The Roman excursions north of the Tyne-Solway line, the route of Hadrian's Wall, can be roughly divided into three main periods. Firstly, Agricola advanced against the Caledonii for six campaigning seasons culminating in the decisive battle of Mons Graupius in AD 83. Secondly, the Antonine Wall was built 70 miles to the north of Hadrian's Wall along the Forth-Clyde isthmus, though it marked the northern frontier of the empire for little more than 20 years. Finally, at the beginning of the 3rd century AD L. Septimius Severus arrived to restore order along the northern frontier, briefly reoccupying and repairing sections of the Antonine Wall. This title describes the fortifications left behind by each of these three attempts to subdue Rome's northernmost frontier.

Author Biography

Dr Nic Fields started his career as a biochemist before joining the Royal Marines for eight years. Having left the Navy he went back to University and completed a BA and PhD in Ancient History at the University of Newcastle. He is now a lecturer in Ancient History at the University of Edinburgh. Donato Spedaliere studied at the Instituto Nazionale di Belle Arti in Florence. Since 1995 he has worked as a professional illustrator, and founded the company Alina Illustrazioni with his wife in 1998. Sarah Sulemsohn Spedaliere took a degree at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, lectured at the University of Florence, and completed an architecture degree in 1994. Since 1998 she has worked at Alina Illustrazioni.