prologos:
FTS. of course I was just getting ahead of the FADS in jest.
Then again England-like in Anglo, -Britain was only partially occupied by the Romans too- Hadrian's wall pales in comparison with the masterpiece in the central kingdom,
Cool, brother.
On the subject of 'walls.' Relatively unknown, but amazing in detail is the 'red snake' of Iran. It is perhaps the best surviving example of a barrier type defense system with indications of an extensive skilled engineering corp in charge.
In detail, it likely exceeds the Chinese walls in some ways.
Excavations In Iran Unravel Mystery Of 'Red Snake'
Date: February 26, 2008 Source: University of Edinburgh Summary: New discoveries unearthed at an ancient frontier wall in Iran provide compelling evidence that the Persians matched the Romans for military might and engineering prowess. The 'Great Wall of Gorgan'in north-eastern Iran, a barrier of awesome scale and sophistication, including over 30 military forts, an aqueduct, and water channels along its route, is being explored by an international team of archaeologists. This vast Wall-also known as the 'Red Snake'-is more than 1000 years older than the Great Wall of China**, and longer than Hadrian's Wall and the Antonine Wall put together. Eberhard Sauer, of the University of Edinburgh's School of History, Classics and Archaeology, said: “Our project challenges the traditional Euro-centric world view. At the time, when the Western Roman Empire was collapsing and even the Eastern Roman Empire was under great external pressure, the Sasanian Persian Empire mustered the manpower to build and garrison a monument of greater scale than anything comparable in the west. The Persians seem to match, or more than match, their late Roman rivals in army strength, organisational skills, engineering and water management.”
Eberhard Sauer, of the University of Edinburgh's School of History, Classics and Archaeology, said: “Our project challenges the traditional Euro-centric world view. At the time, when the Western Roman Empire was collapsing and even the Eastern Roman Empire was under great external pressure, the Sasanian Persian Empire mustered the manpower to build and garrison a monument of greater scale than anything comparable in the west. The Persians seem to match, or more than match, their late Roman rivals in army strength, organisational skills, engineering and water management.”
Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080218155534.htm