Antonine Wall

The Antonine Wall is a stone and turf fortification built by the Romans across what is now the Central Belt of Scotland, between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde. Representing the northernmost frontier barrier of the Roman Empire, it spanned approximately 63 km (39 miles) and was about 3 m (10 feet) high and 5 m (15 feet) wide. Security was bolstered by a deep ditch on the north side. The barrier was the second of two "great walls" created by the Romans in Caledonia. Its ruins are less evident than the better known Hadrian's Wall to the south. Construction began in AD 142 at the order of Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius, and took about twelve years to complete. Pressure from the Caledonians may have led Antoninus to send the...