Edge of Empire - Scotland's Roman Frontier

Antonine Wall

Duntocher Fort

Photographs of Goldenhill Park

the site of a Roman Fort

on the Antonine Wall

at Duntocher

Duntocher Fort in Goldenhill Park

the site of a Roman Fort

and route of the Antonine Wall

Statue of Roman soldier

at Duntocher Fort

Signpost at Duntocher Fort

to Castle Hill Fort

and Old Kilpatrick Fort

Trig point in Goldenhill Park

Antonine Wall at Duntocher Fort

Information Board at Antonine Wall

in Goldenhill Park

War Memorial in Goldenhill Park

Goldenhill Park:

Known originally as the Gowdenhill this tract of land, crossed by the Antonine Wall,
was acquired from William Taylor and curators in 1823 by the mill owner William Dunn.
The Duntocher Burn forms part of its northern boundary
where the remains of a children’s paddling pool are visible.
An exposed section of the Roman Wall base can be seen on the north-facing slope near the west gate.
It became a public park in 1933 and it has seen numerous archaeological digs,
particularly on the crown of the hill where the Roman fort stood.

Roman Fort:

The Romans came to Scotland around 80 AD and ventured as far north as the Tay but they did not stay for long.
It was not until 138 AD, when Antoninus Pius was Emperor, that they setled here.
They built the Antonine Wall, in 142 AD, from Bo’ness in the east to Old Kilpatrick in the west.
There were forts built at short intervals all along the Wall including one in what became Goldenhill Park.
Each time a legion completed a section of the Wall they carved a stone known as a distance slab
to record the details of who built it and how long the section was.
The Romans left Scotland in around 160 AD, retreating to Hadrian’s Wall in the north of England.

Roman Bathhouse / War Memorial:

In 1775 the remains of a Roman Bathhouse were uncovered at the west end of Goldenhill Park,
near the site now occupied by the war memorial.
Several rows of the pillars and a labyrinth of passages were uncovered
along with a number of reddish tiles in 7 diferent sizes.
A carved female fgure was discovered and this can also be seen in Glasgow University’s Hunterian Museum.
The First World War memorial was unveiled in 1921 but this was destroyed during the Blitz in March 1941.

It was replaced by the current memorial in 1951.

The Antonine Wall is a stone and turf fortification

built by the Romans

across the central belt of Scotland

to fend off Northern Scots tribesmen.

The Wall was the North-West frontier

of the Roman Empire

and runs from Old Kilpatrick

on the Forth & Clyde Canal

to Bo'ness on the Firth of Forth.

Sections of the wall can be seen in Bearsden,

Kirkintilloch, Twechar, Croy,

Bonnybridge, Falkirk, Polmont and Bo'ness.

As the most advanced frontier construction of its time,
and as definitive evidence of the Romans' time in Scotland,
the Antonine Wall is an invaluable and fascinating part
of this country's varied and violent history.

For a generation, from about 140 to 160 AD,
the Antonine Wall was the NW frontier
of the Roman Empire.

Constructed by the Roman army,
it ran from modern Bo'ness on the Forth
to Old Kilpatrick on the Clyde
and consisted of a turf rampart
fronted by a wide and deep ditch.
At regular intervals were forts connected by a road,
while outside the fort gates clustered civil settlements.

Antoninus Pius, whom the wall was named after,
reigned longer than any other emperor
with the exception of its founder Augustus.
Yet relatively little is known about him.

In this meticulously researched book,
David Breeze examines this enigmatic life
and the reasons for the construction
and abandonment of his Wall.