
The Antonine Wall was built by the Emperor Antoninus Pius to hold back Caledonian tribes from invading southern Scotland, then under Roman rule.
Unlike the stone-built Hadrian’s Wall, the Antonine Wall consisted of a rampart of soil, faced with turf, resting on a stone foundation. It stood 12 feet high, and was protected on the north side by a wide, deep V-shaped ditch. It was abandoned around AD 160, when the Romans retreated to Hadrian’s Wall.
Today, many parts of the Antonine Wall lie under towns and settlements, built long after the Romans departed Scotland. However, evidence of the wall’s ramparts and buildings can still be found.
The Bo’ness area is fortunate in having a number of highly visible parts of the Antonine Wall.
You can see:
- replica of a Roman Tablet at Bridgeness, Bo’ness;
- the remains of Roman fortlet (and museum) at Kinneil Estate, Bo’ness;
- stretches of the ditch at Polmont Woods;
- Callendar Park in Falkirk; and
- Watling Lodge, Tamfourhill (near the Falkirk Wheel);
- Rough Castle, between the Wheel and Bonnybridge;
- Seabegs Wood, near Bonnybridge.
There are also free exhibitions on the Romans in local museums:
Outside the district, there are displays in the:
- Auld Kirk Museum in Kirkintilloch;
- the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow; and
- the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.
In 2008, the Antonine Wall became part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site, which also includes Hadrian’s Wall in England and the German Limes.

New in 2012: A replica of the Bridgeness Roman Tablet is unveiled at Harbour Road, Bo’ness – a short drive from Kinneil Museum.
New in 2014: Check out the new Antonine Wall website.
Check the Kinneil homepage for information on FREE open days
On this site:
Also online:
- Historic Scotland has published a leaflet about the Antonine Wall. You can download it in PDF format by clicking here.
- Check out a page on the Antonine Wall on the BBC website.
Discover the Antonine Wall:
- IN FALKIRK DISTRICT – on the Falkirk Community Trust website.
- IN NORTH LANARKSHIRE – on the North Lanarkshire Council website
- IN EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE – on East Dunbartonshire Culture and Leisure Trust website
- IN GLASGOW – on the Historic Glasgow website.
- IN WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE – on the West Dunbartonshire Council’s website.
Museums to visit:
- Kinneil, Bo’ness
- Callendar House, Falkirk
- Auld Kirk Museum, Kirkintilloch
- Hunterian Museum, Glasgow
- National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh
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