14 March 2010 - 04H45  

Flaming torches light up Britain's Hadrian's Wall
A volunteer looks on after a beacon is lit on Hadrian's Wall at Steel Rigg Northumberland. Hadrian's Wall, a Roman-era fortification spanning the width of northern England, was lit up from end-to-end by volunteers carrying flaming torches Saturday.
A volunteer looks on after a beacon is lit on Hadrian's Wall at Steel Rigg Northumberland. Hadrian's Wall, a Roman-era fortification spanning the width of northern England, was lit up from end-to-end by volunteers carrying flaming torches Saturday.

AFP - Hadrian's Wall, a Roman-era fortification spanning the width of northern England, was lit up from end-to-end by volunteers carrying flaming torches.

As night fell, 500 gas flames were lit at 250-metre intervals for 84 miles (135 kilometres) from Wallsend in northeast England to Bowness-on-Solway in the northwest.

This created a coast-to-coast line of light along the route of a path which runs next to the wall.

Hadrian's Wall was built in 122 AD on the orders of the Roman emperor Hadrian to mark his empire's northern frontier. It is the largest monument from the ancient era in northern Europe and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The torch-lighting event marked British Tourism Week and the 1,600th anniversary of the Roman departure from Britain in 410 AD.

"When you see you the lights here, it's easy to imagine what it must have been like to be stationed here up on the wall," said Linda Tuttiett, chief executive of Hadrian's Wall Heritage, which looks after the wall and organised the event.

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