Sixteen forts—built in two stages—are known along the wall, and fortlets lay between many of these.
Whilst the Wall is not always apparent to passers by there are certain key areas where it can ban be viewed. While a much later medieval source (certain late manuscripts of the Historia Brittonum) would claim that the Wall had been refortified by the usurper Carausius (claimed to reign AD 286–93) in the late third century, this is not supported by archaeological evidence or additional historical sources. These circumstances, as well as the evidence from Hadrian’s Wall, have led many current archaeologists (following an hypothesis originally put forward by John Gillam in 1976, and known as “the Gillam Hypothesis” or “the Gillam Theory”) to interpret the Wall’s chronology as consisting of an original plan based on six “primary” forts (Old Kilpatrick, Balmuildy, Bar Hill or Auchendavy, Castlecary, Mumrills, and Carriden) and fortlets at intervals of one Roman mile, with an altered plan that eventually saw the addition of the remaining forts (including the replacement of now-redundant fortlets, such as those at Duntocher and Croy Hill). The biggest, most awe-inspiring building project the people of Scotland had ever seen, the Antonine Wall stretched right across the country, from Clyde to Forth.
Over the next 90 years, a series of further invasions were planned (including three by Augustus between 34-25 BC and one by Caligula in AD 40), but each of these was ultimately cancelled.
The fortress at Inchtuthil was never completed and, while northern forts have produced a fair number of coins dated AD 86, no coins from 87 have been found, despite their relative abundance elsewhere. The Roman forts represented the limits of the Roman Empire; therefore, it was in the best interest of the Emperor to keep the soldiers content and well fed. Based on dating of ceramic and numismatic evidence, all Flavian forts north of Newstead appear to have been abandoned by AD 90. This was the result of long and laborious efforts, both to gain international recognition for the Antonine Wall itself, but also to change the way in which UNESCO conceived of World Heritage Sites in general, becoming part of the first transnational World Heritage Site, with the possibility that future additions will be made across the other edges of imperial Rome’s vast frontiers. While arguments have been made for pre-Agricolan forts in the north, the northernmost certain identification is at Carlisle, where dendrochonological (tree-ring) dates of AD 72/3 have been given.
It shares this listing with Hadrian's Wall and the German wall known as the Limes Germanicus. The late Flavian occupation of northern Scotland was short-lived. The best-attested period of such activity was during the reign of the emperor Septimius Severus (reigned AD 193–211) who, we are told, campaigned in northern Britain, restoring a Wall (probably Hadrian’s), and travelling to the northern limits of the island before coming to terms with the enemy. Julius Caesar was the first Roman to attempt to invade Britain in 54 BCE, but his and subsequent campaigns were unsuccessful. There is no historical indication that the Wall played any real role in Severus’s campaigns into Scotland, and no archaeological evidence from the Wall can be dated to these activities. The result of this invasion to the north of Hadrian’s Wall, led by the governor Lollius Urbicus, was the establishment of a new frontier line across the Forth-Clyde isthmus, with a new Wall constructed of turf.
Get kids back-to-school ready with Expedition: Learn! By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Again, using a combination of land and naval units, including both Romans and reinforcements of loyal Britons, he advanced and met a united enemy at Mons Graupius (this site location remains uncertain) where, while the enemy had been spurred on by a valiant (and most probably invented by Tacitus!) In Agricola’s fourth season, he focused on securing the territories already gained, building a line of forts along the Forth-Clyde isthmus. While this established a legal system for the protection of ancient monuments, the extension and enforcement of this protection to the Antonine Wall was much delayed, leaving protection primarily to the influence of the societies and individual antiquaries. Chief Inspector of Ancient Monuments, Scotland. ( Log Out /