The Commemoration of Hadrian's Wall in Cultural Events

This chapter explores the enduring appeal of Hadrian’s Wall as it is drawn upon in contemporary events that seek to bring people to its landscape. It considers the variety of modern cultural events, including festivals, artworks and historical re-enactments, to address the range of ways heritage agencies and trusts seek to encourage people to visit and experience the wall and its landscape. Building on previous writings, this chapter argues that many of these events tend to occlude the divisive function of frontier walls, past and present. These heritage initiatives have developed in the context of a world in which physical barriers to movement are proliferating, and the interpretations of the Roman Wall in a few of the events reviewed in this chapter seek to challenge the divisive logic that excludes certain communities from access to a shared past.