View source for Antonine Wall

{{short description|Defensive fortification in Roman Britain}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}
{{Infobox historic site
| name = Antonine Wall
| image = Hadrians Wall map.svg
| caption = Location of the Antonine Wall in modern-day [[Scotland]], and [[Hadrian's Wall]] now in [[Northern England]]
| coordinates = {{coord|55.967|N|4.067|W|display=inline,title|source:dewiki}}
| location = United Kingdom
| designation1 = WHS
| designation1_date = 2008 <small>(32nd [[World Heritage Committee|session]])</small>
| designation1_criteria = ii, iii, iv
| designation1_partof = [[Frontiers of the Roman Empire]]
| designation1_number = [https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/430 430]
| designation1_free1name = Region
| designation1_free1value = [[List of World Heritage Sites in Europe|Europe and North America]]
| governing_body = [[Historic Environment Scotland]]
| owner =
| area = {{convert|39|mi|km}}
| built = AD 142
| built_for = [[Antoninus Pius]]
}}{{RomanMilitary}}The '''Antonine Wall''' ({{langx|la|Vallum Antonini}}) was a [[sod|turf]] [[fortification]] on stone foundations, built by the [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] across what is now the [[Central Belt]] of [[Scotland]], between the [[Firth of Clyde]] and the [[Firth of Forth]]. Built some twenty years after [[Hadrian's Wall]] to the south, and intended to supersede it, while it was garrisoned it was the northernmost frontier barrier of the [[Roman Empire]]. It spanned approximately {{convert|63|km|0|abbr=off}} and was about {{convert|3|m|0|abbr=off}} high and {{convert|5|m|0|abbr=off}} wide. [[Lidar]] scans have been carried out to establish the length of the wall and the Roman distance units used.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Krakowka|first1=Kathryn|title=Meticulous metric survey of the Antonine Wall|url=https://www.archaeology.co.uk/articles/meticulous-metric-survey-of-the-antonine-wall.htm|website=Current Archaeology|access-date=28 April 2018|date=24 April 2018}}</ref> Security was bolstered by a deep [[ditch]] on the northern side. It is thought that there was a wooden [[palisade]] on top of the turf. The barrier was the second of two "great walls" created by the Romans in Great Britain in the second century AD. Its ruins are less evident than those of the better-known and longer Hadrian's Wall to the south, primarily because the turf and wood wall has largely weathered away, unlike its stone-built southern predecessor.

Construction began in AD&nbsp;142 at the order of [[Roman Emperor]] [[Antoninus Pius]]. Estimates of how long it took to complete vary widely, with six and twelve years most commonly proposed.<ref>Breeze, David J. (2006) ''The Antonine Wall''. Edinburgh. John Donald. p. 210 {{ISBN|0-85976-655-1}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Antonine Wall, Scotland |url=https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryMagazine/DestinationsUK/The-Antonine-Wall/ |access-date=2023-12-08 |website=Historic UK |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=History {{!}} Antonine Wall |url=https://www.antoninewall.org/research-resources/history |access-date=2023-12-08 |website=www.antoninewall.org}}</ref> Antoninus Pius never visited Britain, unlike his predecessor [[Hadrian]]. Pressure from the [[Caledonians]] probably led Antoninus to send the empire's troops further north. The Antonine Wall was protected by 16 forts with small fortlets between them; troop movement was facilitated by a road linking all the sites known as the Military Way. The soldiers who built the wall commemorated the construction and their struggles with the Caledonians with decorative slabs, twenty of which survive. The wall was abandoned only eight years after completion, and the garrisons relocated rearward to Hadrian's Wall. Most of the wall and its associated fortifications have been destroyed over time, but some remains are visible. Many of these have come under the care of [[Historic Environment Scotland]] and the [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Committee]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The Antonine Wall Management Plan 2014–19|url=http://www.antoninewall.org/system/files/documents/494733_283836_Antonine_Wall_MP_WEB_20131125134011.pdf#page=7|website=Antonine Wall|access-date=28 April 2018}}</ref>

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[[File:Antoninus Wall near Bar Hill.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Antonine Wall near [[Bar Hill Fort|Bar Hill]] showing ditch]]

== Location and construction ==
[[File:Antonine Wall - geograph.org.uk - 49196.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Stone foundation of the Wall in [[Bearsden]], Glasgow]]
The [[Roman Emperor]] [[Antoninus Pius]] ordered the construction of the Antonine Wall around 142.<ref>Robertson, Anne S. (1960) ''The Antonine Wall''. Glasgow Archaeological Society. p. 7.</ref> [[Quintus Lollius Urbicus]], governor of [[Roman Britain]] at the time, initially supervised the effort, which may have taken as long as twelve years.<ref>Breeze, David J. (2006) ''The Antonine Wall''. Edinburgh. John Donald. p. 167 {{ISBN|0-85976-655-1}}.</ref> The wall stretches {{convert|63|km|0|abbr=off}} from [[Old Kilpatrick]] in [[West Dunbartonshire]] on the [[Firth of Clyde]] to [[Carriden House|Carriden]] near [[Bo'ness]] on the [[Firth of Forth]]. The wall was intended to extend Roman territory and dominance by replacing [[Hadrian's Wall]] {{convert|160|km|-1|abbr=off}} to the south, as the frontier of ''[[Roman Britain|Britannia]]''. But while the Romans did establish [[Gask Ridge|forts and temporary camps further north]] of the Antonine Wall in order to protect their routes to northern Britain, they did not conquer the [[Caledonians]], and the Antonine Wall suffered many attacks. The Romans called the land north of the wall ''[[Caledonia (Roman)|Caledonia]]'', though in some contexts the term may refer to the whole area north of Hadrian's Wall. The land north of the Antonine Wall became known as Albany after the settlement of the Gaels in the 6th century.

The Antonine Wall was shorter than Hadrian's Wall and built of [[Sod|turf]] on a stone foundation, but it was still an impressive achievement. It was also a simpler fortification than Hadrian's Wall insofar as it did not have a subsidiary ditch system ([[Vallum (Hadrian's Wall)|Vallum]]) behind it to the south. As built, the wall was typically a bank, about {{convert|3|m|0|spell=in|abbr=off}} high, made of layered turves and occasionally earth with a wide [[ditch (fortification)|ditch]] on the north side, and a [[Roman road|military way]] on the south.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Building the Wall {{!}} Antonine Wall |url=https://www.antoninewall.org/about-the-wall/building-the-wall |access-date=2024-04-12 |website=www.antoninewall.org}}</ref>

The stone foundations and wing walls of the original forts on the Antonine Wall demonstrate that the original plan was to build a stone wall similar to Hadrian's Wall, but this was quickly amended.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Coby |first1=Paul |title=Forts and Roman Strategy: A New Approach and Interpretation |date=31 August 2022 |publisher=Pen and Sword Military |isbn=978-1-5267-7213-8 |page=128 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1M9xEAAAQBAJ&dq=hadrian+wall+planned+before+inscription&pg=PA148 |access-date=3 July 2022 |language=en}}</ref> The Romans initially planned to build forts every {{convert|10|km|0|abbr=off}}, but this was soon revised to every {{convert|3.3|km|0|abbr=off}}, resulting in a total of nineteen forts along the wall. The best preserved but also one of the smallest forts is [[Rough Castle Fort]]. In addition to the forts, there are at least nine smaller fortlets, very likely on Roman mile spacings, which formed part of the original scheme, some of which were later replaced by forts.<ref name="L.Keppie, Scotland's Roman Remains 1986">L.Keppie, Scotland's Roman Remains. Edinburgh 1986</ref> The most visible fortlet is Kinneil, at the eastern end of the Wall, near Bo'ness.<ref>[http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/index/policyandguidance/world_heritage_scotland/antoninewall.htm Historic Scotland – Looking after our heritage – The Antonine Wall<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

