Bridgeness Slab The Bridgeness Slab was found in 1869 in Bo'ness in Scotland and was a Roman Distance slab that marked a portion of the Antonine Wall. This slab demonstrates the works of Roman propaganda. On the left it depicts native resistance, possibly the Caledonians being crushed by Roman cavalry while also on the right showing the benefits of Roman rule with peace and prosperity. This slab would have would have been used by the Romans in order to show the people of the land the power of the Roman yet also the benefits of being under their rule. The Bridgeness Slab effectively shows the image of power that the Romans want to project. As part of the Antonine Wall, it too was a mark of power, a defensive wall protecting their territory.
Hadrian's Wall today is one of the best known monuments left that signifies Roman control of Britannia. However the Roman's constructed another wall in 142 AD, known as the Antonine Wall.
The Antonine Wall was ordered to construction in 142 AD by Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius. Not much is known of Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius apart from a biography that was written about 200 years after his death. This records that, "He conquered the Britons through his governor, Lolliius Urbicus, and after driving back the barbarians, built a new wall, of turf." (www.antoninewall.org) This was in reference to his building of the Antonine Wall.
The wall was intended as a defensive position against the Caledonians (the term given to the inhabitants of the land north of the Roman province of Britannia.) Although relations with the Caledonians were fairly good, the Antonine Wall was built as a symbol of Roman power over Britannia. The wall spans from Old Kilpatrick to Carriden and unlike the stone built Hadrian's Wall, Antonine Wall was constructed mostly out of layers of turf.
Not just a wall but a defensive position as well, it included a 12 foot ditch dug in front and accommodated 6,000 to 7,000 men in seventeen forts.
However the wall was abandoned 8 years after completion when the Roman forces withdrew back to Hadrian's wall in 165 AD. The Romans would leave Britain altogether in AD 411 and the Antonine Wall much forgotten.
Although in comparison to Hadrian's Wall, Antonine's Wall is much less known, the wall nonetheless is still a strong symbol of the power and might of the Roman Empire and has left a legacy that will never be forgotten in Scotland.
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