Romans in Scotland in Maps Through The Years
This page maps the Roman advances into Scotland and lets you understand the building and abandonment of many forts over 300 years. I have mostly kept to only naming official forts and not added speculative ones. Academics disagree on dating in some instances and I have chosen one I think fits.
43 AD Roman Invasion and Conquest of England
The following map shows the conquest of England from 43 AD to 73 AD when a fort was built in Carlisle on the Scottish border.
79 AD Agricola Invades
As shown below, Agricola invaded Scotland in 79 AD and established many forts. Unfortunately, after 7 years, the legions that invaded were needed elsewhere in the empire, so most of these forts were abandoned in 86 AD. The following maps show forts, dates built, roads, and distances between forts ( legions could march up to 20 miles in a day). The second map shows where the coinage of the day was found, which indicates interactions. Note some of these coins could have been dropped more recently, but you can still see patterns.
100 AD – Very few forts in Scotland
The withdrawal from the Antonine Wall in 86 AD left very few functioning forts in Scotland. Shortly after units were withdrawn to fight elsewhere. Minimal coinage evidence for this period.
By 115 AD there were no more forts in Scotland
This map shows that all forts were deserted by this time, but coinage indicates areas of engagement up Dere Street to the east and in Dumfries and Galloway. The Stonegate Road along the Tyne Valley had forts on it – Vindolanda, Carlisle and Corbridge. It would be another 7 years before Hadrian’s Wall was built to the north.
122 AD Hadrian’s Wall built
The map below shows new forts along Hadrian’s Wall and coinage distribution in Scotland
142 AD Antonine Wall Built
After the death of Hadrian, his successor, Antoninus Pius, decided to build a wall between Glasgow and Edinburgh. It was shorter than Hadrian’s wall and therefore would take fewer troops to defend.