There was once a remarkable Roman structure within sight of the Antonine Wall at [[Stenhousemuir]], which took its name from the Roman "stone house". This was [[Arthur's O'on]], a circular stone domed monument or [[Rotunda (architecture)|rotunda]], which might have been a temple, or a [[Tropaion|''tropaeum'']], a victory monument. It was demolished for its stone in 1743, though a replica exists at [[Penicuik House]].
[[File:Antonine.Wall.Roman.forts.jpg|thumb|upright=2|center|alt=map of Antonine wall with forts|Forts and ''Fortlets''<ref>{{cite web|last1=Hunter|first1=Fraser|last2=Carruthers|first2=Martin|title=ScARF Summary Roman Presence Report|url=http://www.scottishheritagehub.com/sites/default/files/u12/ScARF%20Roman%20June%202012.pdf#page=26|website=Scottish Heritage Hub|access-date=28 April 2018}}</ref> associated with the Antonine Wall<ref>{{cite web|last1=Kent|first1=Emerson|title=Alternative Map of the Wall|url=http://www.emersonkent.com/map_archive/antonine_wall_142.htm|access-date=7 May 2018}}</ref> from west to east: [[Bishopton, Renfrewshire|Bishopton]], [[Old Kilpatrick]], [[Duntocher]], ''[[Cleddans]]'', [[Castlehill Fort|Castlehill]], [[Bearsden]], ''[[Summerston]]'', [[Balmuildy]], ''[[Wilderness Plantation]]'', [[Cadder]], ''[[Glasgow Bridge, Kirkintilloch|Glasgow Bridge]]'', [[Kirkintilloch]], [[Auchendavy]], [[Bar Hill Fort|Bar Hill]], [[Croy Hill]], [[Westerwood]], [[Castlecary]], ''[[Seabegs Wood|Seabegs]]'', [[Rough Castle]], [[Camelon]], ''[[Watling Lodge]]'', [[Falkirk]], [[Mumrills]], [[Inveravon]], ''[[Kinneil House|Kinneil]]'', [[Carriden House|Carriden]]]]
[[File:Romanwallinscotl00macduoft raw 0197.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|The [[Bridgeness Slab]] – the easternmost distance slab]]

