5 – The Antonine Wall & Further Caledonian Failures (From 140)
Antoninus Pius became Roman Emperor in 138, and within two years, he ordered the creation of the Antonine Wall to restore order to Britannia and attempt to take Caledonia. The Romans had trouble in Scotland ever since they invaded Britain and while they had a major victory at Mons Graupius in 83/84, they never built upon it.
Instead, the barbarians continued to harass the Romans, and successive emperors tried different ways to solve the problem. First Hadrian, and then Antoninus Pius, tried to create defensive barriers to prevent the enemy from raiding the Roman part of the island. Construction of the Antonine Wall began in 142 and finished six years later. It was built after governor Quintus Lollius Urbicus occupied part of the Scottish Lowlands.
Upon completion, the wall was 10 feet high, 16 feet wide and 63 miles long. There was also a deep ditch on the northern side and probably a wooden palisade on top of the turf. As impressive as the structure was, it did nothing to prevent the Caledonians from attacking Roman territory as frequently as they did before. Ultimately, the Antonine Wall was abandoned sometime between 162 and 165 whereupon the Romans retreated to Hadrian’s Wall which was some 90 miles south.
The Antonine occupation of Scotland didn’t last long; a revolt by the Brigantes from 155 to 157 forced the Romans to retreat. Although Governor Gnaeus Julius Verus suppressed the rising and recaptured the Antonine Wall sometime in the late 150s, the wall was abandoned once again within a few years. The issues with Caledonia continued for several decades until finally, one emperor had enough and launched a wide-scale invasion.