Completion of the full draft of a monograph entitled 'Hadrian's Wall: A life history'

Introduction: HW is one of Britain's most important ancient monuments & also the most prominent of the works which defined the frontiers of the Roman empire. Its international significance is secured by a long tradition of scholarly study & its designation as a World Heritage Site. It plays a major cultural role in northern England today, signified by the use of the title 'Hadrian's Wall Country' for the central & most impressive section of its physical remains. It also plays a vital role in the economy of this region (Management Plan 2009). Owing to the scholarly study of this monument since the C16, it has become the best understood frontier of the Roman world.

The major Output from this grant is a monograph which will explore the lifecycle of the Wall. This will include: c. 100,000 words, c. 70 illustrations & a 600-reference bibliography. It will communicate approaches & materials derived from the major research project, Tales of the Frontier. Arising from the historical research undertaken by the applicant (PI), it was not a specified Output from this previous grant (see case for support).

Research Context: Recent books have explored the Roman construction & use of HW (e.g. Breeze 2006; Breeze & Dobson 2000 & Symonds & Mason 2009). These stress HW's elemental 'Romanness', its relative completeness & coherence as a Roman frontier work of world significance (Management Plan 2009). Its historical origin and context, constituent elements & the exactitude of detailed knowledge are emphasized (e.g. Symonds & Mason 2009). This significant body of knowledge, built up since the C16, serves to alienate HW from its post-Roman landscape and culture (Witcher et al in press). The fame of HW, recognized at least as early as the C14, has led it to play a particular cultural role, creating a rich body of artistic, mythological, antiquarian & archaeological material; recent archaeological approaches, however, sideline alternative valuations.

This book explores HW's powerful & contradictory significances through time, including ideas of permanence & decay, domination & resistance, exclusion & commonality, stability & mobility. It draws on a wide variety of sources to address the life & after-life of HW, its ongoing destruction & recreation from the C2 to the C21.

Methodology: The research methodology, deriving from Tales, draws on histories, handbooks, maps, excavation reports, classical texts, inscriptions, novels, poems, letters, paintings & photographs. A range of roles for the Wall are defined, in popular, mythical, artistic & scholarly accounts. To place the rise of scholarly knowledge in a broader context, mythical knowledge, folklore, literary history & art history are explored. Using a number of theoretical approaches deriving from archaeology, classics, literary studies, history & geography, the Wall's life is narrated, drawing, in particular, on approaches to monument biography, reception studies & chorography.

A number of tales associated with HW are identified, including its roles as:
- a symbol of Roman imperial might;
- a symbol of early medieval Christian identity (Gildas & Bede);
- a genealogical frontier in the medieval border conflicts between England & Scotland;
- a conceptual boundary for the definition of lowland (English) 'civility';
- an indicator of ancestral valour for those living to its north;
- a major ancient monument which played a role in the formulation of antiquarian & archaeological methodologies;
- a conceptual model for Britain's colonial frontiers in India & Africa; and
- a contemporary inclusive monument for multi-cultural Britain.

Audiences: Include archaeologists, classicists & cultural geographers. The book also has significance for planners & heritage managers. Posting drafts on the Tales project website will enable a range of audiences to read chapters in progress (see case for support).

Students and the public: The author has also written a number of books which aim to be accessible to the public (e.g. Hingley and Unwin 2005) and it is expected that this monograph will be of interest to undergraduate students & members of the public who have a detailed interest in HW. Indeed, much of the content of the book is fairly accessible. The Tales of the Frontier project communicated its aims & results to a broad audience through the website, a regular e-newsletter, exhibition & public lectures. This has created a public audience for its Outputs. Lectures given over the past 12 months include Hingley's talk to an audience of 150 at the British Archaeology conference in Cardiff in February 2009. He is currently involved in various initiatives including outreach through a contribution to 'Know your Hadrian's Wall', March 2010 (http://www.hadrians-wall.org/page.aspx/Know-Your-Hadrian's-Wall-Country). Consideration will also be given to the production of a popular volume to summarise the results in a more approachable manner after April 2011 (although this is not an Output of this application).

It is intended to make draft chapters of the book available on the Tales of the Frontier website as they are written. This will enable members of the public, undergraduates, taught postgraduates, research postgraduates & academic colleagues to sample the draft texts. This will also generate awareness of the issues to be covered in the published book.

Planners: The research is relevant to government planners & heritage managers who care for the HW World Heritage Site. The recent Hadrian's Wall Management Plan (Management Plan 2009, 26-8) contains the 'Frontier of the Roman Empire WHS: Hadrian's Wall Draft formal Statement of Significance'. This document, following the usual archaeological emphasis (e.g. Symonds & Mason 2009), places a primary focus on the Roman nature of the Wall & the survival of evidence for the scope, extent & sophistication of the Roman frontier. It also explores a series of other associations held by HW; indeed, it specifies that the educational, recreational, social & economic values of HW are far wider than its Roman associations (ibid, 30-2). The book which is the subject of this application emphasizes these alternative valuations, exploring the complex relationships between these forms of knowing & the well-researched Roman associations of the monument. The Tales project was intended to help inform the wider appreciation of HW & the perspectives outlined in the monograph will be of relevance to the deliberations over the future management of the World Heritage Site. The applicant's membership on the Hadrian's Wall Management Plan Committee (http://www.hadrians-wall.org/ResourceManager/Documents/Hadrian) and the English Heritage Research Advisory Panel, enables him to ensure that planner & heritage managers are aware of this developing & published research. Broader appreciations should have an increasing input into the valuation, management & interpretation of the Wall over the next few years.

Academics: The monograph is primarily aimed at an academic audience, across a variety of disciplines (see above). The applicant will continue to network and lecture widely & develop his academic contacts in classics, geography, English studies & history in order to ensure that the work is widely read.