The Antonine Wall: The Other Great Roman Wall
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ส.ค. 2021
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Thanks to 1440 for supporting me on this video, head on over to join1440.com/megaprojects to support them!
You said 1440 is "all filler no killer" lololol
Actually you are incorrect Simon. It is not just walls that are popular, but holes as well! Could you do one on the largest open mine in the world please? I do enjoy your...holes :D
I heard about another wall in Wales "Offa's dyke" in a book of fiction "Jonathan strange and Mr norrell".
@@mikeyoung9810 Ah yes I remember that one. Excellent book. I was fortunate to be gifted a first edition of that. Was heavy reading but well worth it.
You don’t look like a Wallace and Gromit character with a beard. Still sound like one. Carry on
Grew up in a town which was the site of one of the forts along the Antonine Wall, there were always digs going on in the area we got to see as schoolkids. The line of the wall is still marked with a memorial by the local museum, while a few miles along near another smaller town, there's an amazing metal sculpture of a giant Roman soldier's heads, in helmet, pointed so he is still looking north as if scanning for barbarians approaching the edge of the empire.
erskine by any chance?
@@jimbo6238 Kirkintilloch, between Glasgow & Campsie Hills. Fort would be atop hill where town cross is now, would have had views right across to the hills.
@@joegordon5117 i know if from erskine near me..can see the campsies frome here too. iv always known about the wall because it goes through a friends land. i need to acually look it up now lol
As for more wall suggestion, there is "Danevirke", the great viking wall in Denmark. Yeah, even vikings built long walls and the story is pretty interesting.
I’d be interested in a video on this!
Don't forget the wall of gorgan in Iran. I can barely even find any proper photos of it.
There is a mysterious and buried stone wall east of Dallas Texas, in the apt-named county of Rockwall, TX. Centuries old supposedly.
Sounds interesting. I mean, it was that or more holes.
@@--enyo-- Harald Bluetooth built some massive defenses including 5 weird looking ring forts (Trelleborgs) and a wall in Jutland against the Germans. Well, or the Legend said his mom built it while he just built the fortresses.
It was closer to the Antonine wall then Hadrians though but it was an impressive wall and something I doubt most people think the vikings did.
Old Harald was an odd guy, bad teeth, made Denmark Christian and built a monument to his father that really was to himself instead. Bluetooth in your phone is named after him.
Wall suggestion: The Walls of Benin.
Arguably one of the greatest walls ever built.
Or as Stephen Fry once put it: "The monstrous walls of Benin... until the British monstrously knocked them down..."
Bump
Who paid for the wall?
Has there already been a MegaProject on the Benin Castle & bronzes?
Has Megaprojects done a video on the Berlin Wall? If Simon loves his walls, the Berlin Wall was one of the most famous walls. Israel's Wall is also a famous one too. Whether it is the walls of Jerusalem in the past or the current Iron Dome that Israel has put up. Both would be great Megaprojects!
Was going to suggest the Israeli Separation Barrier - I think the Iron Dome is mostly the missile defence system. But both are Megaprojects. Too controversial?
The Antonine wall is not the northernmost outpost of the Roman Empire. The Gask ridge, which includes small fortifications guarding each valley coming down from the Highlands, heads north in the direction of Aberdeen.
The Antonine wall and Hadrian's wall were not placed willy nilly. they are both at narrow points, Hadrian's wall also has the wind sill, which is a fault line which stretches across Cumbria and Northumberland, with a north facing crag making a perfect defensive position
I used to live in Bearsden, just North of Glasgow. In the town centre there still remains of a roman bath house on the Antonine Wall.
Grew up near the Antonine wall and never understood its significance until i was an adult, just thought it was an old brick wall
It was, just a very old wall
In falkirk, it was called grahams dyke. 👍
@@TheScotsalan And was used as a smoking spot by me and numerous other school kids lol
@@hunterG60k Ha ha.. single and a match 😂. Better than the pokes of glue that were fashion in my day 🤬. I used to play on the wall behind Anson Avenue, by Falkirk high school. There were rope swings over the ditch 😂. How little we knew 😳
It was not brick
The Dingo Fence in Australia was a megaproject.
There's a ton of finds from the wall at Glasgow University museum including a glass window.
We appreciate your wall to wall coverage of ancient defensive fortifications Simon.
I have been trying for a long time, but here is my Mega Project suggestions: Aswan High Dam, Bar Lev Line and Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
Maybe suggest it on Twitter?
Commenting so Simon sees it
@@Tiberon098 I simply did not know they have a Twitter account/page 😅
@@giantmanice I might stop "commenting" about these mega-projects when I comment the first comment of a video.
