Edge of Empire - Scotland's Roman Frontier

Burgh of Bearsden

Antonine Wall

Photographs and Information on the Antonine Wall

in Bearsden and Milngavie

Antonine Wall in Bearsden

Map showing route

of the Antonine Wall

through Bearsden

Sign board

at the site of a Roman Fort

on route of the Antonine Wall

The Roman Fort(s) on Castle Hill

Stone base of a Roman Fort

on route of the Antonine Wall

The Roman Fort(s) on Castle Hill

Distance marker stone

on the Antonine Wall

Distance marker stone

on the Antonine Wall

Replica distance marker stone

in the Antonine Garden

in Milngavie

Antonine Garden in Milngavie

Map of the Antonine Wall

Edge of Empire - Scotland's Roman Frontier

The Antonine Wall
is a stone and turf fortification
built by the Romans
across the central belt of Scotland
to fend off Northern Scots tribesmen.

The Wall was the North-West frontier
of the Roman Empire
and runs from Old Kilpatrick
on the Forth & Clyde Canal
to Bo'ness on the Firth of Forth.

Sections of the wall can be seen
in Bearsden,
Kirkintilloch, Twechar, Croy,
Bonnybridge, Falkirk, Polmont
and Bo'ness.

The Antonine Wall

As the most advanced
frontier construction of its time,
and as definitive evidence
of the Romans' time in Scotland,
the Antonine Wall
is an invaluable and fascinating part
of this country's varied and violent history.

For a generation, from about 140 to 160 AD,
the Antonine Wall was the NW frontier
of the Roman Empire.

Constructed by the Roman army,
it ran from modern Bo'ness on the Forth
to Old Kilpatrick on the Clyde
and consisted of a turf rampart
fronted by a wide and deep ditch.

At regular intervals were forts
connected by a road,
while outside the fort gates
clustered civil settlements.

Antoninus Pius,
whom the wall was named after,
reigned longer than any other emperor
with the exception of its founder Augustus.

Yet relatively little is known about him.
In this meticulously researched book,
David Breeze examines this enigmatic life
and the reasons for the construction
and abandonment of his Wall.