Antonine Wall

In Ad 140 or so, Emperor Antoninus Pius ordered the construction of a wall across Central Scotland. It would go from what we now know as Old Kilpatrick to Bo'ness, and would mark a nothern limit to the Roman Empire. For around twenty years this wall held, but the Roman garrisons - at the end of a long suppy chain - could not hold out against the Scots.

Much of this "wall" took the form of a ditch, behind which was an elevated section of land. This is a remaining section of the ditch, at Roughcastle Fort, near Falkirk.

We are standing at the bottom of the ditch, looking west. To the left (the south), Roman soldiers. An empire that stretches all the way to north Africa. To the right, the untamed tribes of Scotland. The Romans have tried to defeat them, but the mountainous terrain on the other side of the River Forth has proven too much for these troops, stationed far from home.

A great site to visit!