Tour Roman Scotland

The Romans have left important monuments in Scotland. As might be expected in this wild frontier region, these are purely military in character. They may be classified under four headings: roads; marching camps; forts; and the frontier works on the Forth - Clyde isthmus. Many Roman forts have been identified in Scotland, and a number have been more or less explored. Of these latter, the most famous are Birrens on the Solway, the Roman Blatobulgium, and Newstead, Trimontium, on the Tweed. The excavations of Newstead, by the late Dr. James Curle in 1905 to 1910, formed a landmark in the history of classical archaeology in western Europe. The northmost permanent fort so far known is at Cardean near Meigle in Angus. Thence a line of marching camps extends northwards at least as far as the Spey.

The most important Roman work remaining in Scotland is the Antonine Wall. The frontier line between Forth and Clyde was first marked out by Julius Agricola in the year A.D. 80. Some of his small entrenched posts have
been identified. In AD. 142 or 143 the legate Lollius Urbicus, acting for the Emperor Antoninus Pius, laid out a permanent frontier on the Agricolan line. This consisted of a wall made of sods on a stone foundation, except in the eastern section, where the wall is of clay. In front was a ditch, deep and wide, and in the rear a military way. The garrison was disposed in some thirteen or more forts. The whole barrier is thirty seven miles long. It was held, but with at least two interruptions, until about the end of the second century.

For more than 350 years the Roman Army also maintained forts on Hadrian's Wall and it is one of the world's best known legacies of the Roman Empire.

Interested in a Tour of Roman Scotland ?
Please e-mail: Sandy Stevenson

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Please e-mail: Paula Ryan