FRONTIER TOURISTS

Since its earliest days, the great barrier at the Roman empire's north-western edge has been a source of wonder. Rob Collins traces the history of tourism and souvenirs at Hadrian's Wall

- Rob Collins

On a June day in 2003, metal detectorists in the north Staffordshire village of Ilam unearthed a curious object. The second-century AD trulla – a small saucepan – is made of a copper alloy, inlaid with colourful, slightly psychedelic enamel whirls. What makes the artefact, now known as the Staffordshire Moorlands Pan (or Ilam Pan), special, though, is the Latin inscription running around its rim: MAIS COGGABATA VXELODVNVM CAMMOGLANNA RIGORE VALI AELI DRACONIS.

What does it mean? Well, the first four words are names of Roman forts in Cumbria: Mais (at Bowness-on-Solway), Coggabata (Drumburgh), Uxelodunum (Stanwix) and Cammoglanna (Castlesteads). The second part of the inscription – RIGORE VALI AELI DRACONIS – can be translated as: “Along the line of Hadrian’s Wall, [this is the cup of] Draco.” If that interpretation is correct, then this is a vessel commissioned by Draco to commemorate his time at these forts – in other words, a souvenir of Hadrian’s Wall. And it’s not the only one – other pans found elsewhere in Britain and France also reference forts on the wall. So how did a Roman military monument come to inspire such keepsakes?

Desirable souvenirs

The construction of Hadrian’s Wall was unprecedented. It was – and in many ways remains – a unique creation. Once completed, the wall was garrisoned for nearly 300 years, during which time tens of thousands of Roman soldiers served along the monument.