KEVIN Robson sees the evidence all around him. Flashes of the German infantry, the Spanish cavalry, the Syrian archers, the Italian legionaries and the Iraqi boatmen who once inhabited these lands.

“We have monuments and carved stones that tell us where soldiers came from, of course,” he said, “so we know the Spanish were based at Chesters Roman Fort and the Syrian archers at Magnae Fort in Greenhead.

“But I also see evidence of the genes in their descendants today. The German infantrymen, for example, were tall and strong with brown hair that was often blond when they were young.

“If you look at some of our farmers working along the Roman Wall today, they bear the traits of those German soldiers who guarded it 2,000 years ago.”

Last Friday was Ancestor Appreciation Day, the annual reminder of what a big part the people who came before us had in shaping our lives today.

But Kevin and his wife, Sara, need no such reminder. Working under the banner of Wild Dog Outdoors, they spend their days walking in the footsteps of both the Roman and Celtic folk who once inhabited these northern frontier lands.

So successful are they at bringing the past to life in their Roam with the Romans tour that they were presented with the North-East Tourism silver award for Best Guided Tour 2017.

The desire to connect with the past has accelerated since the DNA Secrets programme, featuring DNA explorations into the genealogical past of some of the Coronation Street cast, aired on prime-time TV.

Kevin said: “The number of inquiries we have had since that programme! It seems to have sparked a recognition that whilst we regard ourselves as British, we can have inherited our genes from people who came here from all parts of the globe.

“That in turn makes people want to find out not only where their ancestors came from, but how they lived, whether they worked the land, what they ate, and so on.”

At the peak of the Roman occupation, there were 12,000 soldiers stationed on the Wall, with between 480 and 600 men at each of the at least 16 forts peppered along its length.

“Then you had the civilian settlements – the vicus and vici, which is Latin for village and villages – outside of the forts where the soldiers’ families and traders lived,” he said.

“There would have been two, three, four times more people living in the vicus than the fort. They were quite big settlements.

“Many areas along the Wall were more populated 2,000 years ago than they are today.”

Efficient to a fault, the Romans were systematic in the way they occupied Britain. They already knew that it was easier to rule with governors and soldiers brought in from the outside, guaranteeing there was no affinity with the local, subjugated population.

They were also very good at identifying the skillsets they needed.

Kevin said: “At Wallsend, the Celts were sailing into the mouth of the Tyne and attacking settlements on the south bank.

“So, Iraqi boatmen, who were skilled at handling barges on the Euphrates River, were brought to Arbeia Fort (at Wallsend).

“They could deal with the currents – the Tyne would have been quite a big delta then, not the narrow channel it is today – and they were tasked with protecting the river entrance and the settlements on the south bank.”

Syrian archers were similarly renowned for their particular skill.

The sword was the weapon of choice for western soldiers at the time, but in the eastern world it was the recurve composite bow, made out of wood, horn and sinew.

“The Syrians were very powerful, the best archers in the world,” he said. “To put it in context, the modern archery bow draws at about 30 to 35lbs in draw weight, whereas a Syrian archer’s war bow drew at 120lbs.

“It changed the shape of their bodies. A right-handed archer would have a much bigger muscle mass on their right-hand side, so much so his spine could be twisted.

“You can tell from the skeletons unearthed by archaeologists which ones have been archers.”

Spikes of Syrian DNA have been found at Greenhead, in the vicinity of what was once called Magnae Roman Fort, but long since rechristened Carvoran.

And then there’s the interesting skeleton at Vindolanda Museum, which has its own tale to tell.

“On first analysis, they found it was the skeleton of a young man who had grown up in the southern border regions of Scotland,” said Kevin.

“But on further analysis, it was discovered his father had been a farmer in Italy at some point in his life – they could tell all that from the DNA.”

As for Kevin himself, well, there’s no doubt there. “I look in the mirror and see the Scandinavian in me,” he laughed. He knows for sure he has a dash of Norwegian heritage in him. Viking, for sure!