04-24-2010, 08:18 PM
Professor Russell.
In para 4. of you discussion you refer to the Emperor Trajan and how there is little evidence that he took much interest in the province of Briton which I think that I may well agree with up to a point.
Then we keep hearing over and over from all directions of Roman history how Hadrian came along and built his wall, however all that he did was to make changes to an earlier frontier system that may well have been a Trajanic one.
I don't know if you are familiar with the work of an old friend of mine the late Raymond Selkirk where in his book "On The Trail of The Legions" he explains what he calls the 255 line, which is a frontier that pre-dates Hadrians' Wall and runs from Whitley Bay on the east coast to Maryport in Cumbria on the west coast with mile forts and other larger ones very similar to what Hadrian installed later.
I can assure you that this frontier is there and even Whitley Castle may well be one of the forts on this line, then when Hadrian built his wall he also put in a line of defence all the way from the Solway down to Maryport.
There is even reference to a fort on it by no less than the Antiquarian Camden and this is almost at the point where the two lines cross ( 255 and Hadrians' Wall. )
I wonder can the troops you refer to as the "British Experdition" have been sent to man this line.
In para 4. of you discussion you refer to the Emperor Trajan and how there is little evidence that he took much interest in the province of Briton which I think that I may well agree with up to a point.
Then we keep hearing over and over from all directions of Roman history how Hadrian came along and built his wall, however all that he did was to make changes to an earlier frontier system that may well have been a Trajanic one.
I don't know if you are familiar with the work of an old friend of mine the late Raymond Selkirk where in his book "On The Trail of The Legions" he explains what he calls the 255 line, which is a frontier that pre-dates Hadrians' Wall and runs from Whitley Bay on the east coast to Maryport in Cumbria on the west coast with mile forts and other larger ones very similar to what Hadrian installed later.
I can assure you that this frontier is there and even Whitley Castle may well be one of the forts on this line, then when Hadrian built his wall he also put in a line of defence all the way from the Solway down to Maryport.
There is even reference to a fort on it by no less than the Antiquarian Camden and this is almost at the point where the two lines cross ( 255 and Hadrians' Wall. )
I wonder can the troops you refer to as the "British Experdition" have been sent to man this line.
Brian Stobbs
