On Wednesday 22 January 2014, Paul Bidwell will talk about Hadrian’s Wall and its landscape from Newcastle to Wallsend, concentrating on discoveries since 2000.
Almost a fifth of Hadrian’s Wall runs through urban areas, where modern developments – ranging from digging trenches for gas and water pipes to new buildings – have led to important discoveries. Some of the most exciting finds of recent years have been in the easternmost four miles of the Wall between Newcastle and Wallsend, including around Shields Road. They have shed light on the history of the Wall, the reasons why it was built, and the landscape it cut through.
Paul Bidwell was Head of Archaeology for Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums until his retirement in 2013. He has excavated widely on Hadrian’s Wall and in South-West England and has published many books and articles. He was recently awarded an OBE for services to heritage.
The event will take place at the Corner House Hotel on Heaton Road. As usual, please book for the talk to ensure you’re not disappointed and be in your seat by 7.15 so that we can offer any unclaimed places to people on the waiting list or who come on spec. To book, contact Maria Graham: maria@heatonhistorygroup.org / 0191 2150821 / 07763 985656.
The more I think about it, the more I am convinced the tree-tops were a swiftly erected basic defence for the workmen building the wall. A triple line of tree tops could be erected in very little time (and the tree trunks were used in the forts of course) and then the stone wall could proceed at its slower pace.