In summer 1848, Newcastle schoolmaster John Collingwood Bruce planned to visit Rome, but was prevented by the Year of Revolution: and so he settled for second best and set out to explore Rome in his own backyard. He was so impressed by what he saw that he gave a lecture that autumn, and then the following year led a 'Pilgrimage' to the Wall. In 1851, he wrote a book entitled 'The Roman Wall' - and went on to become the doyen of Wall studies throughout the 19th century.

In 1886, a second Pilgrimage was held (Bruce was now 80 years old), jointly sponsored by the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society (CWAAS) and the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne (SANT). And so a tradition was born. Almost every ten years since, there has been a Pilgrimage: this year's was the Fourteenth. The original involved about twenty Pilgrims: this year we had 220, led by our Chief Pilgrim David Breeze, present-day doyen of Wall studies, who, incredibly, has been on six Pilgrimages, having attended his first in 1969.

We spent four nights each in Newcastle and Carlisle, and each day set out in one of four coaches to visit sites all the way from Wallsend to Maryport, including the newly excavated bathhouse at Wallsend - and of course the on-going excavations at Vindolanda, where there is always something new to see. Sometimes we walked to reach towers, milecastles, temporary camps or stretches of wall. We visited seven museums, had numerous receptions, and were featured on BBC Look North and Radio Cumbria. However, the whole purpose of the Pilgrimage is to review current thinking. In this, we were aided by the latest handbook, 'Hadrian's Wall 2009-2019', compiled by Rob Collins and Matthew Symonds. But the absolutely key part of the Pilgrimage were the impromptu commentaries and discussions led by our coach and site guides. We learned that Wall studies are anything but static. The big questions - such as "What was the wall FOR?" continue to generate as much debate as ever. We learned that the Wall was built simultaneously from each end, with the west being built in the normal Roman style as a turf wall - so why was stone used in the east? How high was it? Was there a crenellated parapet? (probably not) Was there a wall walk? (probably not - Tony Wilmott convincingly demonstrated that the Narrow Wall was barely big enough to contain him, let alone allow two armed soldiers with shields to pass). Why was 'the Fort Decision' taken, moving forts like Housesteads up onto the wall, which was clearly not part of the original plan? And perhaps above all, what was the purpose of the Vallum?

Special thanks to David Breeze and to all our guides - Tony Wilmott, Valerie Maxwell, Mike Bishop, Graeme Stobbs, Nick Hodgson, Erik Graafstal, Matt Symonds and Rob Collins, plus the car support team, Lindsay Allason-Jones and Rachel Newman.

Bill Shannon, September 2019

(This text was originally written for Local History News, Autumn 2019)