@@giantmanice and pp
You can see many of the recovered milestones erected by the Roman Legions and their recovered artefacts at the Hunterian Museum, University of Glasgow. Professor Lawrence Keppie has also written many excellent books on the topic.
i'd like to thank the editor (or who-ever called it) for including a small picture in frame during adverts.
1: pretty sure that's a law in alot of countries.
2: makes it easy to skip past.
much love
The way donut media does the sponsored adds is probably the best on TH-cam that I've seen so far.
Eta...
(They make it funny and have a bar at the bottom count down how long it is)
There is now an extension that skips sponsored ad placements.
2:20 - Chapter 1 - Roman britain
3:55 - Chapter 2 - Caledonia
5:50 - Chapter 3 - Hadrian's wall
7:00 - Chapter 4 - Antonine's wall
7:50 - Mid roll ads
9:30 - Chapter 5 - Construction
12:15 - Chapter 6 - Forts
13:55 - Chapter 7 - The wall's legacy
- Chapter 8 -
If you are in the area and only have a little time go to Rough Castle, it's the best place to get an idea of the wall. Visit the fort there and walk to the West, bits of the wall mound are over a metre high, and the ditch is very impressive.
From the fort you can walk East to the Falkirk wheel which is worthy of a side project, if not a mega project, in its own right (it's also free to visit if you walk in).
If you've a little longer Croy Hill and Bar Hill give views of the wall (well really it's the ditch you see) marching across the terrain
Time team has taught me that you can't dig a hole to bury a dead pet anywhere in Britain without finding a Roman: ditch, villa, fort, coins, statue, sword, wall....
It's like they thought: What can we leave here to remind the Brits (forever) that we mercilessly ruled them for 400 years?
After the initial phase of the (second) invasion, as with many other annexations, the Romans actually integrated very well with many of the British tribes. "Mercilessly" is probably an exaggeration for most of the period of Roman rule. Yes, they could be merciless, but by and large, keeping an empire stable requires far more than just long term violent pacification. They favoured integration rather than subjugation, and it usually worked.
I'm so happy they are making new shows
Merciless? We were doing quite nicely thank you until the army left and the Saxon mercenaries assumed power!
I like the change from business blaze to Brain Blaze since it never really connected to business at all lol. Simon should win some kind of award for being engaging no matter the channel or subject. Legendary lol
This dudes cool, I watch nearly all his content. So fast reading and speaking, I miss the damn heater. 😂
@@TheEGCRACKER You must not of got the memo E.T.A killed Simon and replaced him.
@@666magic Wild, I liked that damn heater, was like Wilson on Castaway movie. 🤣
Agreed, man is a boss!
I was wondering about that. I follow all his channels and was a like "brain blaze" why did I not know about this channel? I didn't realize they changed the name
Some megaprojects to consider The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Sears Tower in Chicago, Illinois & Michigan Canal (connected Great Lakes to the Mississippi River Valley & Gulf of Mexico), & Route 66 or the general creation/linking of US paved roads before the interstate highway system
Keeping with ancient walls in the UK there is Offa’s Dyke - this one built to keep out the Welsh. Generally considered to be Mercian in origin (so a bit later than the better known Roman walls) but there is evidence it was started during Roman times.
I remember visiting Hadrians wall on a school trip, and being told of this wall and it's rough position but couldn't even remember it's name til now, thanks Simon!
If you're bored with walls Simon, why not shake things up with a fence?
In Australia there's two:
The Rabbit-proof Fence
The Dingo-proof Fence
Both were of debatable value, but still, a lot of work went into them.
wtf...rabbit proof fence is a movie haha
@@deenman23 ....Based in a book named after a series of structures in Western Australia:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit-proof_fence
@@malusignatius fascinating
On April Fools can we get a MegaProject on the emu war? 😂
@@deenman23 What do you think the movie takes its name from?
Wall suggestion: Berlin Wall. If you’re looking for more walls to cover on megaprojects, that’s my vote
And next is DMZ wall at north-south kore border.
He did Berlin wall on geographics
It’s not a *great* wall.
Nice job covering another large Roman project, all of which will always be MegaProjects in my mind.
Excellent video, just had a tour of the Scottish highlands.
It would be impossible for even a modern army to conquer the lochs, mountains and hills.
Brilliant video.
I am not so sure. In Roman times there was much more ancient forests in Scotland.
@@TheScotsalan then more impossible to conquer and the Romans got beaten properly.
