The Antonine Wall
While most people have heard of Hadrian’s wall, which was begun in 122 AD at the behest of Emperor Hadrian, fewer people are familiar with the Antonine wall, which was constructed on the orders of his successor, Antonius Pius. The Antonine wall is a turf wall built by the Roman legions, starting in 142 AD, across the belt of Scotland from the Firth of Clyde to the Firth of Forth. With a length of 39 miles, the wall was on average ten feet high and sixteen feet wide. To further augment the defenses, the Romans dug out a deep ditch on the north side and built a wooden palisade along the top of the wall. The wall took twelve years to build and included 19 forts. We have visited both Bar Hill, and Rough Castle, which is the best preserved Read more…
Hadrian’s Wall
Hadrian’s Wall “was a defensive fortification in the Roman province of Britannia, begun in 122 AD in the reign of the emperor Hadrian. It ran from the banks of the River Tyne near the North Sea to the Solway Firth on the Irish Sea, and was the northern limit of the Roman Empire. It had a stone base and a stone wall. There were milecastles with two turrets in between. There was a fort about every five Roman miles. From north to south, the wall comprised a ditch, wall, military way and vallum, another ditch with adjoining mounds. It is thought that the milecastles were staffed with static garrisons, whereas the forts had fighting garrisons of infantry and cavalry. In addition to the wall’s defensive military role, its gates may have been used as customs posts.[1] A significant portion of Read more…
The Eagle (movie review)
At last! At long last! A movie set in Roman Britain that I really quite liked! Though … I just looked The Eagle up on the tomato-meter which gives this movie a 39. Wow. I thought it was way better than that and here’s why: 1) The book. The Eagle of the Ninth is a wonderful book by Rosemary Sutcliffe. It was one of my mother’s favorite books and she gave it to me to read in one of those old hardback editions with fraying edges. A story of a son trying to redeem his family’s honor after his father led the Ninth Legion to their doom in Scotland. Great stuff. The movie follows the book plot better than you might expect. 2) The beginning. It drew me in. I felt for this guy. I wanted to find out what Read more…
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