Exploring the Antonine Wall with Terrestrial Remote Sensing

This book has three main aims: to make more widely available the data from the numerous geophysical surveys that have been undertaken at sites on the Antonine Wall over the last 20 years; to re-analyse this data and provide more focused interpretations; and to offer some wider archaeological and geophysical conclusions.

Exploring the Antonine Wall with terrestrial remote sensing has three main aims. The first is to make more widely available the data from the numerous geophysical surveys that have been undertaken at sites on the Antonine Wall over the last 20 years. Most of these surveys are currently inaccessible to a wider audience in unpublished technical reports. Since much of the original work was undertaken by specialists in the acquisition of geophysical data, rather than in Roman military archaeology, the second aim is to re-analyse this data and provide more focused interpretations of the results for each site. These are based on the authors’ collectively wide background knowledge of both the monument and the application of geophysical survey in archaeology. The third aim is to offer some wider archaeological and geophysical conclusions, drawing attention to a number of areas where our understanding of the Antonine Wall has been enhanced by the geophysics and considering how the long history of such survey applied to a single monument serves to highlight both the strengths and weaknesses of the methodology.

Chapter 1

The development of archaeological understanding of the Antonine Wall

Other non-invasive exploration of the Antonine Wall

The context of the geophysical surveys

Geophysical methodology

Interpretation of geophysical data

Archaeological targets and their geophysical responses

Aims and structure of the book

Chapter 2

Old Kilpatrick

Carleith

Duntocher, Golden Hill

Cleddans Road

Castlehill

Bearsden

Boclair

Summerston to Balmuildy Bridge

Chapter 3

Balmuildy

Wilderness Plantation

Cawder

Glasgow Bridge to Westermains

Kirkintilloch

Chapter 4

Auchendavy

Shirva

Bar Hill

Girnal Hill/Nethercroy

Croy Hill

Chapter 5

Westerwood

Tollpark

Garnhall

Castlecary

Seabegs

Milnquarter

Chapter 6

Elf Hill, Bonnyside

Bonnyside to Rough Castle

Rough Castle

Callendar Park

Mumrills

Chapter 7

Inveravon

Kinneil

Kinglass Park

Muirhouses Camp

Kinningars Park and Carriden western environs

Carriden

Chapter 8 Discussion

Archaeology

Geophysics

Bibliography

Until his retirement, W.S. (Bill) Hanson was Professor of Roman Archaeology at the University of Glasgow, where he specialised in the study of Roman Scotland, Roman frontiers and airborne archaeological remote sensing. He is co-author of one of the standard textbooks on the Antonine Wall, and co-editor of the most recently published examination of its remains. Until his retirement, Dr Richard Jones was a Senior Lecturer in the School of Humanities at the University of Glasgow, where he specialised in archaeological science, particularly terrestrial remote sensing and ceramic analysis. He has undertaken numerous geophysical surveys along the Antonine Wall and elsewhere in Scotland. Dr Nick Hannon is Heritage Research Manager in the Heritage Directorate of Historic Environment Scotland, where he currently leads their geophysical survey programme. He has undertaken several geophysical surveys along the Antonine Wall and he analysed the LiDAR survey of the Wall for his PhD.

• By (author) William S. Hanson
• By (author) Richard E. Jones
• By (author) Nick Hannon

'Overall, although this volume will perhaps be most relevant for students and scholars who area engaged in serious studies upon the Antonine Wall, the result is an up to date and very readable account of the archaeology of the Wall as it stands at present and so should be readily approachable for the general reader.

The volume has a Bibliography which runs to nearly nine full pages, but no Index. However, the structure of the narrative is clear and straightforward, so that the list of the reports on the Contents pages should enable readers to find their ways to what they want quite quickly. The volume is available as an Open Access document on the Archaeopress web site, or else it can be obtained as a printed version for £45, which price probably reflects the cost of printing and binding on demand. An impressive amount of work has gone into this volume and it reflects credit upon the authors, and to Archaeopress for shepherding it into the public domain.' – John Poulter (2025): Itinera, vol. 5

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