Romaw Ne nA Distance-slab froe Antoninmth e Wall by K. A. Steer and E. A. Cormack In March 1969 a highly decorated and inscribed Roman building-record of the kind known distance-slaa s a farploughee s Cleddansf th m bo wa n o p du , Dunbartonshire, line closf th e o o et the Antonine Wall and between the forts of Castlehill and Duntocher. The eighteenth such tablet firse Wall, e como th fount e tth b s i ligho n et o t r mor1t do i fo t e thahundree non d yearsn I . addition to its considerable artistic merit it is noteworthy because it challenges one of the funda- mental assumptions concerning thes instructione slabsth n farmerO e . Mclndeorth I f r so M , , the stone was carefully raised and taken to the steading, where it was noticed some three months . WilliamsoA . G r lateM Scottisf no y b r h Agricultural Industries Limited broughe o th wh ,o t t i t attention of the second-named writer. When Mr Mclndeor learned of its importance, he gener- ously agree Hunteria e preseno dt th o t t i t n Museum Universite th , Glasgowf yo ,w wherno s i t ei displayn o . The slab (PI. 8) was found at the western end of Hutcheson Hill, in a small field which slopes steeply down to the Cleddans Burn and which is traversed by the Antonine Wall.2 Although the fiel question t beedi no nd ploughenha d within living memory before 1968 t musi , t have been intensively cultivate formen di r times, sinc Rampare traco evisiblth n w f eo no s ei t hereaboutd san Ditce th bees hha n almost completel precise yTh fille . e dup find-spo determinee b y ma t y db measuring alon centr. westwarde Ditce distanca ft g th th r 4 f hfo eo 29 f eo s fro hedge mth e that form eastere sth n boundar field. e southwardthed ft th 4 an f n,6 y o t righa s t angleDitche th o st . Assuming that the Ditch was its usual width of 40 ft. at this point, and the berm 20 ft. broad, the discovere th sit f eo y will have been about 1behin. 0ft Ramparte bace th d th f ko judgo T .th y eb e relatively unworn condition of the stone, and the fact that it was lying face downwards in what the ploughman, Mr D. Mclnnes, thought was a shallow pit, it can be assumed that it had been deliberately buried, presumably spoe closth t o ewhert t eoriginalli • y stood. Made of golden-yellow sandstone, the slab measures 37 in. wide, 30 in. high and 6 in. thick. edgee chippee Th sar placen di s where they have been ploughstruce th y kb , particularle th n yi area of the top right-hand corner, and the heads of three of the sculptured figures have sustained some damage generan i t carvine bu ;th l remarkabls gi y well preserve showd dan s scarcely yan sign of weathering. On the top edge and mid-way down each side there are dovetail cramp-holes for securin masonrslaa e gth o bt y framework majorite distance-slabTh e . th f yo s exhibit similar cramp-holes, and some remains of the masonry support itself were found with No. 1 at Bridge- ness. inscriptioe Th 3 bees nha n broken down into single letters r groupo , lettersf o s , whice har 1 Cf. Sir George Macdonald, The Roman Wall in first edition of his book) has been adopted in the Scotland (2nd ed. 1934), cap. x. In this edition present paper, and in order to place it at the appro- Macdonald number e seventeeth s n distance-slabs priate sequence poinslaw th referres bi n ne i t e eth d that he records from east to west, in conformity to as No. 10A. wit directioe hth whicn ni Wal e builts hth wa l . This = O.S. 6-inc; N.G.RSW h7 shee5 . 51547234S N t . system of numbering (which differs from that in the 3 Macdonald, op. cit., 364. 122 STEER AND CORMACK: A NEW ROMAN DISTANCE-SLAB FROM THE ANTONINE WALL | 123 worked skilfully int architecturan oa l facade consistin thref go e bays flanke cabley db d Corinthian pilasters uppee th , r capitale partth f so s being dentilled segmentaa s centrae ha Th y . ba ll arch- head, moulde enriched extradose dan th n do , whil flankine eth g bay surmountee sar - en y db tablatures with triangular pediments. The probability that this facade is intended to represent a Triumphal Arch is heightened by the addition of figure-sculpture symbolising the victory of the Roman army ove native rth e tribesmen that precede buildine dAntoninth e th f go e Wall.e Th 1 theme is a