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Antonine Wall
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The Antonine Wall also known as the Severan Wall, is a stone and turf fortification, built by the Romans across what is now the central belt of Scotland and is also known as the Clyde-Forth frontier line. Although most of the wall has been destroyed over time, sections of the wall can still be seen in Bearsden, Kirkintilloch, Twechar, Croy, Falkirk and Polmont.
truction of the Antonine Wall under the supervision of Quintus Lollius Urbicus began about 142 AD, during the reign of Antoninus Pius and took about twelve years to complete.
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The Antonine Wall also known as the Severan Wall, is a stone and turf fortification, built by the Romans across what is now the central belt of Scotland and is also known as the Clyde-Forth frontier line. Although most of the wall has been destroyed over time, sections of the wall can still be seen in Bearsden, Kirkintilloch, Twechar, Croy, Falkirk and Polmont.
Construction
Construction of the Antonine Wall under the supervision of Quintus Lollius Urbicus began about 142 AD, during the reign of Antoninus Pius and took about twelve years to complete. The wall stretches 63 kilometres (39 miles) from Old Kilpatrick in West Dunbartonshire on the Firth of Clyde to Bo'ness, Falkirk, on the Firth of Forth. The wall was intended to replace Hadrian's Wall 160 km (100 miles) to the south, as the frontier of Britannia, but while the Romans did establish temporary forts and camps north of the wall, they did not conquer the Caledonians, and the Antonine Wall suffered many attacks. The Romans called the land north of the wall Caledonia, though in some contexts the term may mean the area north of Hadrian's Wall.
The Antonine Wall was shorter than Hadrian's Wall and built of turf on a stone foundation rather than of stone, but it was still an impressive achievement. The stone foundations and wing walls of the original forts demonstrate that the original plan was to build a stone wall similar to Hadrian's Wall, but this was quickly amended. As built, the wall was typically a bank, about four meters (13 feet) high, made of layered turves and occasionally earth with a wide ditch on the north side, and a military way on the south. The Romans initially planned to build forts every six miles, but this was soon revised to every two miles, resulting in a total of 19 forts along the wall. The best preserved but also one of the smallest forts is Rough Castle Fort.
In addition to the forts, there are at least 9 smaller fortlets, very likely on mile spacings, which formed part of the original scheme, some of which were later replaced by forts. The most visible fortlet is Kinneil, at the eastern end of the Wall, near Bo'ness.
In addition to the line of the Wall itself there are a number of coastal forts both in the East (e.g. Inveresk) and West (Outerwards and Lurg Moor), which should be considered as outposts and/or supply bases to the Wall itself. In addition a number of forts further north were brought back into service in the Gask Ridge area, including Ardoch, Strageath, Bertha and probably Dalginross and Cargill.
Wall abandoned
The wall was abandoned after only twenty years, when the Roman legions withdrew to Hadrian's Wall in 162 AD (although there is evidence to suggest that they left the wall in 158/60 AD, its reliability is unclear), and over time reached an accommodation with the Brythonic tribes of the area who they fostered as the buffer states which would later become "The Old North". After a series of attacks in 197 AD, Emperor Septimius Severus arrived in Scotland in 208 AD to secure the frontier, and repaired parts of the wall. Although this re-occupation only lasted a few years, the wall is sometimes referred to by later Roman historians as the Severan Wall. This led to later scholars like Bede mistaking references to the Antonine Wall for ones to Hadrian's Wall.
Post-Roman history
Grim's Dyke
The origin of the name for the rampart is Celtic: “greim dige.” The Celtic word “greim” means literally “to bite” but it is used in many senses to suggest “to hold”, "to grip". In medieval histories, such as the chronicles of John of Fordun, the wall is called Gryme's dyke. Fordun says that the name came from the grandfather of the imaginary king Eugenius son of Farquahar. This was corrupted into Graham's dyke – a name still found in Bo'ness at the wall's eastern end – and then linked with Clan Graham. Of note is that Graeme in some parts of Scotland is a nickname for the devil, and Gryme's Dyke would thus be the Devil's Dyke, mirroring the name of the Roman Limes in Southern Germany often called 'Teufelsmauer'
This name is the same one found as Grim's Ditch several times in England in connection with early ramparts: for example, near Wallingford in south Oxfordshire or between Berkhamsted (Herts) and Bradenham (Bucks).
Grim is presumed to be a byname for Odin or Wodan, who might be credited with the wish to build earthworks in unreasonably short periods of time. By antiquaries the Graham's Dyke is usually styled the Wall of Pius or the Antonine Vallum, after the emperor Antoninus Pius, in whose reign it was constructed.
In a Scottish context, Grim is also found as a variant of the name Giric, a name borne by an obscure king Giric mac Dúngail of the late 9th century, to whom many great victories were attributed in medieval times.
It is also known sometimes as Graham's Dyke, the name being locally explained as a legend of a victorious assault on the defences by one Robert Graham.
World Heritage Status
The UK government's nomination of the Antonine Wall for World Heritage status to the international conservation body UNESCO was first officially announced in 2003. It has been backed by the Scottish Government since 2005 and by Scotland's then Culture Minister Patricia Ferguson since 2006. It became the UK's official nomination in late January 2007, and MSPs were called to support the bid anew in May 2007. The Antonine Wall was listed as an extension to the World Heritage Site "Frontiers of the Roman Empire" on 7 July 2008.
See also
External links
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- "Antonine Wall, Scotland"
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