The Antonine Wall runs through the Kinneil Estate.

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Product Description

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 north-west 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.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #285086 in Books
• Published on: 2008-07-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

About the Author
David Breeze is a former Chief Inspector of Ancient Monuments in Historic Scotland and a past President of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. He holds honorary professorships at the universities of Durham, Edinburgh and Newcastle. David Breeze has written extensively on Roman Scotland and Hadrian's Wall and on the Roman army. He is currently preparing the nomination of the Antonine Wall as a World Heritage Site and chairs the international committee of specialists advising UNESCO on the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site.

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Customer Reviews

Mind the step!
This is a workmanlike account for the general reader of much that is worth knowing about the Antonine Wall from various historical, military, and archaeological viewpoints, except, surprisingly, that of the barbarians and former barbarians either side of it whose comings and goings the Wall was intended to control. The book is well designed and profusely illustrated in colour, though many of the illustrations already appear in other publications. The building and occupation of the Wall is discussed in the context of the Roman situation at the time. It would have been helpful to place it also in that of the general scheme of things; the Roman involvement with ancient Scotland began in the AD 70s and continued on and off until the 5th century. There is no mention of the military installations on the Gask Ridge, which, it would now appear, may have been brought back into commission as outposts of the Antonine Wall. There are some minor slips. In the description of Antoninus after his adoption, names and titles are confused (page 3). Second-in-command of a century was the signifer (standard bearer), though the optio took this responsibility in battle (page 39). According to Vegetius, the minimum height qualification for a legionary was precisely 6 Roman feet, equivalent to 5'10" (page 42). It is now generally believed that the first invasion of Scotland was not by Agricola in the late 70s, but more probably in the south west by Petillius Cerialis in the early 70s (page 44). While equivalents to Roman measurements are correctly cited, a pace (passus) is described as "being 2 steps of 5 Roman feet", whereas there were precisely 5 Roman feet to a pace (page viii).