In addition to the line of the Wall itself there are a number of coastal forts both in the East (e.g. [[Inveresk]]) and West (Outerwards and Lurg Moor), which should be considered as outposts and/or supply bases to the Wall itself. In addition a number of forts further north were brought back into service in the [[Gask Ridge]] area, including [[Ardoch fort|Ardoch]], [[Strageath]], [[Bertha (Perth)]]<ref name="L.Keppie, Scotland's Roman Remains 1986"/> and probably Dalginross and Cargill.<ref>D.J.Woolliscroft & B.Hoffmann, Romes First Frontier. The Flavian occupation of Northern Scotland (Stroud: Tempus 2006)</ref>
[[File:Romanwallinscotl00macduoft raw 0387.png|thumb|right|upright=1.6|RIB 2193. Distance Slab of the [[Legio II Augusta|Second Legion]].<ref>{{cite web|title=RIB 2193. Distance Slab of the Second Legion
|url=https://romaninscriptionsofbritain.org/inscriptions/2193|website=Roman Inscriptions of Britain|access-date=18 November 2017}}</ref> [[George Macdonald (archaeologist)|George MacDonald]] calls it no. 6 in the 2nd edition of his book ''The Roman Wall in Scotland''.<ref name=Macdonald1934>{{cite book|last1=Macdonald|first1=Sir George|title=The Roman wall in Scotland, by Sir George Macdonald|date=1934|publisher=The Clarendon press|location=Oxford|pages=373–376|edition=2d ed., rev., enl., and in great part rewritten|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3760345;view=2up;seq=526;size=200|access-date=11 October 2017}}</ref>{{rp|373–376}} He says it was found near the farm at [[Summerston]] on the banks of the [[River Kelvin|Kelvin]]. It has been scanned and a video produced.<ref>{{cite web|title=Distance Slab of the Second Legion , Balmuildy|url=https://vimeo.com/129136081|access-date=25 November 2017|date=28 May 2015}}</ref>]]
Recent research by Glasgow University has shown that the distance stones, stone sculptures unique to the Antonine Wall which were embedded in the wall to mark the lengths built by each legion, were brightly painted unlike their present bare appearance.<ref>{{Cite web |title=University of Glasgow research finds red and yellow paint on Antonine Wall |url=https://www.gla.ac.uk/news/archiveofnews/2018/april/headline_579010_en.html |access-date=2024-04-12 |website=www.gla.ac.uk |language=en}}</ref> These stones are preserved in the university's [[Hunterian Collection|museum]] and are said to be the best-preserved examples of statuary from any Roman frontier.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Brock |first1=John F. |title=THE DISTANCE SLABS OF THE ANTONINE WALL : The Surveyors' Record Carved in Stone! |url=https://www.fig.net/resources/proceedings/fig_proceedings/fig2018/papers/fig09a/FIG09A_brock_9217.pdf#page=17 |website=International Federation of Surveyors |access-date=5 June 2018}}</ref> Several of the slabs have been analysed by various techniques including portable [[X-ray fluorescence]] (pXRF). Tiny remnants of paint have been detected by [[surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy]] (SERS). Several of the distance slabs have been scanned and 3-D videos produced. There are plans to reproduce the slabs, both digitally and in real physical copies, with their authentic colours.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Krakowka |first1=Kathryn |title=Reading the painting on the wall |url=https://www.archaeology.co.uk/articles/reading-the-painting-on-the-wall.htm |access-date=30 May 2018 |agency=Current Archaeology |issue=CA 340 |date=30 May 2018}}</ref> A copy of the [[Bridgeness Slab]] has already been made and can be found in [[Bo'ness]]. It is also expected that lottery funding will allow replicas of distance markers to be placed along the length of the wall.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Paterson |first1=Kirsteen |title=Scotland's Roman heritage to be remembered with Antonine Wall installations |url=http://www.thenational.scot/news/16956037.scotlands-roman-heritage-to-be-remembered-with-antonine-wall-installations/ |access-date=6 October 2018 |agency=The National |date=3 October 2018}}</ref>
[[File:Antonine wall.JPG|thumb|upright=1.3|alt=swale with wall foundation|The Antonine Wall, looking east, from [[Bar Hill Fort|Bar Hill]] between [[Twechar]] and [[Croy, North Lanarkshire|Croy]]]]

== Abandonment ==
The wall was abandoned within two decades of completion<ref>{{Cite web |title=Did the Romans really reach Scotland? |url=https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20190526-did-the-romans-really-reach-scotland |access-date=2024-04-12 |website=www.bbc.com}}</ref> when the [[Roman legion]]s withdrew to [[Hadrian's Wall]] in 162, and over time may have reached an accommodation with the [[Brythonic languages|Brythonic]] tribes of the area, whom they may have fostered as possible [[buffer state]]s which would later become [[Hen Ogledd|"The Old North"]]. After a series of attacks in 197, the emperor [[Septimius Severus]] arrived in Scotland in 208, and campaigned against the [[Maeatae]] (based in the central Midland Valley on either side of the Firth of Clyde – Firth of Forth line) and the Caledonians to their north.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Elliott|first1=Simon|last2=Hughes|first2=Tristan|title=The Scottish Campaigns of Septimius Severus|url=http://turningpointsoftheancientworld.com/index.php/2018/03/18/scottish-campaigns-septimius-severus/|access-date=21 May 2018|agency=Turning Points Of The Ancient World|date=18 March 2018}}</ref> While he carried out substantial work on Hadrian's Wall at the time, there is no evidence of any attention being paid to the remains of the Antonine Wall during the campaigns of 208–210.<ref>Breeze, David J. (2006) ''The Antonine Wall''. Edinburgh. John Donald. p. 197 {{ISBN|0-85976-655-1}}.</ref> References in Late Roman sources to [[Wall of Severus|Severus' wall-building activities]] led to later scholars like [[Bede]] mistaking references to the Antonine Wall for ones to [[Hadrian's Wall#After Hadrian|Hadrian's Wall]].

