Essay on Hadrian's Wall

Tolia- Kelly, Divya P. “Narrating the postcolonial landscape: archaeologies of race at Hadrian”. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers. 36: 1 (2011): 71-88.

Archaeology is a broad topic in which it gives the opportunity to people to discover the history behind a nation. The finding of Royal Annals in Egypt was a blessing for all Egyptologists who could finally put the past Kings rulings in a chronological order. The Minoans lefts their traces on their homeland, the island of Crete, while the Mycenaeans were discovered to have been the first Greek civilization. The Romans are still famous today in regards to many things such as their rulers, monuments, their wars and conquerings, their roads and aqueducts, and their way of living. This nation had become a dangerous empire that had brought on every others nation's admiration, envy or hate. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end but the collapse of the Roman Empire did not destroy the value of its accomplishments and failures. Endless stories are told regarding this nation and one of them is concerning Hadrian’s Wall. Many different stories are told based of the same monument today after so many years which plenty of researchers have explored. For example, Dr. Divya P. Tolia-Kelly who organized the “Archaeology of ‘Race’” exhibition which focussed on Hadrian’s Wall which is discussed even further in her article “Narrating the postcolonial landscape: archaeologies of race at Hadrian”. Dr. Tolia-Kelly is currently a teacher at Durham University in the Department of Geography. She has written quite a few books and articles on different topics regarding geography, race, culture, and archaeology. “The aim of the paper is to demonstrate how a critical postcolonial approach is taken in developing an exhibition of the archaeological and geographical narratives linked to [Britain’s] national landscape” (Tolia-Kelly 71). The mask that I had done in my Ancient Archaeology class with my classmate Joseph Hamelin can relate to the author’s goal. The mask does not necessarily resemble something specific because none of us were professional artists but anybody can imply there own assumptions. Many different stories can arise from it.

Up until now, the presentation that had been made of the Hadrian’s Wall had been what could be said to be a lie. It is true that Emperor Hadrian had been the one who initially built the Wall in Britain but he was not the only person who had contributed. Over hundred years after Hadrian’s death , in around 205 to 207 AD, did the Emperor Septimius Severus reconstructed the Wall that had been runned down after years of neglect. Emperor Severus rebuilt the Wall in order to prevent the invasion of Barbarians that were posing a threat to his power. This had been the same purpose of the Wall thought of by Hadrian. Unfortunately, this Severus’ accomplishments had been neglected from the teaching curriculum of schools around the world.

Severus was slowly erased from history by the 19th century scholars. The truth behind this erasure is linked to racism. In that period, these people mentality was that they did not want to be associated with “others” but solely the Romans in their history. “Others” refers to the skin color and ethnicity of a person being anything other than white. Romans were known for having been rather open minded about the individuals who entered their Empire were not in reality. In fact, they were the ones who would use the term “other” to talk about non-white individuals. Severus had been a “other” born in Libya. He was referred to as Punic in historical recording in which “punic” meant “black or other”. Ironically, he himself was said to have been racist toward other “others”. It was discovered that the city in which he was originally from had been proclaimed an official city-state with all its inhabitants being seen as Romans. Despite all the accomplishments done by Severus, the Englishmen of that time still did not want to be associated with a “other”. They were all for the most part racist which, in the 19th century Britain, was quite common.

The purpose of the “Archaeology of ‘Race’” exhibition was to get rid of this misconception. They focus on the true story regarding Hadrian’s Wall which included Septimius Severus. The emphasized the fact that there had been a “other” as a ruler to counteract the false belief that no non-white individual had participated in the construction their country, Britain. Furthermore, there was proof that was discovered regarding an even bigger implication of “others” in Britain. The book of“ Notitia Dignitatum” which recorded “evidences [of] the presence of Iraqis, Syrians, North Africans and many others the first legions of migrants populating the frontier. Early evidence has been found of garrisons from all over the Empire stationed at Hadrian’s Wall and of their influence and exchanges with local populations. Roman society in Britain can be argued to have been formed from a number of diasporas from across the Empire, whose presence translated the nature, landscape and cultural practices in Britain” (Tolia-Kelly 84).

This paper focused on the history regarding Hadrian’s Wall. It explained the controversy regarding the truth behind its contributors. Both emperors, Hadrian and Septimius Severus were involved at two different times in history. The first one built it while the second one improved its structure a hundred years later. Septimius Severus was erased from the teaching curriculum in school due to his skin color. This type of racism was the rightful way of thinking for both the Romans and the Englishmen of the 19th century. Even though the British may not have wanted to admit it, they would not have been able to reach where they are today without the help of the “others’” nations. The way a person tells story always depends on the intention of the storyteller. In this case, those 19th century scholar purpose was to make their country seem invisible which of course is nothing more than a lie. Hadrian’s Wall is the living proof of one of the biggest accomplishment done by the Romans. It is uncertain that all of the history that lies within it has been found but researcher still have not given up.