Rob Collins

In April 2010, struggling architect Rob Collins of Chattanooga, Tennessee was looking for any way to get back into the golf course design business. When he learned his alma-mater Sewanee planned to renovate their mountain top nine-hole golf course with renowned architect Gil Hanse, he contacted Sewanee golf coach King Oehmig in hopes of getting involved in the project. This began an unlikely series of events which started the incredible saga of Sweetens Cove Golf Club.Sequatchie Valley Golf & Country Club was located the small town of South Pittsburg, Tennessee, in the dead flat flood plain of Battle Creek. A "homemade, country golf course," it was much loved by many golfers in the area: not the least of which was Bob Thomas, successful businessman and founder of nearby Sequatchie Concrete Service. After his home course closed down due to financial difficulties, Thomas bought the 100-acre property in picturesque Sweetens Cove mere days before it was slated to become a horse farm. Under the guidance of his son Reece, what started as a simple renovation project of a run-down golf course turned into something much larger than anyone could have ever imagined.The Secret Home of Golf is the recounting of how a new, bold nine-hole course in rural Tennessee was created by King-Collins Golf, a then unknown and untested golf course design-build firm, and went on to become listed as one of the top 60 Modern Courses by Golfweek magazine. You will meet a cast of characters that were integral to the ultimate and unlikely survival of the course, which was days away from shutting down on multiple occasions. It is a story of sacrifice and almost unimaginable providence. The Secret Home of Golf tells the story of a man who refused to give up on his dream, and how his resilience and determination became one of the biggest success stories in modern-day golf.

The Hadrian’s Wall Community Archaeology Project (WallCAP) conducted a series of fieldwork projects along the Hadrian’s Wall corridor between 2019 and 2021\. The work focused on sites that were poorly understood or under particular threat and aimed to improve understanding of them so they could be better managed in future. At several sites excavation was followed by conservation and consolidation work. This volume brings together the final reports of these excavations, at seven Roman sites in the Wall corridor. As the sites were spread along the length of the Wall the character and afterlife of the Wall in very different landscape locations could be compared. An assessment of the Vallum at Heddon on the Wall identified how earthwork archaeology survived in a sloped, heavily ploughed landscape. Three excavations investigated the condition of the stone Wall curtain at Port Carlisle, Walltown Crags, and Steel Rigg and Cats Stairs. At each site the Wall builders had responded to the demands of the local terrain and made use of local resources. It is also clear how at each site the Wall had a different post-Roman history. Excavations at the bridging point of the Cam Beck revealed for the first time how the Wall was carried over a ‘minor’ watercourse, and discovered traces of the Turf Wall. Small buildings were also identified just south of the Wall as it approached the bridge. At Corbridge Roman town, excavations on the northern periphery of the settlement demonstrated that from early in its history the most northerly town in Europe was of considerable extent. The area investigated showed that, even at the edge of town, shops lined the roads alongside well-appointed houses with bustling yards. Later on in the Roman period the town contracted behind walls and cremation burials were inserted by the road. Each site is reported on independently, presenting the primary data for each investigation. The volume concludes with a synthetic analysis of what the results of these excavations together reveal about Hadrian’s Wall, considering, amongst other things, construction details and the decay and destruction of the monument in the centuries following Roman occupation.

The Hadrian’s Wall Community Archaeology Project (WallCAP) was funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund to promote the value of heritage – specifically of the Hadrian’s Wall World Heritage Site – to local communities, and to provide opportunities for volunteers to engage with the archaeology and conservation of the Wall to better ensure the future of the monument. This short book provides a summary of the project, communicating the range of activities undertaken during the project and key results. It explores the structure and aims of the project, and creates an insightful overview of the many different people and communities that participated. Archaeological fieldwork resulted in a number of new discoveries and insights into Hadrian’s Wall. The revolutionary new work to explore the stones of Hadrian’s Wall, its source geology and how stones were reused from the monument is also discussed. Each chapter is supported by full colour illustrations, and contributions from project volunteers also bring the project into a vibrant focus.