== Post-Roman history ==
In the centuries that the Antonine Wall has lain abandoned, it has influenced culture between the Forth and the Clyde.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Maldonado |first1=Adrián |date=November 2015 |title=The Early Medieval Antonine Wall |journal=Britannia |volume=46 |pages=225–245 |doi=10.1017/S0068113X15000124 |issn=0068-113X |s2cid=155186916}}</ref>

=== Gildas and Bede ===
Writing in 730, [[Bede]], following [[Gildas]] in his ''[[De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae]]'', mistakenly ascribes the construction of the Antonine Wall to the Britons in his [[s:Ecclesiastical History of the English People/Book 1#5|''Historia Ecclesiastica'' 1.12]]:

{{blockquote|text=The islanders built the wall which they had been told to raise, not of stone, since they had no workmen capable of such a work, but of sods, which made it of no use. Nevertheless, they carried it for many miles between the two bays or inlets of the sea of which we have spoken; to the end that where the protection of the water was wanting, they might use the rampart to defend their borders from the irruptions of the enemies. Of the work there erected, that is, of a rampart of great breadth and height, there are evident remains to be seen at this day. It begins at about two miles' distance from the monastery of Aebbercurnig [Abercorn], west of it, at a place called in the Pictish language Peanfahel, but in the English tongue, Penneltun [Kinneil], and running westward, ends near the city of Aicluith [Dumbarton].<ref name="HEch12">Bede ''Historia Ecclesiastica'', Book I Chapter 12</ref>}}

Bede associated Gildas's turf wall with the Antonine Wall. As for Hadrian's Wall, Bede again follows Gildas:
{{blockquote|text= [the departing Romans] thinking that it might be some help to the allies [Britons], whom they were forced to abandon, constructed a strong stone wall from sea to sea, in a straight line between the towns that had been there built for fear of the enemy, where Severus also had formerly built a rampart.<ref name="HEch12" />}}

Bede obviously identified Gildas's stone wall as Hadrian's Wall, but he sets its construction in the 5th century rather than the 120s, and does not mention Hadrian. And he would appear to have believed that the ditch-and-mound barrier known as the [[Vallum (Hadrian's Wall)|Vallum]] (just to the south of, and contemporary with, Hadrian's Wall) was the rampart constructed by Severus. Many centuries would pass before just who built what became apparent.<ref>[http://www.dot-domesday.me.uk/s_wall.htm], From Dot to Domesday website</ref>

=== Grim's Dyke ===
In [[medieval]] histories, such as the chronicles of [[John of Fordun]], the wall is called ''Gryme's dyke''. Fordun says that the name came from the grandfather of the imaginary king Eugenius son of Farquahar. This evolved over time into Graham's dyke<ref>{{cite web|title=An Additional DESCRIPTION OF THE ROMAN WALL, IN SCOTLAND|url=http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/c/camden/william/britannia-gibson-1722/part159.html|access-date=15 October 2017|archive-date=15 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171015044815/https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/c/camden/william/britannia-gibson-1722/part159.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Camden|first1=William|title=Britannia, or, A chorographical description of Great Britain and Ireland, together with the adjacent islands|date=1722|publisher=Printed by Mary Matthews, for Awnsham Churchill, and sold by William Taylor ...|location=London|pages=1283–1292|edition=vol 2|url=https://archive.org/stream/gri_britanniaora02camd#page/n375/mode/2up|access-date=9 October 2017}}</ref> – a name still found in [[Bo'ness]] at the wall's eastern end – and then linked with [[Clan Graham]]. Of note is that Graeme in some parts of Scotland is a nickname for the devil, and Gryme's Dyke would thus be the Devil's Dyke, mirroring the name of the Roman [[Limes (Roman Empire)|limes]] in Southern Germany often called 'Teufelsmauer'. Grímr and Grim are bynames for [[Odin]] or [[Wodan]], who might be credited with the wish to build earthworks in unreasonably short periods of time. This name is the same one found as [[Grim's Ditch]] several times in England in connection with early ramparts: for example, near [[Wallingford, Oxfordshire|Wallingford]], Oxfordshire or between [[Berkhamsted]] (Herts) and [[Bradenham, Buckinghamshire|Bradenham]] (Bucks). 

Other names used by antiquarians include the Wall of Pius and the Antonine Vallum, after Antoninus Pius.<ref>Earthwork of England: prehistoric, Roman, Saxon, Danish, Norman and mediæval – Page 496, by Arthur Hadrian Allcroft</ref><ref>'Transactions of the Woolhope Naturalists' Field Club – Page 255, by Woolhope Naturalists' Field Club, Hereford, England, G. H. Jack, 1905</ref> [[Edmund Spenser]] in Book II of ''[[The Faerie Queene]]'' (1590) alludes to the Wall, misattributing it to Constantine II.<ref>"Tudor Grand Strategy", Willy Maley, ''Times Literary Supplement'', 15 March 2024, p. 13.</ref> [[Hector Boece]] in his 1527 ''History of Scotland'' called it the "wall of [[Abercorn]]", repeating the story that it had been destroyed by Graham.<ref>Boece, Hector, ''Historia Gentis Scotorum'', (1527), book 7, chapter 16</ref>

=== Scottish renaissance ===
Renaissance patrons in the 16th century, including [[George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal]], who were exposed to the world of international scholarship through diplomacy, began to collect antiquities.<ref>Daniel Kemp, ''Tours in Scotland by Richard Pococke'' (SHS: Edinburgh, 1887), p. 209: [https://romaninscriptionsofbritain.org/inscriptions/2173 RIB 2173. Distance Slab of the Twentieth Legion]</ref> The Earl Marischal set a stone from the Antonine Wall in the walls of [[Dunnotar Castle]] and had it painted and gilded, probably by Andrew Melville of [[Stonehaven]].<ref>Michael R. Apted & Susan Hannabuss, ''Painters in Scotland, 1301-1700'' (Edinburgh: SRS, 1978), p. 64.</ref> The stone is now at the [[Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery|Hunterian Museum]] in Glasgow and residual paint traces probably remaining from its later reuse have been analysed.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Campbell |first1=Louisa |last2=Smith |first2=Margaret |date=5 Oct 2022 |title=Multi-technique analysis of pigments on sandstone sculptures: Renaissance re-painting of a Roman relief |journal=Heritage Science |publisher=Springer Science and Business Media LLC |volume=10 |issue=1 |page= |doi=10.1186/s40494-022-00790-7 |issn=2050-7445|doi-access=free }}</ref>

=== World Heritage status ===
[[File:Near infra-red kite aerial photo of Kinneil Roman Fortlet.jpg|thumb|alt=near infrared photograph of Roman fort|An infrared aerial photograph of Kinneil Roman Fortlet, near [[Bo'ness]] at the eastern end of the Antonine Wall.]]
The UK government's nomination of the Antonine Wall for [[World Heritage Site|World Heritage status]] to the international conservation body [[UNESCO]] was first officially announced in 2003.<ref>{{cite news | title = Roman wall builds heritage claim | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/2789239.stm | work = BBC News | date = 22 February 2003 | access-date = 24 May 2007 }}</ref> It has been backed by the [[Scottish Government]] since 2005<ref>{{cite news | title = Roman wall heritage bid backing | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4090692.stm | work = BBC News | date = 14 June 2005 | access-date = 24 May 2007 }}</ref> and by Scotland's then Culture Minister [[Patricia Ferguson]] since 2006.<ref>{{cite news | title = World Heritage bid hope for wall | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/5100616.stm | work = BBC News | date = 20 June 2006 | access-date = 24 May 2007 }}</ref> It became the UK's official nomination in late January 2007,<ref>{{cite news | title = World Heritage support for wall | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tayside_and_central/6290053.stm | work = BBC News | date = 23 January 2007 | access-date = 24 May 2007 }}</ref> and [[Member of the Scottish Parliament|MSPs]] were called to support the bid anew in May 2007.<ref>{{cite news | title = MSPs called to support Roman wall | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tayside_and_central/6683339.stm | work = BBC News | date = 23 May 2007 | access-date = 24 May 2007 }}</ref> The Antonine Wall was listed as an extension to the World Heritage Site "Frontiers of the Roman Empire" on 7 July 2008.<ref>[https://whc.unesco.org/en/newproperties/ UNESCO World Heritage Centre. New Inscribed Properties]</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tayside_and_central/7494680.stm "Wall gains World Heritage status'"] BBC News. Retrieved 8 July 2008.</ref> Though the Antonine Wall is mentioned in the text, it does not appear on UNESCO's map of world heritage properties.<ref>[https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/430 Frontiers of the Roman Empire – UNESCO World Heritage Centre<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

