After Hadrian died in 138 CE, Antoninus Pius became emperor and adopted a more forward frontier policy in Britain. Roman leaders soon planned to push the provincial border north from Hadrian’s Wall into what is now central Scotland.
Quintus Lollius Urbicus, the governor of Roman Britain, led campaigns north of Hadrian’s Wall on Antoninus Pius’s orders. These operations set the conditions for establishing a new frontier line across the Forth–Clyde isthmus.
Around 142 CE, Rome began building a new turf-and-timber frontier wall on stone foundations across central Scotland. The project aimed to replace Hadrian’s Wall as the main defensive line of Roman Britain and to support further control northward.
The wall was not just a barrier: it was a linked system of forts, smaller fortlets, ditches, and roads. A service road called the Military Way ran along the line to move troops and supplies between garrisons.
As sections were completed, the building units set up carved “distance stones” to mark how much each legion had built and to honor the emperor. These stones show the work was carried out by the three legions stationed in Britain (II Augusta, VI Victrix, and XX Valeria Victrix).
With garrisons in place, the Antonine Wall functioned as the northern frontier barrier of the Roman Empire in Britain. It ran between the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth, anchoring Roman military control in the central belt.
Archaeology indicates the frontier system changed over time: some installations were earlier than the rampart, while others were added later. Researchers often describe an initial plan with a smaller set of “primary” forts, followed by additions and reorganizations as conditions changed.
Less than 20 years after the wall’s construction, serious disorder broke out in northern Britain. This unrest showed how difficult it was for Rome to hold the more northerly line compared with Hadrian’s Wall farther south.
By about 158 CE, Roman authorities decided to abandon the Antonine Wall as the main frontier. The pullback reflected the high cost of holding the northern position amid continued pressure and instability.
The withdrawal was not necessarily sudden: evidence suggests the process may have taken years, with some sites being left earlier than others. Many reconstructions place the end of effective occupation in the early 160s, as forces moved back to Hadrian’s Wall.
After the retreat, Hadrian’s Wall was brought back into working order and resumed its role as the primary boundary of Roman Britain. This marked a long-term shift back to a more defensible frontier line.
Long after its Roman use ended, the Antonine Wall gained international recognition for its archaeological value as part of the Roman frontier system. In 2008, it was listed as an extension of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Frontiers of the Roman Empire.”
Antonine Wall: construction, occupation, and abandonment (142–163 CE)