Collections

Visit The Antonine Wall

Built around AD 142 in the reign of the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius, the Antonine Wall ran coast-to-coast across Scotland from the Clyde to the Firth of Forth.

The Hunterian Museum showcases the collection of spectacular monumental sculpture and other Roman artefacts recovered from the Wall, including richly sculptured distance slabs, unique to the frontiers of the Roman Empire.  

'The Antonine Wall: Rome's Final Frontier' explores the biography of this important Roman monument and through The Hunterian's rich collections investigates four key themes: The building of the Wall, its architecture and impact on the landscape; the role of the Roman army on the frontier, the life and lifestyle of its soldiers; the cultural interaction between Roman and indigenous peoples, and evidence for local resistance; and the abandonment of the Wall and the story of its rediscovery over the last 350 years.

The display also reflects the story of over three centuries of collecting and research by the University of Glasgow on the World Heritage Site.

Explore and play

Journey through time

Enjoy some games and video clips on this journey through time from 55BCE (Before Common Era) to 411 CE (Common Era), focussing on the Antonine Wall and where it fits in the history of Roman Britain.

Antonine Wall Interactive Timeline (Includes video clips courtesy of BBC and STV.)

Antonine Wall Stories - explore Hunterian stories of life on the Antonine Wall

Meet Verecunda and Ebutius in our online storytelling experiences. These characters and stories are inspired by items in the collections.

Come to Roman School!

Latin is the Language of the Romans. Watch this Learn Latin video to learn some basics for meeting new friends at Roman school.

Its all about the numbers! Download Roman Numerals to find out about how the Romans used letters to make numbers.  Try out some sums Roman style.

Become a Roman Newswriter! Download Roman News Activity to learn about how the Romans shared their News and have a go at your own version.

Puzzle it out!

You can enjoy putting these objects together and even recreate our whole Final Frontier display as seen in the museum.

Complete the puzzles to answer the questions below. Set the level of difficulty to suit yourself by choosing the number of puzzle pieces.

Puzzle 1: A distance slab (distance markers along the wall)
Which legion's work does this slab celebrate?

Puzzle 2: A bust
This was a companion of Bacchus, God of wine. What is his name?

Puzzle 3: A sign of family life
Some of the things found along the wall were everyday objects. These objects come in different sizes but what are they made of?

Puzzle 4: Altars
The Romans in Britain made food offerings to the gods in these altars. What names can you see? These are names of the gods they were dedicated to.

Puzzle 5: The Final Frontier
We hope you can come to visit our display soon, but if that's not possible for you - complete the puzzle to see what it looks like. How many Roman columns stand at the entrance to our display?

Resource Kits for Museum Visits

Antonine Wall Resource Kit

The resources in this kit are printed and available for use at the museum (two sets) - simply ask for it at the reception desk. It is provided here as a download for users advance preparation should they need it.

Download the Hunterian Antonine Wall Resource kit

Antonine Wall Resource Pack (Teaching children aged 8-10)

Download Antonine Wall Teachers' Resource Pack (children aged 8-10)

Additional reference materials including pre, during and post visit suggestions.

Other resources

In support of dissertation research, Museum Studies student, Guillem Martí designed this cartoon strip label depicting a short story inspired by the Roman Shoes featured in the Antonine Wall display. This label was displayed briefly in the museum to allow visitors to comment on their reactions. It is hoped that school children might also enjoy this short story.

Comic strip story inspired by Roman Shoes at The Hunterian

Some of the items from The Hunterian’s Antonine Wall display can be seen in the following web pages, along with a wide range of interactive resources and information about visiting the Antonine Wall Heritage sites.

Historic Environment Scotland’s Frontiers of the Roman Empire – key artefacts