The legions
Discover more about the Legions who constructed the Antonine Wall.
Once the legions had finished building the wall, it was garrisoned mainly by auxiliary troops.
© Rob McDougall
What were auxiliary units?
The legions were supported by auxiliary troops, men drawn into the army from across the Roman empire sometimes voluntarily, sometimes by force. Auxiliary soldiers were not Roman citizens but were granted citizenship once they retired. This also extended to any children they may have had, despite not supposed to marry while in service.
Auxiliaries were equipped with long slashing swords, bows, spears and slings. They had helmets, oval shields, and chainmail or leather cuirasses to provide protection. Beneath this they wore a woollen tunic and, on their feet, leather boots which had hobnails hammered into the sole.
Where did auxiliary units come from?
Units were usually formed in one region and then almost immediately moved far across the empire, perhaps in order to reduce the chances for a local rebellion. They were typically composed of troops with a shared ethnic identity, commanded by Roman citizen officers. Over time these ethnically formed units took on new recruits from their service area, creating situations where native Britons served alongside soldiers from far-flung regions.
Inscriptions provide a valuable way of tracking the movement of particular units. We know that many remained in their assigned provinces for centuries. Soldiers often retired within the province where they had served rather than in their original homeland.
What do auxiliary units represent?
Auxiliary units provide a particularly fascinating view into cultural and social integration across and beyond the Empire: they were certainly ‘Roman’ as an essential part of Rome’s military structure, but they clung on to particular ethnic identities and traditions from their homeland before its incorporation into the Roman empire.
The auxiliary units on the Antonine Wall
Click the drop downs below to learn more about the Auxiliary units stationed on the wall.
The First Cohort of Baetasians was an infantry unit of 500 men from the modern-day Netherlands. An early inscription from Manchester suggests that they were based there before moving north to the Antonine Wall. On the Wall, the unit is referred to in inscriptions from the forts at Bar Hill and Old Kilpatrick. Following the Roman withdrawal from the Antonine Wall, the unit was relocated to Maryport on the Cumbrian Coast south of Hadrian’s Wall.
The First Cohort of Hamians was a unit of 500 archers from Hama in northern Syria. The unit may have been part of an invasion force in AD 43, and this is the only known unit of bowmen in Roman Britain. The cohort is known from Carvoran on Hadrian’s Wall and was later stationed at the Antonine Wall fort at Bar Hill. Following the Roman withdrawal from the Antonine Wall, the unit returned to Carvoran.
The First Cohort of Tungrians was an infantry unit of about 1,000 men from modern-day Belgium. The unit is known from inscriptions at Castlecary that records building work within the fort. The unit is known from Hadrian’s Wall, where they were based at Vindolanda in the late 1st century then Housesteads in the 3rd and 4th centuries.
The First Cohort of Vardullians was an infantry unit of about 1,000 men from modern-day northern Spain. The unit is known from a number of forts across northern Britain, with the earliest known location at Castlecary fort on the Antonine Wall. The fort at Castlecary was too small to have held the full cohort and it has been suggested that part of the unit was stationed elsewhere—possibly in north Africa.
Pottery of North African style has been identified at several sites along the Antonine Wall, and it is possible that this originated with African recruits accompanying the First Cohort of Vardullians after their return from war in Mauretania.
We know that that the unit was present at other locations around Britain including Corbridge on Hadrian’s Wall, High Rochester in Northumberland and at Lanchester in County Durham.
The First Tungrian Wing was a cavalry unit of 500 men from modern-day Belgium. Military documents from Chester and York record the unit’s presence in Britain during the early 2nd century. For at least part of the Antonine Wall’s functional life, the unit was stationed at the Wall’s largest fort, Mumrills. Here, an altar to Hercules Magusanus was dedicated by Valerius Nigrinus, an officer in the unit.
The Second Cohort of Thracians was an infantry and cavalry unit of about 500 men from modern-day Bulgaria. The unit is known from a tombstone at Mumrills on the Antonine Wall which commemorates the life and death of Nectovelius, son of Vindex, a Brigantian (from modern-day northern England) who died after nine years of service with the unit. This cohort is also known from multiple inscriptions from the Cumbrian Coast fort at Moresby.
The Fourth Cohort of Gauls was a mixed unit of about 600 men from modern-day France. The unit may have been part of the force that invaded Britain in AD 43, and it is known from inscriptions at Castlesteads fort on Hadrian’s Wall, as well as Castlehill fort on the Antonine Wall. At Castlehill, the unit’s commander Pisentius Iustus dedicated an altar to the Goddesses of the Parade Ground and to Britannia. The unit’s final known service was at Vindolanda on Hadrian’s Wall.
The Sixth Cohort of Nervians was an infantry unit of about 500 men from modern-day Belgium. The unit saw service on both Hadrian’s Wall and the Antonine Wall, based at Rough Castle fort on the latter. Here. the unit dedicated an altar to Victory and recorded their construction of the fort’s headquarters building. The altar inscription notes that for part of the time the unit was stationed at Rough Castle, it was commanded by a centurion from the Twentieth Legion named Gaius Flavius Betto.
A fragmentary inscription on an altar at Castlecary fort has been interpreted as referring to a cohort of Baetasians or Batavians, both from the modern-day Netherlands. This may refer to the First Cohort of Baetasians, already known to have been present at Bar Hill and Old Kilpatrick. Alternatively, this may be evidence for the First Cohort of Batavians, a mixed unit of infantry and cavalry who are known to have served in Agricola’s campaigns in Scotland during the late 1st century and at sites along Hadrian’s Wall, including the forts at Carvoran and Carrawburgh.
The life of a soldier
From training and repairs, to socialising and cooking, discover the life of a soldier stationed on the wall.
The life of a civilian
Soldiers on the Antonine Wall were joined by a range of civilians, who often lived in villages outside the forts.