A section of the Antonine Wall at Bar Hill near Croy, North Lanarkshire
The Antonine Wall is Scotland’s newest World Heritage Site, inscribed by UNESCO in 2008. It is the largest relic of the Roman occupation of Scotland.
The Antonine Wall formed the north-west frontier of the Roman Empire and was built in the years following AD142. Orders for the erection of the Wall were given by Emperor Antoninus Pius after a successful campaign by the Governor of Britain, Lollius Urbicus. It replaced Hadrian’s Wall which had been built 20 years earlier.
The Antonine Wall, 37 miles in length, originally stood some 10 feet high and was built of turf and earth on top of a stone base. Its northern defences were protected by pits filled with stakes. Forts were placed along the Wall at regular intervals. The forts were linked by a road, the Military Way.
By AD160, the Roman Army had retreated south and the Antonine Wall was abandoned.
