Return to normalcy? Building materials and the making of the Antonine Wall
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11615693 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Erik P Graafstal (0000-0003-4015-1199, Department of Heritage, Municipality of Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 181 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 3-31 |
| Publication date | 2024-01-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Archaeological Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0066-5983 • E-ISSN: 2373-2288 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/00665983.2023.2282823 |
| OpenAlex | W4391685009 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 33 |
The past 15 years have seen a lively discussion of the building sequence of the Antonine Wall, focusing on the apparent changes of plan at an early stage of its construction. Key issues in this debate are the change from stone to turf as the main building material and the choice for an unprecedented 2-mile spacing norm for forts, making this the most densely fortified frontier line of the Roman world. This paper reviews the main arguments and proposes a return to the central thought of John Gillam's seminal 1975 paper: the army that came to build the Antonine Wall took with it the experience of Hadrian's Wall and naturally started replicating this legacy on the Forth–Clyde isthmus – in stone, initially. In this light, the switch to turf and timber, very early in the sequence, stands out as a major breakaway from Hadrianic legacy. The structural and, consequently, operational implications of this decision are considered, in an attempt to make sense of the unique disposition of the Antonine Wall
Archaeology · Architectural engineering · Art · Classical Antiquity Studies · Engineering · Historical and Architectural Studies · History · Water management and technologies
The emperor in the Roman world (31 BC-AD 337)
Why was the Antonine Wall made of turf rather than stone
The Antonine Wall
The army of the Antonine Wall
They think it’s all over. The face of victory on the British frontier
Hadrian's Frontiers in Northern Britain
The Design of the Antonine Wall
Another wall of turf’
Two inscribed Roman stones and architectural fragments from Scotland
The Antonine frontier in Callendar Park, Falkirk
The building of the Antonine Wall
The provision of fort-annexes on the Antonine Wall
The development of the mural frontier in Britain from Hadrian to Caracalla
Excavation of Castlecary Fort on the Antonine Vallum
Notes on the Roman Forts at Old Kilpatrick and Croy Hill, and on a Relief of Jupiter Dolichenus
The ‘Valu lui Traian’
The Letters of Pliny
The Roman Government of Britain
Proving a Roman technical masterstroke
Roman Britain and the English Settlements
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |