Breaking Down the Walls

The Roman Empire was known for many remarkable engineering achievements, including roads that straddled continents and aqueducts capable of conveying life-sustaining water into ever-growing cities at the heart of the empire. Researchers tracing the history of Roman infl uence in Great Britain, however, long wondered how one critical, remote outpost in the northern part of the country could have maintained itself and persisted for decades without a source of water.