History does not record if the Emperor Hadrian liked a laugh.
But the joke is on him and his Wall in an exhibition which will open later this month at Segedunum Roman fort in Wallsend .
Hadrian’s Wall has provided a rich seam of inspiration for cartoonists, and the exhibition will feature around 100 examples of their work, from publications such as Viz, Private Eye and The Journal’s own Nicholas Whitmore.
Another 50 cartoons were created by the late Roger Oram, an archaeologist with Tyne Wear Archives and Museums (TWAM) , who was based at Arbeia fort in South Shields and excavated at Segedunum.
A further 50 have been drawn by youngsters in sessions at Richardson Dees Primary School in Wallsend and at Segedunum, led by Beano artist Nigel Auchterlounie.
The oldest Wall cartoon dates from 1872 from the snappily titled publication Canny Newcassel Diary and Rememberancer.
The Borderline Funny exhibition, which opens on May 25, runs until September 15 and has been researched and curated by the Friends of Segedunum.
It is supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Committee of the 14th Pilgrimage of Hadrian’s Wall with guidance from TWAM’s Alex Croom and Bill Griffiths, and Hadrian’s Wall authority Lindsay Allason-Jones, past president of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne.
The Wall pilgrimage takes place every 10 years. At this year’s sold-out event in July, more than 200 participants will spend a week visiting sites along the Wall where research and discoveries have taken place over the previous decade, starting at Wallsend and a visit to the exhibition.
Lindsay said: ”We had the pilgrimage coming up and it is a tradition to visit an exhibition along the Wall.”
With a large collection of cartoons by Roger Oram available, it was decided to see how many other depictions of the monument could be found.
The Friends were awarded a £9,000 lottery grant for the project and volunteers set to work, scouring newspapers, magazines and libraries.
Roger, who died in 2016, drew cartoons based on the Wall for the magazine he ran for the Arbeia Society, and for posters advertising its annual conference.
After retirement, he returned to Segedunum as a volunteer and led archaeology courses, as well as painting the murals for the site’s replica bath house and the viewing tower walls.
Friends chairman and project manager Ken Hutchinson said: “Roger was a great supporter of Segedunum and had a great sense of humour. His cartoons were excellent and he could have had a career in that field.
“Over 20 Friends of Segedunum and other volunteers have researched this exhibition. It’s been a huge task to curate and coordinate, and it has been a learning curve for all of us. It was also great fun choosing what to exhibit, with the laughter of everyone during the research process.
“We had a fantastic response by publications like Private Eye, and Viz was also very helpful. Every generation seems to see something in the Wall, whether it is the perceived differences between the barbarians and the Romans, or Donald Trump’s Mexican wall.”
Lindsay said: “There is the section dedicated to Roger Oram’s superb work and all in all I think this is going to be a fantastic exhibition, with the Friends having really put their backs into it.
“The cartoons divide up into the political, with the idea of frontiers, Trump and Scottish independence, and the plain funny, with the Wall the barrier between Them and Us.
“Cartoonists have been incredibly generous although strangely we could not find any Wall cartoons in Scottish newspapers.
“I was surprised by how many cartoons we did find, but quite a lot were too naughty to use.”
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The Journal’s Nicholas, who lives in Newcastle , said: “Many cartoons are about the timeless difference between the English and the Scots.
“So many English people who live miles away from Hadrian’s Wall don’t understand subjects like the Border reivers, and the grey area and complexities of the Border country.
“The Wall makes the idea of division simple, and people want clear and simple.”
Mike Halsey, vice chairman of the Friends of Segedunum, said: “We’ve been very impressed and heartened by the generous nature of many commercial cartoonists who have contributed their work for the exhibition.”
Geoff Woodward, manager of Segedunum Roman Fort and Museum, said: “The Friends of Segedunum have given so much time to producing this exciting exhibition, offering a fresh perspective of life on the Wall. I’d like to thank all the Friends for their time, dedication and a keen eye for a great joke.”
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