The plague broke out in 165 AD and lasted until 180 AD, sweeping across the Roman Empire. Coincidentally, these dates are when the Antonine Wall was abandoned and, secondly, when the Caledonian tribes came over Hadrian’s Wall. It is said to have been a smallpox ancestor or measles and killed about 10% of the population across the empire. There are few records, so it is unclear as to whether it arrived in Britain.
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References
- Galen and the Antonine Plague R. J. Littman, M. L. Littman The American Journal of Philology, Vol. 94, No. 3 (Autumn, 1973), pp. 243-255
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonine_Plague?wprov=sfla1
