didn't have a car, and the "AD122" bus (yes, it's really called that) doesn't go there. So I went to Housesteads fort instead and also Vindolanda. Definitely worth it. You can walk to Birdoswald, but it's about 5-6 miles from Haltwhistle, and the day I went, the weather was utterly shite. 😂 Poured raining most of the day.

[@davehoward22]

Amazing so much survives.

[@coaxialembryo]

I’m from South Shields I need to visit these places

[@BHuang92]

The Wall in Game of Thrones is an homage to the Hadrian Wall. Those Roman soldiers must've felt like they are on the very edge of civilization, guarding it against the dreadful unknown.

[@vickymassey1479]

If they were fed enough propaganda without seeing for themselves, who knows what they would have believed about the Northern occupants. Interesting to ponder.

[@lazorbheeemz]

maybe to guard against the gods, the only worthy challegers of the roman empire

[@samuelgarrod8327]

​@@lazorbheeemzWhy did it fall then?

[@timfeeney7921]

With that mindset, imagine being told you are going to go on patrol in the north. Crazy

[@KingGayCockroach]

Shut up asian

[@LornaBall]

Interesting 🧐🌸💜

[@AndrewC.McPherson-xf5zw]

Great show man

[@Lexthetician]

Wow I’m so early! Cant wait

[@JJLewin1]

Truly amazing

[@duncanself5111]

Phallic graffiti never gets old

[@TerryHickey-xt4mf]

like the rude man in chalk

[@JohnMacFergus-oz5cp]

Pushy ads ruin this wonderful programs

[@yesitsme8606]

I have been to the wall, its an amazing piece of History to experience.

[@sorrysirmygunisoneba]

It could be the missing link that Anglo Saxons had already started establishing themselves at the end of the Roman occupation when they converted these warehouses into halls. They were mercenaries/Roman soldiers already so it could be why Northumbria started off as one of the stronger provinces during the early AS period? They were already established/adapting to a degree by the end of the official withdrawal of the Romans compared to over provinces which had to adapt? Extremely interesting.

[@murrayeaston2359]

'That is the largest phallus in Roman Britain!' ....'Crikey'. Doesn't get more British than that.

[@terryjohnson5579]

Also for any other Attack on Titan fans that first structure visited was probably what inspired Shiganshina and the Trost districts.

[@Chaucy]

@7:17 "Why is there a huge penis on the wall" classic. lads were having fun.

[@desmond-hawkins]

(7:22) Jumped at a random point near the start to see what this was about: "Rob, why is there a huge penis on the wall?" I'm hooked, let's start from the beginning.

[@katherinecollins4685]

Really interesting

[@mariasawa4872]

Refreshing to see a historian NOT complaining about an insufficient number of ditches.

[@TerryHickey-xt4mf]

they didn't have to dig them.

[@reggawardle4874]

​@@TerryHickey-xt4mfthat's not a roman attitude..strict rules make big empires

[@reggawardle4874]

Don't mention ditches,, scraped forever on ditches of arbeia..😂😂

[@ATLmodK]

As he stands by the wall he asks “Did this wall come tumbling down.” You get one guess, Dan

[@Birchy4More]

The North Remembers.

[@paulwilliams7288]

And William the Bastard

[@KrigareAvHallarna]

I'd love to see a video comparing and contrasting Hadrian's Wall with the Great Wall of China. That could be REAL interesting 🤔

[@robbieevans6536]

I'm sort of fascinated about what went on at the wall after the Romans left.

[@swanchamp5136]

Was anyone else getting static noise when Dan was speaking at certain points in this?

[@andybandyb]

Sweaters be tricky. Still a young operation!

[@lindsaydrewe8219]

Very interesting❤❤

[@rovercoupe7104]

Make Rome great again. M

[@AndrewC.McPherson-xf5zw]

Facinating

[@brinta2868]

This channel has 1.31 million subscribers, but they still managed to have a grammatical error in the video title. Hadrians Wall => Hadrian's Wall Please correct this!

[@richardhyland4610]

You must be fun at parties.

[@aspenrebel]

So where would Roman soldiers, stationed on Hadrian's Wall, spend money, and what would they spend money on?

[@JeffGroover-k2e]

If I heard right the wall is eighty miles across Britain. I live in south eastern Colorado, we drive that distance to grocery shop. 😂

[@MichaelScalet72]

Just a note, it's "Romans" not "Roman's" - which means "of the Roman" Please fix the title

[@King.Mark.]

Beware the eyes of march 👀

[@domhealy9816]

Dan snow is cool

[@sameek415]

dude looked like daniel tosh in the thumbnail and now I want history vids with daniel tosh.

[@harrybellingham98]

so basically not really for defence but rather to divide certain Britons from the in group

[@paulinequinton1478]

We might think of this as an enormous investment of time and labour. They might well have thought of it as a useful way of keeping your soldiers busy, to prevent them getting bored and starting yet another mutiny.

[@manricobianchini5276]

The Romans were awesome. Conquerors and master builders.

[@angeloargentieri5605]

Roma= Civilizzazione

[@EdLeslie-h4w]

Question I've always had ..... The wall was higher than it is today. So! What happened to all those bricks? The amount missing must be enough to build a town.....

[@TerryHickey-xt4mf]

got 'nicked'

[@johnbeaudin]

"Roman's" ? Spelling Hit.

[@rogink]

Did the Roman's even use apostrophes? :)

[@gavindron7511]

"Spelling" ? Grammar Hit

[@IlRyanWilsonlI]

Roman is what Roman does.

[@badcornflakes6374]

You spelled that wrong

[@biggyrich]

One Roman many Romen 🤣

[@lemon_j22]

Probably rather cold.

[@JordanWhite-p8c]

Dan snow and tony Robson and the jolly revier team up please 😊

[@robertn2]

Last night I watched History Underground tour the wall.

[@ericb8888]

“ he wanted to consolidate, dig in , fortify…” Basically keep us out …… Then there’s the Antonine Wall further North on the River Clyde … Built to keep us out …… Do you think the Romans had a theme here ?;)

[@stewartmcfarlane2008]

Fascinating to see the tomb inscription dedicated to the Southern British wife by her Syrian Legionnaire husband in Latin and Aramaic. The latter was the common language of Jesus and whole of the Middle East. Survives today as Syriac. The Germanic Roman soldiers stationed in Britain clearly passed on their knowledge,which was useful for the post Roman Germanic (Saxon) settlement of Britain.

[@AndrewC.McPherson-xf5zw]

Super cool

[@7cColin]

There should be no apostrophe in that title.

[@Crusty_Camper]

This is an excellent video about Hadrian's Wall but, as every other video, it completely misses out the last 20 miles of defences that run down the Cumbrian coast from Carlisle to Maryport. All the roads, mile fortlets an major cams such as at Maryport are once again non-existent.

[@CoastalForests]

The only thing that mattered was around 7:20

[@PatGunn]

No apostrophe

[@warlock1969]

Why did you not go to Wallsend - Segedunum?

[@David-ru9ju]

Jump in a boat sail pass the wall ,your in.