Ancient Forth Defences 2 – The Roman Occupation 43 to 410 AD

 
From 43 AD until 410 AD, the British Isles were occupied by the Romans.

The northern border of the empire shifted several times as the fortunes of the empire ebbed and flowed. By 70 AD Julius Agricola had conquered most of Scotland, building forts across the Central Belt and up into Perthshire. When troops were needed elsewhere in the empire, the Romans slowly withdrew from Scotland and by 120 AD the border was defined by Hadrian’s Wall. When Hadrian died, his successor Antonius decided to re-occupy Scotland and commanded the local governor, Lollius Urbicus, to build Antonine’s Wall between the Forth and Clyde and a chain of forts – many reusing earlier sites.

Roman Forts and Antonine’s Wall

Antonine’s Wall in Polmont Woods

A near infrared aerial photo of Kinneil Fort

The wall was abandoned shortly after the death of Antoninus in 161 AD and by 164 AD the Roman troops had reoccupied Hadrian’s Wall. The Romans returned to Scotland several times, but eventually withdrew from all of Britain by 411 AD, although contact and trade continued for several centuries.