Project outline
Hadrian's Wall is the one of the most evocative and powerful ancient monuments in Britain and the most famous frontier system (materially and culturally) of the Roman Empire. Through an evaluation of ideas about the linearity and permeability of the monument and its landscapes, this project addressed the historical context within which the Wall has been interpreted, publicised, visited and displayed from the time of Gildas (C6) to today.
Hadrian's Wall is a particularly high profile site today because of increased accessibility and the regional development agency's branding campaign.
Achievements
The project has explored the significance of the Wall and its landscapes as both monument and icon, considering its role in ideas about the origins of 'civilisation' and identities of self and others. Using histories, handbooks, maps, excavation reports, novels, poems, works of art, photographs, museum displays and websites, alongside embodied practices and engagements with Hadrian's Wall (dwelling, surveying, excavating, walking, touring and pilgramage) the project has explored how understandings of the Wall have developed and been interpreted, publicised, visited and displayed.
A detailed case study in the critical assessment of a major ancient monument has been completed, alongside the development of an advanced methodology for assessing linear monuments/landscapes. The project has also made contributions to the development of a critical Roman archaeology which is designed to deal with the complexity of past and present interpretations.
A website, lectures and publications have communicated the results of the project in an accessible manner to a cross-disciplinary audience of individuals and groups, regionally, nationally and internationally (USA, Spain and Brazil).
The project exhibition 'Archaeology of race' (directed by Divya Tolia-Kelly and Claire Nesbitt) toured northern England, attracting over 11,000 visitors between 3rd July and 25th August 2009. The exhibition's production advanced creativity and understanding between members of the project team and museum curators in Wallsend and Carlisle, and included new maps, drawings and innovative dissemination through sensory elements: scents, fabrics, aesthetics and format.
Ongoing influence
The exhibition was received with much enthusiasm and interest so more venues (Durham University, 2010-2011, Royal Geographical Society 2011) were added to the exhibition using funding from the Geography Department at Durham and the Ethinic Minorities and Travellers Achievement Scheme of Durham County Council, serving to communicate the results of the project to a wide public audience, including substantial work with schools. School visits to Tullie House have encouraged pupils to reflect on their local landscape and national heritage when thinking about race and territory. Divya Tolia-Kelly has been awarded a Beacon Fellowship that is further developing these aspects of the project, whilst engaging schools and the wider public in archaeological geographical and meseological scholarship. An American PhD student at Durham is now exploring the Antoine Wall adopting approaches used in Tales of the Frontier. Ideas from the project are being actively integrated into the Department's curriculum, and a number of undergraduate and postgraduate students are pursuing topics derived directly from the project.
Contacts made during the project led to the development of a major jointly-organized field project at Binchester, County Durham which is taking forward some aspects of Tales of the Frontier. Contacts made between the project team and a number of organisations involved in the protection, management, interpretation and economic development of the Wall-region (Hadrian's Wall Heritage, Tyne and Wear Museum Services, Tullie House Museum, English Heritage, Northumberland National Park, World Heritage Committee), are ongoing with the project having an impact on the management of the World Heritage Site. Richard Hingley has become a member of the 'network core' of an international group of scholars from a variety of disciplines, entitled Anglo-American Antiquaries, following project discussions that highlighted the significance of Hadrian's Wall as a source for understanding antiquarian matters.
The team are also hoping to continue the development of a cross-disciplinary focus on frontiers through the Institute for Advanced Studies at Durham University.
The legacy of the project will be ensured through lecturing and a virtual exhibition (www.dur.ac.uk/geography/race/exhibition/) alongside other outreach activities.
Selected publications
Tolia-Kelly, D. P. (2011). Narrating the postcolonial landscape: archaeologies of race at Hadrian's Wall. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers. 36(1):71-88.
Witcher, R. (2010). The fabulous tales of the common people. Part 2: Encountering Hadrian's Wall. Public Archaeology. 9(4):211-238.
Witcher, R., Tolia-Kelly, D. and Hingley, R. (2010). Archaeologies of landscape: Excavating the materialities of Hadrian's Wall. Journal of Material Culture. 15(1):1-24.
Tolia-Kelly, D. P. and Nesbitt, C. (2009). The Archaeology of 'Race': Exploring the Northern Frontier in Roman Britain. Exhibition catalogue. (Durham: Durham University Press). Available online.
Hingley, R. and Nesbitt, C. (2008). A wall for all times. British Archaeology. 102:44-59.
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