=== Modern preservation===
Several individual sites along the line of the wall are in the care of [[Historic Environment Scotland]]. These are at:
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[Bar Hill Fort]]<ref>{{cite web|title=BARHILL ROMAN FORT|url=http://www.castlesfortsbattles.co.uk/central_west_scotland/bar_hill_roman_fort.html|website=castles forts battles|access-date=13 August 2016}}</ref>
* [[Bearsden#Roman|Bearsden Bath House]]
* [[Castlecary]]<ref>{{cite web|title=CASTLECARY ROMAN FORT and CASTLECARY TOWER|url=http://www.castlesfortsbattles.co.uk/central_west_scotland/castlecary.html|website=castles forts battles|access-date=13 August 2016}}</ref>
* [[Croy Hill]]
* [[Dullatur]]
* [[Rough Castle]]<ref>{{cite web|title=ROUGH CASTLE|url=http://www.castlesfortsbattles.co.uk/central_west_scotland/rough_castle.html|website=castles forts battles|access-date=13 August 2016}}</ref>
* [[Seabegs Wood]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Rough Castle to Castlecary|url=http://www.antoninewall.co.uk/rough_castle_castlecary.html|website=Antonine Wall|access-date=3 July 2017}}</ref>
* [[Watling Lodge]]
* [[Westerwood]], [[Cumbernauld]]
{{div col end}}
All sites are unmanned and open at all reasonable times.<ref>[http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/index/places/propertyresults/propertydetail.htm?PropID=PL_305&PropName=Antonine%20Wall:%20Overview Historic Scotland – Antonine Wall: Overview Property Detail<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

== Mapping the wall ==
The first capable effort to systematically map the Antonine Wall was undertaken in 1764 by [[William Roy]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hübner |first=Emil |url=https://archive.org/details/archaeologiaaeli11sociuoft |title=Archaeologia Aeliana |publisher=[[Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne]] |year=1886 |editor-last=Hodgkin |editor-first=Thomas |series=New |volume=XI |location=Newcastle-Upon-Tyne |pages=[https://archive.org/details/archaeologiaaeli11sociuoft/page/82 82]–116 |contribution=The Roman Annexation of Britain |doi=10.5284/1059529}}</ref> the forerunner of the [[Ordnance Survey]]. He provided accurate and detailed drawings of its remains, and where the wall has been destroyed by later development, his maps and drawings are now the only reliable record of it. In the 19th century, the Ordnance Survey showed the visible traces of the wall in some detail on its first and second edition maps at 25-inch and 6-inch scales,<ref>{{cite web|title=OS Six Inch 1st edition, 1843–1882|url=http://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=16&lat=55.9669&lon=-4.0400&layers=5&b=1|website=National Library of Scotland|publisher=Ordnance Survey|access-date=3 July 2017}}</ref><ref name="Jones">{{cite journal |last1=Jones |first1=Rebecca H. |last2=Mckeague |first2=Peter |date=2011 |title=Mapping the Antonine Wall |journal=Scottish Geographical Journal |volume=127 |issue=2 |pages=146–161 |bibcode=2011ScGJ..127..146J |doi=10.1080/14702541.2011.592073 |issn=1470-2541 |s2cid=129702484}}</ref> but no attempt was made at that date to undertake archaeological work.

