Hadrian's Wall NMP

 As part of the National Mapping Programme, a survey of Hadrian's Wall is being undertaken by the English Heritage Aerial Survey and Investigation team. Hadrian's Wall, a World Heritage Site (WHS), is the most well known surviving frontier of the Roman Empire and is the most important monument built by the Romans in Britain. Accompanying pages give an overview of the results and a short history of the Wall. With the final area mapped, the Cumbrian Coast, the project is nearing completion and these web pages will be updated shortly.

The 2002 - 2007 Management Plan for Hadrian's Wall World Heritage Site highlighted 'the need for adequate and improved information and understanding of the history, development and present use of the WHS and its setting'. The mapping will help to place the Wall in a wider landscape context and will also aid future management of the World Heritage Site.

The English Heritage survey covers the full length of the Wall from the Solway Plain in the west to Newcastle in the east andalso encompasses the Cumbrian coastal defences. The project area is a broad band, up to 15km wide, with Hadrian's Wall running through the centre of it. The project team examined around 30,500 aerial photographs, ranging in date from 1930 to 2006.

As well as the Wall itself and associated military structures such as the forts at Housesteads and Vindolanda and this milecastle in Cawfield Crags, the mapping has also recorded the extensive non-roman remains. These range in date from prehistory to the twentieth century.

The Roman remains and wild landscape combine to form a spectacular attraction for visitors. There is more information available about visiting English Heritage sites along Hadrian's Wall or National Trust properties. More details about walking along the Hadrian's Wall National Trail and information on the National Park are also available as is information on Hadrian's Wall as a World Heritage Site.

The images used on this page are copyright English Heritage unless specified otherwise. For further details of any photographs or other images and for copies of these, or the plans and reports related to the project please contact the NMR English Heritage's public archive.

For further information on a project or any other aspect of the work of the Aerial Survey team please contact us at: AerialSurvey@english-heritage.org.uk.