Editing World of A Song of Ice and Fire (section)

====The Wall====
[[File:HadrianWall (xto.photo).jpg|thumb|The Wall in the ''Ice and Fire'' series was inspired by [[Hadrian's Wall]] in the North of England.]]
The Wall is a huge structure of stone, ice, and magic{{sfn|''A Storm of Swords''|loc=Bran IV, p. 770}} on the northern border of the Seven Kingdoms.{{sfn|''A Storm of Swords''|loc=Map}} It is home to the [[Night's Watch]], a brotherhood sworn to protect the realms of men from the threats beyond the Wall.{{sfn|''A Storm of Swords''|loc=Samwell II, p. 450}}

The Wall was inspired by Martin's visit to [[Hadrian's Wall]], in the [[Northern England|North of England]] close to the border with [[Scotland]]. Looking out over the hills, Martin wondered what a [[centurion|Roman centurion]] from the [[Mediterranean]] would feel, not knowing what threats might come from the north.<ref group=S name=grrm_iv_sfsite2/> This experience was so profound that a decade later, in 1991, he wanted to "write a story about the people guarding the end of the world",<ref group=S name=tiff2/> and ultimately "the things that come out of the [fictional] north are a good deal more terrifying than [[Scottish people|Scotsmen]] or [[Picts]]".<ref group=S name=smartertravel/>

Martin adjusted the size, length, and magical nature of the Wall for [[genre fiction|genre]] demands;<ref group=S name=grrm_iv_sfsite2/> [[Jon Snow (character)|Jon Snow]]'s chapters describe it as approximately {{convert|300|mi}} long{{sfn|''A Game of Thrones''|loc=Jon VI, p. 520}} and {{convert|700|ft}} high in general, rising up to a perceived {{convert|900|ft}} in spots due to huge foundation blocks.{{sfn|''A Storm of Swords''|loc=Jon IV, pp. 405–406}} The top is wide enough for a dozen mounted knights to ride abreast (approximately 30&nbsp;ft or 10&nbsp;m),{{sfn|''A Game of Thrones''|loc=Jon III, pp. 184–186}} while the base is so thick that the Wall's gates are more like tunnels through the ice.{{sfn|''A Storm of Swords'' |loc=Bran III, p. 550}}

The novels' legends claim that the First Men,{{sfn|''A Game of Thrones''|loc=Jon IX, p. 784}} or more specifically Brandon the Builder with the possible help of children of the forest and giants,{{sfn|''A Game of Thrones''|loc=Bran IV, pp. 239–240}}{{sfn|''A Storm of Swords''|loc=Jon V, p. 557}} constructed the Wall some 8,000 years before the events of the series.{{sfn|''A Game of Thrones''|loc=Eddard I, p. 46}}

The Wall has since been maintained by the Night's Watch to guard the realms of men against threats from beyond, originally the Others, and later against [[wildling (character)|wildling]] raids.{{sfn|''A Game of Thrones''|loc=Jon VIII, p. 656}}{{sfn|''A Storm of Swords''|loc=Samwell II, p. 450}}

A strip of land known as "the Gift", now stretching 50 [[league (unit)|leagues]] (about {{convert|150|mi}}) south of the wall, was given to them in [[perpetuity]] thousands of years earlier for cultivation.{{sfn|''A Storm of Swords''|loc=Bran III, p. 546}}{{sfn|''A Storm of Swords''|loc=Samwell V, p. 1077}} In ''A Game of Thrones'', of the nineteen castles built along the wall, only three are still manned:{{sfn|''A Game of Thrones''|loc=Jon III, pp. 184–186}} Castle Black with 600 men, and the Shadow Tower and Eastwatch-by-the-Sea with 200 men each.{{sfn|''A Game of Thrones''|loc=Tyrion III, p. 206}} Parts of Castle Black have fallen into ruin.{{sfn|''A Game of Thrones''|loc=Jon III, pp. 184–186}}

The TV series' Castle Black and the Wall were filmed in the abandoned [[Magheramorne#Game of Thrones|Magheramorne]] Quarry near [[Belfast]], [[Northern Ireland]],<ref group=S name=go_hbofilmed/> whereas the scenes shot atop the wall were filmed inside [[Paint Hall Studios]].<ref group=S name=go_hbofilmed/> The composite set (with both exteriors and interiors) consisted of a large section of Castle Black including the courtyard, the ravenry, the mess hall, and the barracks, and used the stone wall of the quarry as the basis for the ice wall that protects Westeros from the dangers that dwell beyond. They also made a functional elevator to lift the rangers to the top of the Wall.<ref group=S name=mogot_fresh/> A castle with real rooms and a working elevator were built near a cliff {{convert|400|ft}} high.<ref group=S name=fodors/><ref group=S name=tiff2/> "Working construction lifts were discovered at a nearby work site and rise 18 feet; [[Computer-generated imagery|CGI]] fills in the rest to make the wall appear 700 feet high."<ref group=S name=dailybeast_secrets/> The area around the elevator was painted white to make it look like ice. Martin was surprised by the height and thought: "Oh I may have made the wall too big!"<ref group=S name=tiff2/> Martin observed: "It's a pretty spectacular, yet miserable location. It is wet and rainy, and the mud is thick....[it] really gets the actors in the mood of being at the end of the world in all of this cold and damp and chill."<ref group=S name=fodors/>