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In
208 AD Emperor Septimius
Severus re-established
legions at the Antonine Wall
and ordered repairs; this
has led to the wall being
referred to as the Severan Wall.
However,
the occupation ended only a few
years later, and the wall was never
fortified again. Most of the wall
and its associated fortifications
have been destroyed over time, but
some remains are still visible. The
fort at Inveresk seems to have been
excluded from occupation my Severus'
forces according to the work of Richmond.
The region comprising present-day Scotland was known after the Roman invasion of Britain as Caledonia. With the sole exception of the Picts, the ancient Caledonians do not figure in historical records. The Picts are first mentioned by Roman writers in the late 3rd century AD as raiders who harassed the Roman province of Britain from the north. Hadrian's Wall was built to protect the Roman colonies from their attacks. The Picts figured in connection with the campaigns of Roman Emperor Constantius Chlorus in Britain in AD 296 and 306. In Scotland the northern Picts were converted to Christianity probably in the 4th century, and the southern Picts were converted probably in the 5th century. At first the Saxons kept clear of the Picts, but as the former pushed farther northward, they too encountered these northern people and were defeated by them in 685. For a long time thereafter border warfare was carried on. The Picts, who by this time were united under a king, also fought continuously in Scotland with the Scots who had settled there in the 4th century. In 850 the Picts were defeated by Kenneth I, king of Scotland. Kenneth united the domains of the two rival tribes and thus founded the kingdom of Scotland. More about the Unification of Scotland is found in About Scotland written in 2002 by Owain Carter |
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