Unlike the Great Wall of China, it has suffered much at the hands of the destroyer, and for miles together scarcely a trace is to be seen. In the more or less populated districts it has been used as a quarry, and farm-houses, churches, and pele-towers have been built with its stones. For 19 miles out of Newcastle the road (made by General Wade in 1753, from Newcastle to Carlisle) runs chiefly on the foundations of the Wall, and much of the Wall was pulled down then, to give place to "military necessities." This road I shall in future refer to as "Wade's Road."
THE WALL SEEN FROM CUDDY'S CRAG.
HERE FOR A LONG DISTANCE IT IS EASY TO WALK ALONG THE TOP
OF THE WALL, WHICH IS 8 FEET WIDE, AND 5 OR 6 FEET HIGH.
The Wall is best preserved on the lonely heights, as at Borcovicium, where in parts it may be seen going up hill and down dale, at its original width of 8 feet, and 5 or 6 feet high. The greatest height of any fragment still standing is 9 feet 10 inches, at Hare Hill, Banks, in Cumberland.
The forts along the Wall, or "stations," as they are sometimes called, are military cities, set at an average distance of five miles apart, with barracks, storehouses, baths, etc., and very often with suburbs outside the enclosing wall.
The clue to the names of the forts has been found in a document which has fitly been called the "Who's Who" of the later Roman Empire. This document is known as the Notitia; and the section which refers to the Wall is headed, Item per lineam Vatti. Then follows a list of all the forts along the Wall, with the name of the body of troops stationed at each. There are twenty-three on the list, and only the first twelve have been satisfactorily identified—as follows:
| Fort. | Troops. | Modern name. |
| Segedunum. | 4th Cohort of the Lingones. | Wallsend. |
| Pons Aelii. | 1st Cohort of the Cornovii. | Newcastle. |
| Condercum. | 1st ala (or wing) of the Asturians. | Benwell Hill. |
| Vindobala. | 1st Cohort of the Frixagi (Frisii) | Rudchester. |
| Hunnum. | The Savinian ala. | Halton Chesters. |
| Cilurnum. | 2nd ala of Asturians. | Walwick Chesters. |
| Procolitia. | 1st Cohort of the Batavians. | Carrawburgh. |
| Borcovicium. | 1st Cohort of the Tungrians. | Housesteads. |
| Vindolanda. | 4th Cohort of the Gauls. | Chesterholm. |
| Æsica. | 1st Cohort of the Asturians. | Great Chesters. |
| Magna. | 2nd Cohort of the Dalmatians. | Carvoran. |
| Amboglanna. | 1st Cohort of the Dacians, styled "Aelia." | Birdoswald. |
The means of identification has been by altars or other inscribed stones found on the spot. For instance, at Housesteads was found an altar with this inscription: