This blog reports on a hike along part of the Antonine Wall in Scotland.

Line of Antonine Wall east of Barhill Roman Fort

Introduction

This evening, I am reporting on yesterday’s group hike along sections of the Antonine Wall and Forth & Clyde Canal. Start and finish was near Kilsyth which is sixteen miles N.E. of Glasgow.

Information on the Antonine Wall

In AD 43 a Roman army consisting of four legions, or at least 20,000 men, landed on the southern coast of Britain.

At this time England and Scotland did not exist with the land populated by tribal groups of Brittonic (Welsh) speaking natives.

Some of the native tribes welcomed (or colluded with) the Romans whilst others fiercely opposed them.

The Romans worked north and by around AD80 had established an open frontier in what is now northern England.This occupied a line which ran roughly between modern-day Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Carlisle.

Around AD 122 the Emperor, Hadrian arrived in Britain and issued orders for construction of his eponymous wall. This was 73 miles long, interspersed with 17 major forts and completed around AD 138.

AD 138 Hadrian died and was succeeded by Antoninus During this period, Britain, along with Palestine, was considered a major problem for the Romans owing to native hostility. To secure his position in Rome Antoninus embarked on a project to move the northern frontier 100 miles north. Thus the advancement north could be ‘sold’ in Rome as a major victory in a difficult region. This tactic actually worked with Antoninus going on to rule until his death in AD161.

Construction of the Antonine Wall

The Antonine Wall stretched for 37 miles between the estuaries of the Clyde and Forth. Construction was undertaken by three legions comprising about 8000 men over the period AD139-142. Unlike the stone construction of Hadrian’s Wall, the Antonine Wall was built of turf on a 14ft wide stone base. The turf rampart may have reached 10ft in height and could have been enhanced with a wooden palisade. The wall was defended by a deep ditch to the immediate north. This remains the key physical feature visible today.

The wall was defended by about twenty-six forts of which six were considered primary.

Map showing relationship between Hadrian’s Wall (“HW”) and the Antonine Wall (“AW”)

Abandonment of the Antonine Wall

The wall was permanently abandoned in the 160s when the Romans retreated back to Hadrian’s Wall.Thereafter the latter remained the northern frontier of the Roman Empire through to AD410.

Information on the hike

The group comprised about twenty persons and the route covered 7.3 miles. Weather was poor with wind, ran and temperature a few degrees above freezing.

Start and finish point at Auchinstarry Marina on Forth & Clyde Canal.

On the way we passed a housing development reflecting the Roman heritage.

Remains of bath-house at Bar Hill fort. The experience here was similar to modern-day Turkish baths and a relaxing social event.

View from Bar Hill fort looking N.W. In Roman times this would have been enemy territory.

Line of the wall looking east from Bar Hill. This is, in fact The deep ditch fronting the wall. The base of the wall in the centre is probably a post Roman boundary.

This is the site of a native (pre-Roman) iron-age fort which is situated just east of Bar Hill. No doubt the Romans would have cleared the occupants.

Hiking group navigating along the line of the wall.

Information on the fort layout at Croy Hill

Hiking group posing in front of ‘Silvanus’. This is a Roman head sculpture at Nethercroy. In Roman times Silvanus was ‘god of the woods’.

More information

Information on Hadrian’s Wall, the Antonine Wall and Scotland’s history can be found in Visitors’ Guide to Scotland. The ISBN is 978-1-9161332-0-4. This is also available via Kindle.

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