This summer, in the year we celebrate the 1900th anniversary of Hadrian's Wall, I participated in the excavations at Vindolanda, the famous frontier fort and settlement in Northern England at the edge of the Roman Empire. Vindolanda is a fascinating excavation site, one of the most productive in the world. Every year, between April and… Continue reading Digging at Vindolanda
In 122, perhaps in late spring, Hadrian returned from the Danube to the Rhine. The last stage of his journey along the German frontier before moving to Britannia would have taken him down the Rhine to Colonia Agrippinensis (modern Cologne), the Hadrianic capital of Germania Inferior. One of his most trusted friends, Platorius Nepos, who… Continue reading Spring AD 122 – Hadrian inspects the northern frontiers: part 4 Germania Inferior (#Hadrian1900)
After Hadrian inspected the military forces and installations in Germania Superior (see here), the Emperor visited the limes and the army troops of the neighbouring province of Raetia, now part of German Bavaria. At the time of Hadrian's visit in AD 122, no legion was stationed in this area. Still, the province relied on its large auxiliaries… Continue reading Winter AD 121/2 – Hadrian inspects the northern frontiers: part 2 Raetia (#Hadrian1900)
In the year AD 121, Hadrian left Rome and set off on an ambitious tour of the western provinces. His first intended destination was the German frontier (limes) which he probably reached in the autumn or winter of that year. A passage in Dio Cassius describing Hadrian bareheaded in the "German snows" (Dio 69.9.4) plausibly… Continue reading Winter AD 121/2 – Hadrian inspects the northern frontiers: part 1 Germania Superior (#Hadrian1900)
The Aquincum Museum, located in Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, is currently hosting an exhibition dedicated to Hadrian to commemorate his accession to the throne 1,900 years ago. The exhibition, part of Aquincum's "Hadrian's Year 2017" program, is being hosted in the old museum building located in the centre of the Archaeological Park.… Continue reading Exhibition: ‘Hadrianus MCM – History of an Ancient Career’ in Budapest (#Hadrian1900)
On 11 August AD 117, the news of Trajan's death in Selinus reached the 41-year-old Hadrian at Syrian Antioch, where he was stationed as provincial governor. The army of Syria immediately hailed its legate as Imperator. 11 August was to be celebrated as Hadrian's dies imperii (the anniversary of his accession as emperor). On the third day… Continue reading 11 August AD 117 – Hadrian is proclaimed emperor in Antioch (#Hadrian1900)
On this day (10th January) in 49 BC, Julius Caesar and his troops famously crossed the Rubicon, the river marking the boundary between the province of Cisalpine Gaul and Italy. Taking the 13th Legion over this forbidden frontier constituted an act of treason and triggered civil war in Rome. According to the historian Suetonius, Caesar… Continue reading Crossing the Rubicon
With thousands of archaeological sites, Jerusalem is one of the most excavated cities on the planet and to walk its streets is to walk through a thousand years of history. This ancient city has been fought over more than any other place. It has been conquered, destroyed and rebuilt many times and Hadrian played a… Continue reading Exploring Aelia Capitolina, Hadrian’s Jerusalem
A magnificent bronze statue of Hadrian, now on display at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, was found by chance by an American tourist in Tel Shalem (Beth Shean Valley, Israel) on the 25th of July 1975 while searching for ancient coins with a metal detector. Tel Shalem was once occupied by a detachment of the… Continue reading Bronze statue of Hadrian from the legionary camp at Tel Shalem (Judaea), Israel Museum
Read ⇒ Top 10 Sights along Hadrian's Wall --- Hadrian's Wall has long attracted hikers and history fans and is now the heart of an 84-mile-long (135 km) National Trail through some of Britain's most beautiful countryside. Hadrian's Wall stretches coast to coast across northern England, from Wallsend in the east to Bowness-on-Solway on the west… Continue reading Walking Hadrian’s Wall
