EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND—According to a statement released by the University of Edinburgh, researchers from the University of Edinburgh, Historic Environment Scotland, and the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre have identified more than 100 Iron Age settlements and small farmsteads in southwest Scotland, in the area between Hadrian’s Wall and the Antonine Wall, some 100 miles to the north. The Romans began construction of Hadrian’s Wall in A.D. 122, followed by the construction of the Antonine Wall 20 years later as they attempted to gain control of the northern end of the island. The team members used laser-scanning technology to begin their search in the area around Burnswark hillfort, where more Roman projectiles have been found than at any other site in Britain. In the past, research into the Roman campaign has focused on Roman camps, forts, roads, and walls, rather than on settlements occupied by the indigenous population, said Manuel Fernández-Götz of the University of Edinburgh. The new study will help scholars understand the highly organized landscape in which local people lived, explained Dave Cowley of Historic Environment Scotland. The Romans, unable to dominate Scotland, eventually drew back behind Hadrian’s Wall. To read more about Hadrian's Wall, go to “The Wall at the End of the Emire.”
