Hadrian's Wall cultural icon, Hadrian's Wall is one of Britain's major ancient tourist attractions. It was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. In comparison, the Antonine wall, thought by some to be based on Hadrian's wall (the Gillam hypothesis), was not declared a World Heritage site until 2008. It is a common misconception that Hadrian's Wall marks the boundary between England and Scotland. In fact Hadrian's Wall lies entirely within England and has never formed the Anglo-Scottish border. While it is less than south of the border with Scotland in the west at Bowness-on-Solway, in the east it is
Scotland during the Roman Empire fortification built across the width of what is now northern England. The wall was 80 Roman miles (73.5 statute miles or 117 kilometres) long, its width and height dependent on the construction materials which were available nearby. East of the River Irthing the wall was made from squared stone and measured 3 metres (9.7 ft) wide and 5–6 metres (16–20 ft) high, while west of the river the wall was originally made from turf and measured 6 metres (20 ft) wide and 3.5 metres (11.5 ft) high; it was subsequently rebuilt in stone. The wall was augmented by various ditches,