What is Hadrian’s Wall made of, where did this material come from and how has it been reused in other buildings in the communities that emerged in the centuries after the Roman Empire? By studying the fabric of Hadrian’s Wall using a geological approach combined with archaeological methods, is it possible to refine our answers to these questions? This study describes how the relationship between the geology of the Wall’s landscape and its fabric may be used to further understand the Wall and presents a significant set of new geological and archaeological data on the Wall’s stones from across the length of the Wall. This data set has been collected in two complementary ways. First as a citizen-science project, where volunteers from local communities were trained to visually characterise sandstones and resulting in data collecting on large numbers of the Wall’s stones along the length of the Wall. Secondly, analytical research was used to gather in scientific data for a selected sets of rocks and stones. Geochemical data was captured using an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer, and petrographic observations made using a petrographic microscope and thin sections.The combined methods provide a framework for geological analysis of the Wall supported by robust data. It builds on earlier work on Roman quarrying and stone preparation highlighting not only stone sources, but the criteria for choosing stone, stone preparation methods, and the implied routes to the Wall. At the heart of this study lies the ability to uniquely identify different sandstone types. Geological methods used to achieve this are explored, as are the ways in which the sandstones form. This highlights both the possibilities and limits of this approach.

Dr Rob Collins and the curators of the remarkable collections from Hadrian's Wall present a striking new contribution to understanding the archaeology of a Roman frontier. This highly-illustrated volume showcases the artefacts recovered from archaeological investigations along Hadrian's Wall in order to examine the daily lives of those living along the Northern Frontier of the Roman Empire. Presented by theme, no other book offers such a diverse and thorough range of the rich material culture of the Wall. The accompanying text provides an ethnographic perspective, guiding us through the everyday lives of the people of frontier communities, from the Commanding Officer to the local farmer. This holistic view allows us an insight into the homes and communities, how people dressed, what they ate and drank, their religions and beliefs, domestic and military forms of security, and how they conducted their business and pleasure.

Shanghai is one of the busiest and largest cities in the world, people have been traveling to Shanghai from all corners of the world for a long time now, and there's something for everyone in this city. This travel guide will give you a summary of what Shanghai has to offer. Shanghai is currently the largest city in China, and even the world, with a population of more than 24 million people. The people of Shanghai are mostly Chinese, but the last census showed 31,500 Japanese, 21,000 Americans, and 20,700 Koreans, among other foreigners, to be living in the city of Shanghai. It is a port city that lies on the Huangpu River, where the Yangtze River empties into the East China Sea. Shanghai is China's wealthiest city and is said to have the best shopping, dining, fashion and arts and entertainment in all of China. With so many people and so many places to visit, there is an unlimited number of places to go, foods to eat, and goods to buy in Shanghai. Whether you want to tour the city's streets on a search for high fashion, or you want to eat a fish you've never heard of from a street vendor, Shanghai has something to offer any traveler.

Aimed at those educators who wish to make their practice more consistent with progressive educational principles, namely helping learners to take greater control over planning and managing their own learning. The book contains a balance of theory and practical suggestions.

There is no synthetic or comprehensive treatment of any late Roman frontier in the English language to date, despite the political and economic significance of the frontiers in the late antique period. Examining Hadrian’s Wall and the Roman frontier of northern England from the fourth century into the Early Medieval period, this book investigates a late frontier in transition from an imperial border zone to incorporation into Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, using both archaeological and documentary evidence. With an emphasis on the late Roman occupation and Roman military, it places the frontier in the broader imperial context. In contrast to other works, Hadrian’s Wall and the End of Empire challenges existing ideas of decline, collapse, and transformation in the Roman period, as well as its impact on local frontier communities. Author Rob Collins analyzes in detail the limitanei, the frontier soldiers of the late empire essential for the successful maintenance of the frontiers, and the relationship between imperial authorities and local frontier dynamics. Finally, the impact of the end of the Roman period in Britain is assessed, as well as the influence that the frontier had on the development of the Anglian kingdom of Northumbria.

There is no synthetic or comprehensive treatment of any late Roman frontier in the English language to date, despite the political and economic significance of the frontiers in the late antique period. Examining Hadrian’s Wall and the Roman frontier of northern England from the fourth century into the Early Medieval period, this book investigates a late frontier in transition from an imperial border zone to incorporation into Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, using both archaeological and documentary evidence. With an emphasis on the late Roman occupation and Roman military, it places the frontier in the broader imperial context. In contrast to other works, Hadrian’s Wall and the End of Empire challenges existing ideas of decline, collapse, and transformation in the Roman period, as well as its impact on local frontier communities. Author Rob Collins analyzes in detail the limitanei, the frontier soldiers of the late empire essential for the successful maintenance of the frontiers, and the relationship between imperial authorities and local frontier dynamics. Finally, the impact of the end of the Roman period in Britain is assessed, as well as the influence that the frontier had on the development of the Anglian kingdom of Northumbria.

Aimed at those educators who wish to make their practice more consistent with progressive educational principles, namely helping learners to take greater control over planning and managing their own learning. The book contains a balance of theory and practical suggestions.