@@beachboy0505 I think, from memory of history lesson, there was not many folk in Scotland then, and they were too busy fighting each other 😂. I am sure the wall was more of a job creation thing. They never got round to making roads as they done in England. It was probably an experimental occupation that they gave up on. Scotland has silver and gold, but not as much as wales. They did explore further north, and probably decided it was not worth it . Anyhow, as a Scot, hope you enjoyed your tour, and that the midges were not too bad 👍
@@beachboy0505 thrashed
Live nearby a section of it. Cool to think about the history around you.
I went for a jog along a bit of it ( more like " in a bit of it " ) 25 years ago. I've the unlikely distinction of seeing more of the Antonine wall than Hadrians...... unlikely to see either again.... not sure why that makes me feel sad.
If it's like Hadrian's wall then some of the stones it was made from are probably to be found in the villages, towns and farms surrounding it as they will be suspiciously like the ones left in the wall.
I ♥ the way Simon pronounces "wall" X100000. You'd think that English was his second language. 😂
Build that Wall . I always love a good Roman invasion . Juilias Cesar and Richard 1 are my heroes I love a good warrior.
Jollu good show! And a Jolly Good Show to you Mr. Whistler! I trust the Crown take note!!
My family was from Northumberland, so was stuck between both walls. Did dna test southern scotland, english, and strangely Scandinavian 16%. No roman trace.
Was slightly disappointed i was lacking more of a mix, oh well.
Never knew about other wall only Hadrians. Thank you Simon entertaining as usual.
I had no idea i'd find a video about a wall so enthralling
Scots/German here enjoying this.
Simon loves his walls! Pretty soon we are going to see a Megaprojects about Simon's backyard wall!
Not just walls but Holes! We love plunging the depths of holes with Simon!
So awesome!
I walked the length of Hadrian's wall this summer - some lovely scenery in places, quite a feat of engineering
ugly piece of land,no wonder the romans left
Ninth Legion Commander, "I Knew I Should’ve Taken That Left Turn At Albuquerque!”
This goes right through my home town Falkirk
But have you covered Window's firewall? :P
Thanks for the video Simon !!! Awesome as always !!
You don't think the Tacitus was just buttering up his father inlaw with that glowing report of the battle?
"Tacitus states that Gnaeus Julius Agricola, who was the Roman governor and Tacitus's father-in-law,"
Simon please do the Anastasian Wall in Thrace and the Hexamilion wall at the isthmus of Corinth. I love walls...
Walls and Forts are always interesting, despite what my wife says every time I start spouting random facts about them :P
"Yeah. What have the romans ever done for us?" Life of Brian.
Not a wall suggestion but simular, you should do a video on the Rabbit Prooof fence in australia it stretches 2,023 miles (3,256 km) though Western Australia and was completed in 1907 and like the Antonine wall also ignored the native peoples borders.
There's a city in Spain the still has original Roman walls not to mention I'm a bit obsessed with Roman history
Which city in Spain . . . ?
Spain is a LARGE country, can you name the city please.
did you hear the joke about the wall?
you'll never get over it
Simons awesome, love him :)
The Antonine Wall continues to fascinate me. I've read several books on the subject. While hard historical evidence and documentation is sadly lacking, I've also conjectured that the Antonine Wall (the northern wall) did not go unopposed by the incited Caledonian tribes. It wouldn't be difficult to believe that the Antonine Wall suffered attacks during its construction and thereafter. The northern wall was quickly becoming an expense that Rome didn't need. Historians believe that it was emperor Antoninus Pius, who in his last two years of life gave the go-ahead for the abandonment of the northern wall. By now the wall was no longer needed to bolster the reputation of a successful Roman emperor who ruled for some 20 years but now was in his twilight years.
It's still frustrating that there is almost no historical documentation or other evidence describing the short life of the Antonine Wall. Perhaps the wall's failure might be a major reason for the dearth of documentation. The northern wall stood one hundred miles further north into Caledonian tribal lands, exposing itself to greater numbers of hostile Caledonian tribal warriors who enjoyed the advantage of shorter internal lines of communication and logistics. It must have been more expensive and difficult to support the Antonine Wall so far north from major Roman bases in the south. Romans were capable of acknowledging a losing hand when they held it. The life span of the Antonine Wall was just under twenty years. Yet a lot must have happened there during that time. I lastly conjecture that the northern wall may have been considered an embarrassing, costly military venture by the Romans of the time which is why no one wanted to talk about it, much less write down anything. The reason why almost nothing remains of the Antonine Wall has less to do with the harsh weather and climate of southern Scotland than the distinct possibility that the angry Caledonians completely destroyed the turf wall once the Romans abandoned it. Mother Nature and 850 years of rains and storms erased what was left. But this is my conjecture.
