Property in Care (PIC)no: PIC176 Designations: Scheduled Monument (SM90014) Taken into State care: 1953 (Guardianship) Last reviewed: 2005

HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT SCOTLAND STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE

ANTONINE WALL - SEABEGS WOOD

We continually revise our Statements of Significance, so they may vary in length, format and level of detail. While every effort is made to keep them up to date, they should not be considered a definitive or final assessment of our properties.

Historic Environment Scotland – Scottish Charity No. SC045925 Principal Office: Longmore House, Salisbury Place, Edinburgh EH9 1SH

ANTONINE WALL - SEABEGS WOOD

BRIEF DESCRIPTION The property is part of the Antonine Wall and comprises a 400m stretch of well- preserved rampart, ditch and upcast bank. 30m south of the rampart is an extant section of the Military Way. The property sits in an area of woodland known as Seabegs Wood. The Antonine Wall is a linear Roman frontier system of wall and ditch accompanied at stages by forts and fortlets, linked by a road system termed the Military Way, stretching 60km from Bo’ness on the Forth to on the Clyde. It is one of only three linear barriers along the 2000km European frontier of the Roman Empire. These systems are unique to Britain and Germany.

CHARACTER OF THE MONUMENT Historical Overview

 Antonine Wall construction initiated by Emperor Antoninus Pius (AD 138– 161) after a successful campaign in AD 139/142 by the Governor of Britain, Lollius Urbicus

 Antonine Wall system abandoned, possibly after AD 165, and the line of frontier shifted again to Hadrian’s Wall

 Brought into Guardianship in 1953 Archaeological Overview 1732: Stretch of the Military Way and Wall noted by J Horlsey. 1899: Military Way and Wall sectioned by Glasgow Archaeological Society. 1934: Line of Wall and Military Way surveyed by George Macdonald. 1957: Line of Wall and Military Way surveyed by Ordnance Survey. 1962: Military Way sectioned by D Hunter. 1980: Line of Wall and Military Way surveyed by Ordnance Survey. 1981: A low mound, thought to be a signal platform, to the south of the Antonine Wall was excavated. Some evidence for habitation and cooking in the lee of the rampart was established. The property provides evidence on the line and form of the Antonine Wall and Military Way. Artistic/Architectural Overview The ditch and Military Way are here very close to their original forms. The ditch is over 12m wide and 2m deep, while the rampart is c. 1.4m high. The Military Way here shows close to its original camber as a causeway c. 7m wide. Social Overview The property is popular with local people, and greatly appreciated as being a rare stretch of woodland in this area. In 2003 the Scottish Executive announced that the Antonine Wall (including this stretch) would be nominated as a World Heritage Site. Such a designation will bring enhanced social significance to the monument and its setting. Spiritual Overview The site does not have a current spiritual role. Aesthetic Overview The well-preserved nature of the Antonine Wall and Military Way forms a pleasant vista flanked by trees which shield the monument from the nearby modern road to the north. The wood has been in existence in this form since at least 1787. What are the major gaps in understanding of the property? N/A

ASSESSMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE Key Points

 Second best preserved Roman frontier after Hadrian’s Wall

 Good survival of rampart, ditch and upcast bank

 Best surviving section of Military Way along the whole Antonine Wall

 Juxtaposition of both in pleasant setting Associated Properties

Barrhill; Hillhead; Bathhouse; Croy Hill; ; Rough Castle; Tamfourhill; ; Airfield–Wyndford Road; Wyndford Road Keywords Roman frontier; limes; Antonine Wall; Hadrian's Wall; World Heritage Site