Unlike its stone-built southern neighbour, Hadrian’s Wall, the rampart of the Antonine Wall was constructed mostly out of layers of turf and reached a height of 3 m. Not just a wall, the defences also included a huge ditch, nearly 5 m deep in places, which ran to the north of the Wall and an outer mound constructed from the earth thrown out of the ditch. Seventeen forts plus additional ‘fortlets’ accommodated the 6,000-7,000 men stationed along the Wall.
Constructed around 142 AD by the Romans to mark the north-west frontier of their empire, the Wall was a mighty symbol of their power and authority.
This new website contains a wealth of information, apps, maps and itineraries. Discover Rome’s other Northern Frontier. It even has an interactive artefact database of object associated with the Wall.
