Hadrian’s Wall rarely crops up on lists of great archaeological mysteries, but its purpose remains bewildering. As the modern world reminds us, borders can apply very different forms of control, with profound consequences for those living in their shadow. Specialists studying Hadrian’s Wall remain split over whether the frontier acted as a soft border designed to regulate the peaceful movement of people, or created a hard barrier that in most cases only permitted access to the Roman military. The Hadrian’s Wall milecastles are crucial to this debate, as they contained the vast majority of the gateways providing access through the frontier curtain. These small posts are a highly specialised version of a Roman military installation type known as a fortlet. Understanding what fortlets were intended to achieve, and how they were adapted for service on Hadrian’s Wall offers insights into the nature of control the Roman military sought to exert in northern England.
Matthew studied archaeology at Nottingham University, and then at Christ Church, Oxford. He is a Visiting Fellow at Newcastle University and co-edited Frontiers of Knowledge: A Research Framework for Hadrian’s Wall. He has excavated in Bulgaria, Sicily, Italy, and Britain but is most at home on Hadrian’s Wall. Matthew is editor of Current World Archaeology having previously been editor of Current Archaeology. His book ‘Protecting the Roman Empire’ was published by Cambridge University Press in November 2017.
