BMCR 2009.02.05, David J. Breeze, Edge of Empire

David J. Breeze, Edge of Empire: Rome's Scottish Frontier, the Antonine
Wall.  Edinburgh:  Birlinn, 2008.  Pp. 128.  ISBN 9781841587370.
L14.99 (pb).

Reviewed by Brad Eden, University of California, Santa Barbara
([email protected])
Word count:  1033 words
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To read a print-formatted version of this review, see
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Books by David Breeze have come to signify the best current scholarship
on the Roman presence in Britain, especially as it relates to the two
largest surviving archaeological structures, Hadrian's Wall and the
Antonine Wall.  In 2008, I reviewed another Breeze book titled Roman
Frontiers in Britain, part of the Classical World Series from Bristol
Classical Press (BMCR 2008.03.17).  In that review, I compared Breeze's
book with that of D.J. Woolliscroft and B. Hoffman, Rome's First
Frontier: The Flavian Occupation of Northern Scotland (BMCR
2006.11.17).  The Breeze 2007 book and the Woolliscroft volume, in
short, were very different from each other, both in content and
perspective, even though they both looked at Roman influence in the
British Isles.  Edge of Empire is very different from Roman Frontiers
in Britain, and the reader can refer back to both the Woolliscroft and
the Breeze 2007 reviews in order to observe the interesting differences
of approach and style that each provides.

The Antonine Wall has often taken a back seat both in research and in
tourism to Hadrian's Wall, although not for lack of surviving
archaeological evidence.  Built 120 kilometers (75 miles) north of
Hadrian's Wall, the Antonine Wall is located in the Midland Valley of
Scotland, running from the River Clyde in the west to the Firth of
Forth in the east, measuring approximately 60 kilometers (37 miles).
It was almost immediately abandoned after it was built.  Breeze
provides a concise, up-to-date, and colorful pictorial and
chronological presentation of this Roman frontier.  The author was
formerly the Chief Inspector of Ancient Monuments for Scotland, and he
prepared the bid for World Heritage Site status for the Antonine Wall.
Breeze does a magnificent job of providing context both before the Wall
was built, how it was built and why, and the history of the Wall to the
present day.  The volume is worthy of coffee table status, with some
type of color photo or graphic on every page opposite the text,
illustrating various well-known as well as forgotten and hidden parts
of the Wall, with good maps, aerial photographs, reconstructions, and
illustrations of artifacts, sculptures, monuments,  and  coins, and so
much more.

The book begins with  beautiful front and back fold-outs, which feature
an especially pastoral section of the surviving Antonine Wall when both
pages are laid out flat.  The inside of the back fold-out contains an
illustrated map of the Antonine Wall, showing the best surviving forts
and fortlets, rampart bases, the military way, visible lengths of
rampart and ditch, museums, and the best part of the surviving wall to
walk. The author begins with a discussion of the northern Roman
frontier in Britain, with some spectacular aerial photography of the
Wall.  The history surrounding the early history of the Wall is
presented, including a short biography of Antoninus Pius (138-61), the
preparations and the invasion of northern Britain by the Romans, how
various Roman authors described this historical event, and the military
victory itself in August 142.  A well-illustrated description of the
distance slabs along the Antonine Wall follows, along with the
information they were meant to record. Surviving information on the
naming and dating of the Antonine Wall according to contemporary
sources and histories is also provided.

The next major section of the book deals with how the Antonine Wall was
built, including accommodations for the soldiers, ramparts, ditches and
stone bases. The ditch on Croy Hill, the military way that runs
alongside the Wall for almost its entire length, Rough Castle fort, the
lilia discovery at Rough Castle (hidden traps that used to hold
sharpened spikes) as well as its west defenses, Bar Hill fort and its
bath-house, Kinneil fortlet, various expansions that occurred along the
Wall, and the Bearsden bath-house and latrine are all presented.
Interspersed among these actual archaeological remains is an
examination of the life of the Roman soldier.

Breeze states that the primary purpose of the Antonine Wall was not for
military defense, but as a demarcation line to aid in the task of
frontier control.  His conclusion is based on a number of observations,
namely that the Romans did not take advantage of a number of
geographical features as they built the Wall.  The Antonine Wall was
probably abandoned around 160, hardly lasting for a generation, and
around the same time that Antoninus Pius died.  Various Roman writers
record that the Romans did maintain an interest in politic situations
in northern Britain through the fourth century, often financially
supporting tribes and chiefs who were sympathetic to their influence,
but that continued maintenance and even occupation by the Romans along
the Antonine Wall after the second century was not a priority of the
Empire.

The final section of the book details the recent history of the Wall,
including the nineteenth-century discovery of the Turriff Jug, medieval
and modern use of the Wall, various mapping efforts from the thirteenth
century onwards, how modern-day mapping techniques have assisted in
research and archaeology along the Wall, and the resurgence of interest
in the Wall in the nineteenth century.  There is also a discussion of
the Antonine Wall in popular culture, reenactments of Roman marching
soldiers, visibility analysis, and the effort to protect the Antonine
Wall through application to the World Heritage Site.  There is a page
that describes the best sections and museums along the Wall to visit, a
short bibliography, and an index.

I found myself thoroughly entranced with the design and presentation of
information in this book. Having walked the entire length of Hadrian's
Wall, I had no idea about the Antonine Wall's surviving features, or I
would have also tried to visit parts of it on previous trips to the
United Kingdom.  I will certainly visit it in the future. I was
impressed with the portability and conciseness of the Breeze's Roman
Frontiers in Britain, which provide short descriptions of many of the
surviving Roman antiquities within Britain.  But the focus on the
Antonine Wall in this book allows the author to fully expand on his
accumulated knowledge, expertise, and experience regarding this
northern Roman frontier.  Breeze led the implementation team
formulating the management plan for the Antonine Wall, whose World
Heritage Site status has recently been decided.