Inside the Museum

Start your Hadrian’s Wall adventure here

There is nowhere else like it!

Visit the Roman Army Museum and immerse yourself in the life of a Roman soldier. The museum includes three galleries, 3D film and holographic classroom. Based at the site of Magna Roman Fort the museum is situated next to one of the most complete sections of Hadrian’s Wall.

The Galleries

The galleries at the Roman Army Museum tell the story of the Roman soldier from a general empire wide perspective through to daily life on the frontier. Galleries are highlighted with objects from Vindolanda’s collection and full-scale replicas.

Roman Army and its Empire gallery: Learn about the structure of the Roman Army and the expansion of the empire through audio visual displays. Head to the recruitment tent where Centurion Africanus tries to persuade you to join up to the Roman Army.

Gallery two: You can visit the Hadrian room and find out about the man himself and see a large commissioned artwork, in Roman style, of the conquering and building of the Wall.

Gallery three, Daily Life on the Frontier: Hear about life on the frontier, based at the fort of Magna, including training, religion, leisure and information about the fort’s special unit of Syrian archers.

New temporary exhibition

The newly founded Vindolanda Youth Panel has spent the last 6 months working closely with the Vindolanda Trust to develop a display that explores aspects of Roman identities on Hadrian’s Wall using objects from the Vindolanda Collection.  

“Our identity is who we are, it is multifaceted and complex. Through our display case we have demonstrated that this complexity of identity applied to the Romans living on the Northern frontier.”

The temporary exhibition they have curated is at the Roman Army Museum until the end of October 2023.

Immerse yourself!

In 20 rich immersive minutes you will soar like an eagle across the majestic Northumberland landscape, over Hadrian’s Wall and through a thousand years of history. See for yourself in incredible 3D detail what life was like on the wall for our ambitious soldier ‘Aquila’ and see what it takes to rise through the ranks and why many didn’t make it! Battle and boredom – an intoxicating mix of emotions for those tasked with defending Hadrian’s honour!