On 16 September 2011, The Hunterian will open a new Roman gallery, 'The Antonine Wall: Rome’s Final Frontier', which showcases a unique collection of spectacular monumental sculpture and other Roman artefacts recovered from the Antonine Wall.

The Antonine Wall is one of the UK’s most important Roman monuments but its precise purpose and short lifespan remains an enigma. Constructed in the AD 140s and stretching some 60km from the Firth of Forth to the River Clyde, it was the most northerly frontier in the Roman Empire.

This feat of engineering consisted of an approximately three foot high turf rampart fronted by a ditch. It is the second of the two great walls built by the Romans in Britain. Inscriptions on a series of distance slabs reveal that the Antonine Wall was built by soldiers of three legions stationed in Britain, namely the Second, Sixth and Twentieth. A group of nineteen slabs have been found over the centuries and seventeen are on display together for the first time.

Whether a symbol of Roman power intended to subdue the native tribes or a barrier to control trade and movement, the Antonine Wall was abandoned by the Romans in the 160s. The new displays of sculpture, together with a rich array of military and civilian artefacts from the wall, some unique to Roman Britain, explore the impact of the Romans on the Scottish landscape and its peoples and questions why the wall was constructed and then abandoned so quickly.

The new gallery examines life on the edge of the Roman Empire 2000 years ago. Many artefacts go on display for the first time, creating a dynamic visitor encounter with The Hunterian’s historic and internationally acclaimed Roman archaeology collections.

Hunterian Museum
University of Glasgow
Gilbert Scott Building
Glasgow G12 8QQ

First published: 19 August 2011

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