beheaded. Prof. Breeze says Roman cavalry would
certainly have been included in the invasion force.
“The core of the army was composed of soldiers of
the three legions of the province, the Second, Sixth
and Twentieth, based in Caerleon, York and Chester
respectively. The Second Legion was present at full
strength, in theory about 5,000 men, while the other
two provided detachments of unknown size. These
would have been supported by regiments drawn
from the other main branch of the provincial army,
the auxilia.”
The gods smiled on the Romans and they were
victorious, although as Prof. Breeze points out, this
no doubt had more than a little to do with their
use of overwhelming force and the operation of a
trained, disciplined and well-armed army. Victory
was achieved by August 1, 142 and celebrated on
coins and inscriptions across the empire.
Prof. Breeze says it’s wrong to assume that the
Caledonian tribes were simply rude savages. “These
are the same people who built the beautiful stone
village at Skara Brae and the great tomb at Maes
Howe, both on Orkney,” he said, “and the same
people who built the magnificent dry-stone towers
we call brochs. They were sophisticated enough to
unite in an attempt to defeat Agricola in 83AD.
“Remember, grain had been grown in Scotland for
four thousand years before the Romans came here,
so we’re certainly not dealing with woad-painted
savages. We’re not talking about a subsistence
economy, either. We’re dealing with a settled farming
community in which people produced the kind of
surpluses that allowed them to build tombs and
brochs and hill forts. This was a sophisticated society
in which people were responsible to lords and kings
and of course, that’s what the Romans rode rough-
shod over.”
The Midland Valley in central Scotland offered
a superb location for the Antonine Wall. The valley
is now occupied to the east by the River Carron, a
tributary of the Forth and to the west by the River
Kelvin, a tributary of the Clyde. The Antonine
Wall was placed upon the south side of the valley,
overlooking the rivers to the north and the distant
bulk of the Campsie Fells. While the geography of
the area largely dictated the location of the Wall,
the line still had to be surveyed. Prof. Breeze points
out that the Roman army included surveyors who
marked out the route to be taken by the new frontier.
National Museums Scotland
Whereas Hadrian’s Wall was often laid out in straight
stretches, he says, the Antonine Wall adapted itself
more closely to the country, its route being more
sinuous as it followed the lie of the land.
Hush money: a Roman silver hoard uncovered at Falkirk
At the very centre of the frontier the Wall climbed
over two hills, Croy Hill and Bar Hill. Croy Hill and
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