familiar one, but here relieved from triteness by the dignity of the composition and by hige th h degre f technicaeo l skill displaye modelline th figurescentran e de i a th th f y n go I ba l. female figure, bare-heade clalond a dn an di g high-waisted dress wit hcloaa k falling gracefully across the body from the left shoulder, is shown in the act of bestowing a miniature wreath on the eagle standard aquilifer,e bornth y senioe eb th r standard-beare legione th holde f e o Sh r. sth wreat righr he thn i hand thougs ,a eagle'e placth ho t n i st e i beak, 2 lefwhilr the hann e i carrie e dsh s what appear smala e usuae b l th o sdis t f l patera.r o absence hdistinguishino y th an n I f eo - gad juncts of a goddess, the identity of this lady is uncertain. The fact that her hair is coiled on the top of her head in the style popularised by the Elder Faustina, the consort of Antoninus Pius, who died not long before the Wall was built, might suggest that the deified empress herself is here represented. On the other hand, as far as is known no other Roman relief shows a deified emperor r empreso protagonise th s a s militara n i t y ceremon f thiyo s kind, while imperial fashionn i s coiffure were sometimes conferre artisty db goddessen so femalr so e personifications goddese Th . s Victory on distance-slab No. 17, for example, has her hair done up in precisely the same style as the lady on the Cleddans slab. Perhaps the most likely explanation, suggested by Professor Toynbee intende e tha s b figur,i e y tth epersonifma o d t Romanisee yth d province Britannia con- gratulatin Romae gth n victorys enlarginn armit o n d provincye o arean e th ,e gf th th a o y eb additio e territorth f no y betweeWallso tw e . nth Professor Toynbee pointe th t tha n ou so t ADVENTV BRITANNIAG IAV , 882no ;, E ii C.28 coi, provinc e Hadriaf S. no )th & . s eni (M personified as a female civilian figure wearing a long robe, as on the present distance-slab. respece froTh e mtdu morta a immortan a o lt l bein charmingls gi y conveye deferene th y db - tial attitud aquilifer,e portrayes i th o f eo somewhaa wh s da t smaller, slightly stooping figure, with eyes down-cast. Bare-heade clean-shavend dan weare h , shorsa t military cloak, beneath which is a kilted garment worn over knee-length trousers. Regularly spaced vertical lines on the kilt could represent either pleats or a reinforcement of leather or metal-plated strips. The legs appear to be protected by greaves and ankle-length boots cover the feet. At his right hip he carries a dagger similar to that depicted on the effigy of the centurion Facilis at Colchester.3 Romao N n triumph woul complete db e withou quots it t vanquishef ao d tribesmenn i d an , each of the two side bays there is a kneeling Caledonian warrior with hands bound behind the lefe clean-shaves i th t n o e back on nakedd e nan ;th , whil companios ehi beardes ni mousd dan - tache weard waisde an th belsa t ta twit hsporran-lika e attachment stonee th fooe f th o , tt A . formin wert i podiue s ga Archee th th inscribemf o ,o thertw e ear d panels flanke peltae,y db d an between the mspiritea d representatio chargina f no g wild boar emblee Twentiete th , th f mo h Legion. inscriptiolettere e th Th f so generalle nar . higIo triangulayd t fin . h1an ^ in r stope sar usually employed betwee lettere th nf o swords havo eTw . been e destroyeb texe n th ca t t dbu restored to read: 3 Capitolinus1 , Historia Augusta, Vit. Ant. 4 Pii,Hull R , 5 . ,M Roman Colchester (1958), pi. IA; Professor Jocelyn Toynbee reminds us that an eagle G- Webster, The Roman Imperial Army (1969), a on a standard on one of the Marcus Aurelius reliefs pi- !• Arce th f Constantin ho n o e holdr o littla sg eba pursbeaks it n ei . 12 | 4 PROCEEDING THF SO E SOCIETY, 1968-9 Im[p](eratori) [C]t(aesari) T(ito) • Ae(lio) • Hadriano Antonino Aug(usto) • Pio • p(atri) • p(atriae • vex(illaio) • leg(ionis) • V(aleriae X X ) V(ictricis• ) • fec(it) • p(er) • p(edum) ) III (milia) 'For the Emperor Caesar Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Augustus Pius, father of his country a detachmen, e Twentietth f o t h Legion Valeria Victrix built 3.00e 0th feef (o t Wall).' From a study of eight tablets (Nos.