How the real Game of Thrones played out at Hadrian’s Wall

It is a fantasy world conjured from the pages of the best-selling books, but the parallels between Game of Thrones and the history of northern Britain are all too real, according to English Heritage.
By The Newsroom
Published 19th Mar 2019, 00:00 GMT
English Heritage has appointed watchers at its Roman forts along Hadrian's Wall in preparation for the final season of the TV series Game of Thrones.English Heritage has appointed watchers at its Roman forts along Hadrian's Wall in preparation for the final season of the TV series Game of Thrones.
English Heritage has appointed watchers at its Roman forts along Hadrian's Wall in preparation for the final season of the TV series Game of Thrones.

As the TV adaptation of George RR Martin’s fiction reaches its much-anticipated final season, the conservation agency has appointed guides at its Roman forts along Hadrian’s Wall, dressed in cloaks and carrying shields, to answer visitors’ questions on where the line between bloody fact and bloodier fiction begins.

“It’s hard not to see the many similarities between the fictional fantasy and real life,” said Frances McIntosh, curator of Hadrian’s Wall and a self-proclaimed Game of Thrones fan.

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Martin has said the wall was an inspiration for the books, and English Heritage has pointed to several instances of art imitating life, including the men who swore oaths there not to marry or father children, and the fictitious “five kings” who mirror the Year of the Five Emperors, a power struggle of 193 AD.

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