Around 2,000 years ago, the Roman Empire reached its zenith in terms of land expansion, with Glasgow and the central belt marking its very front-most frontier - because of that you can find ancient Roman artefacts buried from Motherwell to Bearsden and everywhere in between.
In this article we're focusing on Roman ruins around Glasgow that left a trace that is visible and accessible today, nearly 2,000 years ago - several old Roman forts and other conurbations were buried long ago under the foundation of Glasgow, Balmuildy Fort south of the River Kelvin is one example - some could even be waiting to be uncovered, like the Bearsden Bath House.
The Antonine Wall is the most significant surviving artefact from the Roman occupation of Scotland - there were 16 forts built along it's 63km span which held a treasure trove of architectural goodies for historians to fawn over.
Take a look below to see the surviving Roman structures and artefacts you can find around Glasgow.
1. The Antonine Wall
The wall stretches 63 kilometres across the modern constituencies of East Dunbartonshire, Falkirk Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, and West Dunbartonshire. Interestingly, the Antonine WallI was never a stone wall. It was a turf tampart fronted by a wide and deep ditch - the wall was used to slow down enemy forces, as well as secure crossing points to control movement north and south with forts built along the length of the wall. A road known as the Military Way ran behind the rampart, linking the forts.
2. Rough Castle
Rough Castle was one of 16 known forts along the Antonine Wall, which was built across Scotland’s central belt from AD 140. The wall formed the north-western frontier of the Roman Empire. You can find it up near Alloa, one of Rough Castle’s most distinctive features is the group of lilia (lily) pits to the north of the fort. Lilia pits were a defensive measure as brutal as they were rudimentary – each pit would have been fitted with a sharpened stake, pointed upright and hidden among brushwood. The pits would have served to break up attacks from the north before they reached the fort.
3. Bothwellhaugh Bath House & Roman Fort
If there's one thing we know for certain about Romans, those legionaries loved a bath, fair play to them. Back in 1973 they discovered an undiscovered Bath House nearby Bothwellhaugh Roman fort in Strathclyde Country Park near Motherwell, Bellshill, and Hamilton. It was fully excavated in 1975 before the area was to be flooded by an artificial loch.
4. 'Roman' bridge
While the veracity of this bridge in Motherwell's age can't be completely verified, it is very, very old - and it's proximity to the Roman Bathhouse would suggest some kind of connection. It can be found in the woodlands down by Strathclyde Park - and has been called the 'Roman bridge' by locals for countless generations. The bridge was restored, most likely by one of the noble Hamilton family to facilitate transport, whether this restoration was before or after the Bothwellhaugh (former village now erased by the creation of Strathclyde Loch) colliery is also unknown.