Castle Hill beside Bar Hill are formed of dolerite and This is best preserved at Watling Lodge in Falkirk.
in several locations the hardness of the rock defeated Here it is 12 metres (40 feet) wide and 4 metres (12
the Roman soldiers digging the ditch that formed the feet) deep – dimensions that Prof. Breeze believes are
Wall’s northern face. probably close to its original size. “The sides were cut
Otherwise the Wall swept over the hills and cut to angles of 30 degrees,” he said, “so that this was a
right across the countryside rather like a modern substantial obstacle. The material extracted from the
motorway. It crossed farmland, route-ways and ditch was tipped out on to the north side to form a
presumably split families who suddenly found wide, low bank, the outer or upcast mound, a ‘glacis‘
themselves separated by the earthworks, rather like in military terminology, generally much wider than
the inhabitants of Berlin in the 1960s and Palestine the ditch. Some excavations have revealed that the
today. While archaeological and botanical research turf was not removed before the earth was dumped on
has demonstrated that the Wall was built in fairly open top. This suggests that there was plentiful pasture in
landscape, with some woodland, the predominant the vicinity of the Wall to provide the great quantities
impression that the soldiers would have gained was of turf needed in the construction of the ramparts.
of a settled farming community, tilling the land as Pollen analysis has been able to corroborate this.
they had done for 3,000 years and more. The woodland canopy had therefore largely been
Prof. Breeze says the central sector of the Wall, removed before the Roman army arrived in Northern
between Seabegs in Bonnybridge to Castlehill in Britain.”
Bearsden, was probably constructed fi rst. This sector, Was the Antonine Wall ever breached by the
which is exactly half the Wall’s entire length, was Caledonian tribes? Prof. Breeze thinks the answer
probably then joined by the 22 km (13 mile) eastern is “not while it was occupied.” “Roman records tell
sector, with the 6.5 km (3 miles) of the western end us that in the 180s, that is about 20 years after the
forming the last sector. Antonine Wall was abandoned - the northern tribes
The soldiers building the Antonine Wall required crossed the wall and defeated a Roman General and
accommodation. Prof. Breeze explained that they the troops he had with him. We’ve got to guess at
lived in tents made of leather and these were arranged which wall this is. They didn’t actually say at the
in rows within the protection of a rampart and ditch. time, presumably because everyone knew.” The
The fourth-century Roman writer Vegetius tells us Romans were not only consummate soldiers and
these ditches were nine feet (3 metres) wide and engineers, they also knew a thing or two about
seven feet (2.3 metres) deep. The ramparts had to be keeping the peace, which is one reason why several
three feet (one metre) high although in threatening hoards of Roman silver coins have been unearthed
situations, he says these dimensions could be more close to the Antonine Wall. “Quite a substantial silver
substantial. For this work, Vegetius tells us soldiers hoard was uncovered close to the Wall at Falkirk,”
should carry mattocks, rakes, baskets and other types Prof. Breeze said. “The hoards were probably part of
of tools. a system of bribes or subsidies designed to ensure
Although Hadrian’s Wall was built partly of stone that local chieftains remained pro-Roman. We know
and partly of turf, the Antonine Wall was constructed the Romans had treaties with the Caledonians so this
of earth. “Turfs were used for the most part,” Prof. was probably a form of hush-money meant to keep
Breeze said, “but in the eastern sector, clay was the the Roman peace.”
main construction material. In all cases the turf, earth
or clay was placed on a stone base. Vegetius states
that each turf should measure 18 by 12 by 6 Roman
inches thick (450 by 300 by 150 mm). On that basis
the rampart may have stood about 10 Roman feet
(3m) high. None of these labour camps along the
Antonine Wall is visible today, but about 20 have
been discovered through aerial survey.
“The purpose of the Wall was perhaps to serve
more as a demarcation line rather than as a military
defensive line. Indeed, the Roman army was not
equipped to fi ght defensively from ramparts and
fort walls, preferring to operate in the fi eld where its
discipline, training and weapons gave it a signifi cant
Edge of Empire: The Antonine Wall by David Breeze
advantage.”
is published by Birlinn, Edinburgh.
www.birlinn.co.uk
The rampart was fronted by a wide and deep ditch.
ISBN 13: 978 1 84158 737 0
40
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