Hadrian's Wall, Northumberland (unexcavated)

HistoryMan, on November 17, 2007, said:

This is actually a photo of the vallum, not the wall.

There were two ditches running alongside the wall. The one to the north, V-shaped and very steep-sided (and planted with gorse bushes) was to keep out the picts.

The one to the south (the vallum) was used to deliniate the military zone. It is wider with a flat bottom, and has a mound (berm) to the north and south of it. There were frequent (controlled) crossing points of the vallum.

For much of the way between Newcastle and Houseteads, the wall actually forms the foundations of the B6319 (the Military Road - built in the 18C, as opposed to the Military Way - a Roman road running between the Wall and the Vallum.

Being a local, we had numerous school trips to the wall and know the history pretty well. Hope this helps!