Comments on: Comments on 20141

Post number 20141

rory — Thu, 19 Sep 2002 09:01:10 -0800

Before the Berlin Wall, there was Hadrian's Wall, one of the most successful attempts ever to keep noisy neighbours at bay. It's still an impressive sight, even though most of its stone has been recycled over the centuries. Nothing beats walking it in person, but thanks to the web you can see a 3D VRML model of one of its forts, read about the digital imaging of thousands of written documents unearthed at another, and even read a 2000-year-old request to "send me some cash as soon as possible".

By: rory

rory — Thu, 19 Sep 2002 09:01:58 -0800

There's also the official Hadrian's Wall site, Vindolanda site, and National Trust page on Housesteads Fort, for those who are thinking of visiting.

By: fishfucker

fishfucker — Thu, 19 Sep 2002 09:31:19 -0800

beautiful link. thank you.

By: madamjujujive

madamjujujive — Thu, 19 Sep 2002 10:08:46 -0800

rory, thanks for such a great collection of pointers - really nice! They look well worth devoting some time to explore - particularly the documents that are being preserved. It really is an impressive thing to see up close - beautiful countryside, sheep grazing on either side...it almost felt as though nothing had changed, I had a real sense of communing with the past.

By: thekorruptor

thekorruptor — Thu, 19 Sep 2002 10:10:20 -0800

Hear, hear. Great collection of links. I enjoyed this post thoroughly. Thanks.

By: aacheson

aacheson — Thu, 19 Sep 2002 10:11:12 -0800

I LOVE BRITISH HISTORY. Let me just get that out of my system. I probably read at least 2 books a month about Britain. I saw a little bit of the wall when I lived in London and took a trip to Scotland. It was mostly a small pile of stones. My ancestors were "Reavers' (second paragraph of the link) who lived in that area (Armstrongs) so this stuff fascincates me. The amount of betrayl and intrigue during the time of the wall being built and acually being useful is amazing. It's a wonder anyone survived that time! Thanks for the link! On a side note..aren't those pictures beautiful? I'd love to live in a place so green. Notice how there are no trees? This is a direct result of the presence of sheep in Scotland and England for thousands of years. They've eaten all the baby trees so there aren't any more. They've changed the landscape!

By: bobo123

bobo123 — Thu, 19 Sep 2002 10:32:04 -0800

VRML? Wow I forgot I had installed a plug-in, boy is that a dead format, hadn't visited a vrml site in a while.

By: Tarrama

Tarrama — Thu, 19 Sep 2002 21:55:25 -0800

Memories of walking beside Hadrian's Wall as a child, came rushing back with this link, thanks Rory.

By: prentiz

prentiz — Fri, 20 Sep 2002 02:19:47 -0800

aacheson "I saw a little bit of the wall when I lived in London and took a trip to Scotland. " Ahem. Hadrian's wall is in England, except for its very western tip. There is a different wall in Scotland - the Antonine wall. This may seem petty, but it is very important if you're from Northumberland.

By: rory

rory — Fri, 20 Sep 2002 05:03:03 -0800

Glad you enjoyed it, folks.