[[George Macdonald (archaeologist)|Sir George Macdonald]] carried out systematic work on the wall that was published in 1911<ref name="Macdonald1911">{{cite book |last1=Macdonald |first1=George |title=The Roman wall in Scotland |date=1911 |publisher=J. Maclehose |location=Glasgow |url=https://archive.org/details/romanwallinscotl00macduoft}}</ref> and in an expanded second edition in 1934.<ref name=Macdonald1934 /> His work provided the basis for a large-scale (25-inch) folio produced by the Ordnance Survey in 1931.<ref name=Jones /><ref name="Linge">{{cite journal |last1=Linge |first1=John |date=2004 |title=The cinderella service: The ordnance survey and the mapping of the antonine wall |url=http://journals.socantscot.org/index.php/psas/article/view/9603/9570 |journal=Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland |volume=134 |pages=161–171 |doi=10.9750/PSAS.134.161.171 |issn=2056-743X |s2cid=113750549|doi-access=free }}</ref> The Ordnance Survey produced a revised folio in 1954–1957, and then carried out a complete re-survey in 1979–80.<ref name=Jones /> They also published a smaller scale map of the Wall, at 1:25,000 in 1969. Further mapping activity was carried out to support the nomination of the Wall as a World Heritage Site<ref name=Jones /><ref name="Breeze">{{cite journal |last1=Breeze |first1=David J. |date=2011 |title=The Antonine Wall – The Making of a World Heritage Site |journal=Scottish Geographical Journal |volume=127 |issue=2 |pages=87–93 |bibcode=2011ScGJ..127...87B |doi=10.1080/14702541.2011.586645 |issn=1470-2541 |s2cid=130710316}}</ref>

Modern computer techniques like using [[GIS]] and [[LIDAR]] can now map the wall in 3-dimensions which makes it much easier to study for example how visible forts and fortlets were to their fellow soldiers along the wall.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dyčka |first1=Michal |date=2016 |title=To See and to be Seen – the Antonine Wall in the Context of Spatial Analysis |url=https://dspace.cuni.cz/bitstream/handle/20.500.11956/97514/1484308_michal_dycka_40-66_pl.pdf?sequence=1 |journal=Studia Hercynia |volume=20 |issue=2 |pages=40–46 |hdl=20.500.11956/97514 |access-date=9 July 2018 |s2cid= 210777070 |via=}}</ref>

{{Gallery
|title=Maps of the Wall
|width=240 | height=170
|align=center
|File:William Roy Plate XXIX Roman Station Camelon Antonine Wall.jpg
 |alt1=Camelon Roman Station and the Antonine Wall
 |[[William Roy]]'s plan of [[Camelon]] Roman Station and the adjacent section of the Wall, published 1793.
|File:Ordnance Survey part of 25-inch Sheet XXX.2 Falkirk Antonine Wall, Published 1897.jpg
 |alt2=Part of the Antonine Wall in 1897
 |Part of the OS 25-inch map of 1897, showing a section of the Antonine Wall between [[Rough Castle]] and Camelon
|File:Ordnance Survey Map of the Antonine Wall, Published 1969.jpg
 |alt3=The Antonine Wall in 1969.
 |Ordnance Survey Map of the Antonine Wall, published 1969.
}}
[[File:The Antonine Wall, Rome's final frontier, the Hunterian Museum..JPG|thumb|upright=1.4|right|Finds from the Antonine Wall in the [[Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery]] in Glasgow.]]
{{clr}}

== See also ==
* [[Banknotes of Scotland]] (featured on design)
* [[Gask Ridge]]
* [[National Museums of Scotland]]
* [[Scotland during the Roman Empire]]
* [[The Bridgeness Slab]]
* [[Trimontium (Newstead)]]
* [[World Heritage Sites in Scotland]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{Commons}}{{Geography of Scotland}}{{World Heritage Sites in the United Kingdom|state=expanded}}
{{Scotland during the Roman Empire}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2022}}

[[Category:Antonine Wall| ]]
[[Category:142 establishments]]
[[Category:140s establishments in the Roman Empire]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures completed in the 2nd century]]
[[Category:2nd-century fortifications]]
[[Category:2nd-century establishments in Roman Britain]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in East Dunbartonshire]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in North Lanarkshire]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Falkirk (council area)]]
[[Category:Roman frontiers]]
[[Category:World Heritage Sites in Scotland]]
[[Category:Antoninus Pius]]
[[Category:Scheduled monuments in Scotland]]
[[Category:Roman walls in Scotland]]
[[Category:Linear earthworks]]