Tuesday 23 January 2007
Department for Culture, Media And Sport (National)
The Antonine Wall runs through central Scotland and was built by the Romans when much of Britannia was a part of the Roman Empire. It was completed in 144 AD and built by Quintus Lollius Urbicus. It is so-named as it was built during the reign of Emperor Antoninus Pius. The wall marked the furthest boundary of the Roman Empire. All land north of it was outside the Empire. There are already 27 World Heritage sites in Britain.
Antonine Wall - furthest boundary of the Roman Empire - is to be UK's next nomination for World Heritage Site
The Antonine Wall, connecting the Forth and the Clyde in Scotland, and built in the 2nd Century as the furthest north west boundary of the Roman Empire, has been put forward by Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell as the UK's latest nomination for World Heritage Site status.
If successful, the Wall will join The Tower of London, Canterbury Cathedral, The Palace of Westminster and the other 24 UK World Heritage Sites. UNESCO, who are responsible for the scheme, will now examine the proposal and make a final decision next year.
The proposed site is being nominated as an extension to the trans-national Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site which includes Hadrian's Wall and the Upper German Raetian Limes, which was designated in 2005.
Tessa Jowell said:
"The Antonine Wall is one of the UK's most important Roman monuments and a fascinating part of our European heritage. It is this international dimension that is most exciting to me. I hope that it will one day encompass remains of the Roman frontiers not only here and in Germany, but also around the rest of Europe, the Mediterranean region of North Africa and the Middle East".
Patricia Ferguson MSP, Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport said:
"The Antonine Wall is significant not only as a visible reminder of one of the most powerful states that the world has ever seen, but also as part of a great network of frontiers which the Roman Empire constructed in order to protect itself.
"In Scotland we are fortunate enough to have such tangible links to the country's fascinating history that we are all able to enjoy. It would be a great honour for the Antonine Wall to be recognised as part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site."
http://www.gnn.gov.uk/Content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=258594&NewsAreaID=2
Construction
Construction of the Antonine Wall began in 142, during the reign of Antoninus Pius, by Quintus Lollius Urbicus and was completed in 144. The wall stretches 60 kilometres (37 miles) from Old Kilpatrick in West Dunbartonshire on the Firth of Clyde to Bo'ness, Falkirk, on the Firth of Forth. The wall was intended to replace Hadrian's Wall 160 km (100 miles) to the south, as the frontier of Britannia, but while the Romans did establish temporary forts and camps north of the wall, they did not conquer the Caledonians, and the Antonine Wall suffered many attacks. The Romans called the land north of the wall Caledonia though in some contexts the term may mean the area north of Hadrian's Wall.
The Antonine Wall was inferior to Hadrian's Wall in terms of scale and construction, but it was still an impressive achievement, considering that it was completed in only two years, at the northern edge of the Roman empire in what they perceived as a cold and hostile land. The wall was typically an earth bank, about four metres high, with a wide ditch on the north side, and a military way or road on the south. The Romans initially planned to build forts every six miles, but this was soon revised to every two miles, resulting in a total of 19 forts along the wall. The best preserved but also one of the smallest forts is Rough Castle Fort.
Wall abandoned
The wall was abandoned after only twenty years, when the Roman legions withdrew to Hadrian's Wall in 164, and over time reached an accommodation with the Brythonic tribes of the area who they fostered as the buffer states which would later become "The Old North". After a series of attacks in 197, Emperor Septimius Severus arrived in Scotland in 208 to secure the frontier, and repaired parts of the wall. Although this re-occupation only lasted a few years, the wall is sometimes referred to (by later Roman historians) as the Severan Wall.
Although most of the wall has been destroyed over time, sections of the wall can still be seen in Bearsden, Kirkintilloch, Twechar, Croy, Falkirk and Polmont.
wikipedia.org
Last edited: