History > Roman Britain > Antonine Wall

The Antonine Wall

In 138 AD Antonius Pius (86-161 AD) succeeded Hadrian as Emperor of Rome. To mark the northernmost extent of Roman territory in Britain - and to gain prestige - Antonius decided to build a wall to rival that of his predecessor.

The Antonine Wall spans the narrowest portion of lowland Scotland, between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde. The actual construction of the wall was supervised by Lollius Urbicus, governor of Britain.

Unlike its more solid southern counterpart, the Antonine Wall was built of turf fronted by a ditch 12 feet deep. The wall was 10 feet high and 14 feet wide and dotted with 29 small military forts linked by a road.

As a defensive barrier the Antonine Wall did not fulfill its role for long. In 181 the northern tribes poured over the wall and pushed the Romans back to Hadrian's Wall. The Romans finally abandoned any hope of regaining the territory between the two walls in 196 AD.

Antonine Wall facts:
Length 37 miles (59km)
Built 140-142 AD

History
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