The Caledonian tribes were probably paid to help construct the walls which could be by-passed by boat. The walls may have been built to keep the army busy.
@@jebrindle9380 Hmmm. I didn't think of that possibility of the Romans paying any Caledonian who stepped forward looking for paid work. But there is no historical documentation anywhere of Caledonians being hired to work on the Antonine Wall, nor of any Britons being hired to work on Hadrian's Wall.
As for sailing around the wall, the Romans thought of that, too. There were Roman warships that patrolled the ends of the wall, looking exactly for raiders trying to bypass the wall by water.
As some wag once said: the mortal enemies of 'Caledonian' tribes, were other Caledonian tribes. There was little of interest for the Romans up in those cold, wet rocky parts. Furthermore, as Hadrian's Wall took six long years to build, what were the 'ferocious' northern tribes doing during this time? Then, after just 19 years, the Romans moved 100 miles further north and built another cross country wall.
I also doubt there was much of a casual Caledonian labour supply to help build either wall. Things weren't like that back then. It is more likely that a large local labour force was hired via a cosy arrangement the Romans had with a chieftain - perhaps a disaffected one, wanting to protect his territory from other marauding tribes. And let's remember, the Roman army consisted of an array of soldiers who didn't come from Rome!
Gainfully employed with all the benefits springs to mind.
Apart from that, what have the Romans done for us? 😉
What killed the Empire? The switch from offensive to defensive philosophy. An empire that doesn’t expand crumbles and dies.
Speaking of walls and hurricanes, what about the New Orleans seawall? Or the centuries-long fight with the ocean the Dutch have been fighting?
I thought that Hadrian’s Wall was built by Sylvester Stallone: yo Hadrian
I love the ad read with the girl busted up smiling when it says capital bomb threat and afghan protests
Wall suggestion: Northern Ireland peace walls, particularly in Belfast. Could tie it in with comparisons to Berlin.
What was saying about the 9th Legion, there's also that film Centurion (2010).
Thank you !! Grapes 🍇👍🏼
Please do the Theodosian Land Walls and the Anastasian Wall!
Simon...
Why have you not covered the Roman Aqueduct System that brought all that water to even Rome from as far away as The Spanish Mountains I believe? Please?
I second this request
🙏 Thank you both!!! Simon?
The Romans weren't ejected from the Island. The acting governor decided to revolt from the empire and took nearly all the legionnaires with him to Gaul. Once he was defeated the soldiers just never returned. *Crazy that it still remained under Roman rule for a few more decades.*
How many takes did it take for Simon to correctly say "Firth Of The Forth"?
At least 3 times, he probably nailed it on the fourth...
I'll see myself out
"Firth Of The Forth" is incorrect. I won't tell you what the correct name is - look it up yourself.
@@Mewithabeard BA DA BUM BUM TSHSHSHSHHSHSHSHS
I love that simons so cheeky in this compared to his other channels. Just so much fun.
On ancient Roman structures, what about the ramp they built to Masada? Or Masada itself.
Dropping these again. Cold War projects.
A10, beloved BRRRRT singer.
The development behind the Bradley IFV and its effect on mechanized/armor doctrine
Australia's only big wall isn't a wall but a fence - the Dingo Fence - but it's an impressive 3,500 miles long. I'm not sure it would even sustain a Side Project!
Your videos are just amazing. Not gonna bother listing the reasons why, too many.
Mega project idea : The Berlin Air Lift
Simon, I am glad this topic was chosen as I have never heard of it so thank you for making me big brain.
Thanks for ALL of your sites, you read wicked fast and rip awesome information! ✌️🤘
Walls and canals seem to do good
Look at the Illinois-Michigan canal
That was very cool❤❤
I knew about the Antonine Wall but then I've watched the biographics videos on the roman emperors...
Have you done a video on the Hoover dam yet? that's a fecking huge 'wall'...
I live in Kirkintilloch, there’s a stone in place called peel park x
We need a Megaprojects about Megaprojects!
Just when I thought there weren't enough walls in my life 😀
Bagger 293 please! That would be an interesting project, as it is the biggest land vehicle ever!
Aren't Wallsend and Bowness-on-Solway the other way around (see 6.05). Wallsend is east as it is Northumbria and Bowness-on-Solway is west as it is in Cumbria.
How about The Madukkarai wall in India, or The Great Wall of Gorgan in Iran, both from antiquity ... or the Zanja de Alsina near Buenos Aires ... but it was wood and theres nothing left ... or from the middle ages The Cheolli Jangseong in present day North Korea (its long and hugely tall in some spots) or the ... well ... never mind.
