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Roman wall faces modern threat - 27th April 2026
Dog walkers are threatening the future of Hadrian's Wall. They're pushing used poo bags into gaps in the wall. These are damaging the 1,900 year old structure, which protected Roman Britain from the tribes further north.
Archaeologists aren't just worried about the visual effect of the poo bags. Chemicals and micro-plastics in the bags are absorbed into the stones. These alter the stones' chemical structure and increase the risk of decay.
Construction of Hadrian's Wall began in 122 CE and lasted for 6 years. It resulted in a border that stretched 117.5 kilometres from east to west, across northern England.
Emperor Hadrian ordered the construction of the wall, which was in use for three hundred years. It both formed the northern border of the Roman empire and kept the tribes of the north out of the province of Britannia.
The wall, which became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987, attracts over 750,000 visitors a year. Among these visitors, some dog owners have been leaving their used poo bags in the gaps between the stones.
Margaret Anderson is the head ranger of Northumberland national park. She says that the situation "makes you quite sad." Meanwhile, Mark Newman of the National Trust says that the problem could be "accelerating the decay of the structure".
Although these dog owners may blame a lack of bins along the wall, park authorities want to keep the landscape free of modern structures. Their habits are "absolutely horrific," say other, responsible dog walkers. To them, the habit is "simply lazy". They say that picking up poo bags is just something that dog owners have to do.
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