Maybe Simon should do the WW2 defence of London? In case of invasion the capital had a nested set of barriers, concealed weapon emplacements and the Home Guard (aka Dad's Army) had orders to stand and die against the Germans. Time team did a dig, so there is a lot of archived media to draw on
Remember going through a town called Chesterfield on the train and saw a wonky crooked church which might be interesting when I read up online
Simon that shirt is trippy
Wall suggestion. You could make a video on the Roman walls that surround the city of Diyarbakir in Turkey. Still standing today!!
Blaze Essence: *DETECTED, TESTED & CERTIFIED*
What! There’s a second wall. Wild.
It strikes me that it would be pretty easy for the Caledonians to bypass the wall by crossing the Forth to the east or by sailing down the Clyde coast to the west. Much of the area between the Antonine and Hadrian’s walls can be pretty wild, and would be very suitable for guerrilla warfare.
In contrast, Hadrian’s Wall had a series of forts to the west of its westernmost limit, forming a continuation to guard against forces crossing the Solway.
So there was no need to attack the fortified wall itself, just its supply lines, which would have been much more vulnerable.
why sail around it when you can use a zombie dragon to melt it?
Or ladders
There would have been forts behind the wall; probably not found as yet. Those Romans were thorough.
@@EllieMaes-Grandad Yeah, so thorough they lost 3 legions in Germany…
I am from that area, and I am pretty sure they had coastal forts. The romans did have advance camps beyond the wall, Callander and Fortingal come to mind. I seem to recall it was silver and gold they wanted. They maybe just found it easier in wales.
I'd like to know what happens behind the wall my neighbors put up.
Or, maybe Wallstreet? Or have you already done that one.
I think brain blaze has started leaching into your other projects, not complaining kind of more approachable this way
A New York City block is 237,600 square feet or 5.5 x the size of the Rough Castle Fort which was smaller than an acre.
The use of terms such as "city block" or "football fields" for area is massively American and inconsistent even there. Even the use of square feet is quaintly old fashioned as that cave-man unit is rare outside the US.
@@owenshebbeare2999 Do you measure in baguettes or bottles of wine? See there's at least two more ridiculous ways to measure.
I always wonder how many standing stones & stronge circles the Romans broke up as handy building blocks.
Simon more videos on the casual criminalist
Great video, but the Romans weren't 'ejected' from Britain. The Legions were withdrawn because of troubles on the Continent, the Crossing of the Rhine in 406 and the Visigothic attack on Rome itself ca. 410 AD. Oh, and the Antonine Wall was built in the reign of Emperor Antoninus, not 'Antonius'.
That's true. The Roman Empire was run on economic considerations. If the returns were'nt worth it they would pull back. They obviously spent a lot of time fighting north of the wall because the countryside of Perthshire is littered with Roman marching camps. Whenever politics in Rome called for it they would move troops back to the continent. Mons Graupius was a significant victory but they couldn't sustain the troop numbers and withdrew troops shortly afterwards.. And the Highlands is a very difficult area to police.
"Their vast and sprawling empah." Once they lost the "empah" they had an "empah-nada" which is a tasty Latin American turnover. In the Caribbean, empanadas are generally fried, but my favorites are those from Chile, which are baked and stuffed with ground beef, olives, raisins, fried onions, and sliced boiled egg. By the way I haven't the foggiest idea how I digressed in this fashion. Perhaps Simon can do a Megaproject about empanadas. On the other hand, a Megaproject that has had serious international implications is the Israeli National Water Carrier, which took fresh water from the Sea of Galilee all the way to Beersheba, roughly 300 kilometers away and was built under conditions of severe economic hardship. But Simon is English, you know how the English are about Israel.
It's might be more of a side project but how the US Vietnam memorial wall came to be might be an interesting video.
I know that Simon do not know what he is talking about and is talking from a script but it is really interesting.
Can you talk about the sea dragon rocket I know it never was built, but it was a megaproject
The wall that keeps getting forgotten is the Great Wall of Gorgon in northern Iran on the shore of the Caspian Sea. There are some suggestions that news of its construction travelled the length of the Silk Road and may have inspired the Great Wall of China.
A scotch friend of mine always referred to the asinine wall
How about the angle in northeast gaul, that was pallasaded, and was under roman control for quite some time.
2:03 I had no idea Alexander the Great ejected Darius from Britain
SIMON!!! - The great Moroccan Western Sahara wall Simon
2:00 The Roamsn weren't "kicked out" of Britain, they withdrew to move their forces to The Continent where they were needed. Britain wasn't earning enough for the empire to justify keeping it.
0:28 well, I do have to say that's a nice looking wall behind you... 🙂.