Frontier policy: consolidation and retrenchment AD 85-c.128

Question 1

Where and when was the Inchtuthil fort built?

Answer 1

North of the river Tay in Scotland, c. 82AD

Question 2

who refers to ‘Britain conquered, then allowed to slip from our grasp’ in a summary of the Flavian period.

Answer 2

Tacitus

Question 3

Suetonius on Domitian’s reason to reduce military involvement in Britain?

Answer 3

He had other significant expenses, so he decided to cut down the military establishment

Question 4

Who was the Inchtuthil fortress intended for and what happened to it?

Answer 4

The Twentieth Legion Valeria Victrix
- presumably was meant to keep control of Caledonia, and with auxiliary forts further north was intending to close off the glens of the highlands

Question 5

When was the Second Legion Adiutrix withdrawn from Britain to serve in Romania as part of the First Dacian War?

Answer 5

Around 87AD

Question 6

Possible reason’s for Domitian’ retrenchment?

Answer 6

• maybe felt controlling the highlands of Caledonia was unnecessary or unprofitable
• London was becoming a suitable capital for the province
• problems elsewhere in the empire

Question 7

What two forts demonstrate that land just below the Forth-Clyde line had not been abandoned by the start of the second century AD.

Answer 7

Dalswinton and Newstead
By the start of the second century both these forts had been reconstructed and expanded to allow room for detachments of the legions and auxiliary cavalry

Question 8

Caerleon stone of Trajan significance? (100AD)

Answer 8

Shows Trajan’s campaigns in Britain

Question 9

Domitian - Trajan power shift

Answer 9

Domitian was killed in 96, then Nerva was emperor, died in Jan 98 leaving Trajan to take over

Question 10

Commemorative tablet from York (107-108AD) significance?

Answer 10

shows evidence of Trajan’s rebuilding of York

Question 11

What was the first ‘frontier’ of the post-Agricola period?

Answer 11

The Stanegate road, which went from Carlisle to Corbridge

Question 12

Significance of the Vindolanda tablet inviting a sister to celebrate a birthday c.100AD?

Answer 12

Shows that it was peaceful enough to be able to travel safely

Question 13

Examples of forts that seem to have been burnt around the beginning of the second century? Possible explanations?

Answer 13

Forts around the Stanegate line including Newstead, Dalswinton and Corbridge
- either they were attacked or they were abandoned and destroyed by Romans

Question 14

Around how far apart were the forts on the Stanegate frontier under Agricola?

Answer 14

1 days march

Question 15

How was the distance between forts on the Stanegate frontier changed around the early 2nd century?

Answer 15

Extra forts added so they were closer to half a days march apart

Question 16

What soldiers were at Vindolanda?

Answer 16

auxiliaries

Question 17

How many Vindolanda tablets have been found?

Answer 17

Over 700

Question 18

Significance of Vindolanda military strength report tablet from the 90s?

Answer 18

Lists the exact number of soldiers and where they were e.g 456 total are away at other places, 31 are at the fort but unwell, and so there are 265 fit men at the fort

Question 19

What does the Vindolanda military strength report tablet from the 90s allow use to infer?

Answer 19

Since the First Cohort of an auxiliary unit was normally 800 and there were a total of 752, with only 6 centurions instead of 10, we can see that there was probably a limited threat of attack at this time

Question 20

Domitian withdrew to the Forth-Clyde line. What line did Trajan withdraw to?

Answer 20

The Tyne-Solway line

Question 21

When did Hadrian become emperor?

Answer 21

117AD

Question 22

What source mentions trouble in Britain around the time that Hadrian became emperor?

Answer 22

the Scriptores Historiae Augustae (SHA)
‘the Britons could not be kept under Roman control’

Question 23

Significance of the inscription on the tombstone of Titus Pontius Sabinus c.119?

Answer 23

Shows the large number of troops needed in Britain, Sabinus had commanded large numbers of men showing that the emperor had needed a fairly large military intervention to the mysterious troubles of Hadrian’s early rule

Question 24

What legion replaced the Ninth Legion?

Answer 24

the Sixth Legion Victrix Pia Fidelis

Question 25

By when had Hadrian settled the troubles in Britain and what evidence is there for this?

Answer 25

By 119AD, as shown on an As commemorating the swiftness of Hadrian’s campaign in Britain

Question 26

What is the only literary source that tells us Hadrian ordered the building of the Wall?

Answer 26

SHA

Question 27

When does the SHA tell us that Hadrian visited the province? Who was the new governor he brought with him?

Answer 27

121 or 122. ‘he was the first to build a wall, eighty miles long to separate the barbarians and the Romans’
The governor was Nepos

Question 28

How long was Hadrian’s wall?

Answer 28

80 Roman miles

Question 29

How many milecastles on Hadrian’s wall?

Answer 29

80

Question 30

How often was there a turret on Hadrian’s wall?

Answer 30

every 1/3 mile

Question 31

Additional defensive feature of Hadrian’s wall?

Answer 31

A ditch was dug to the north of the wall where possible, unless natural terrain was better

Question 32

How many soldiers could fit on a milecastle?

Answer 32

about 10 for sentry duty

Question 33

What suggests that the original wall had signalling towers to the forts on Stanegate?

Answer 33

The turret at Peel Gap only has a southward vantage point

Question 34

What type of wall were the foundations? How wide?

Answer 34

Archaeology shows they were 10ft wide - a ‘broad wall’ but this seems to have been abandoned

Question 35

How wide was most of the wall? What does this indicate?

Answer 35

6-8ft. Since this is narrower than some of the foundations, it is clear there was either a scarcity of resources or a need to increase the speed of building

Question 36

Halton Chesters dedication slab significance?

Answer 36

Dated to 122-125, this shows that the Sixth Legion Victrix Pia Fidelis were building forts on the wall under Nepos around 3 years after initial construction began

Question 37

Change to the positioning of forts built along Hadrian’s wall?

Answer 37

first 3/4 had been built to the north in an offensive position, but after that they were built behind the curtain wall in a defensive position

Question 38

How do we know that forts on Hadrian’s wall were being built behind the curtain wall after around 128AD?

Answer 38

An inscription at Great Chesters refers to Hadrian as Pater Patriae which was a title he hadn’t received until 128

Question 39

vallum

Answer 39

the ditch running south of Hadrian’s wall. It had raised earth mounds either side

Question 40

How deep and wide was the vallum?

Answer 40

10ft deep, 20ft wide

Question 41

Where were crossing points on the vallum?

Answer 41

Originally was every Roman mile, but then was reduced to only 12 - crossing from each fort

Question 42

How many miles of the western part of Hadrian’s wall were turf before the late 120s?

Answer 42

around 30 miles

Question 43

Possible reasons for the western 30 miles of wall to have been turf?

Answer 43

• lack of building material in Cumbria
• 3 outpost forts north of the wall here suggest there may have been a threat from the north in this early part, hence quick construction with the usual materials of turf and timber was necessary

Question 44

Likely reason for Hadrian’s wall, compared to the SHA’s given reason?

Answer 44

SHA says it was to separate the romans from the barbarians, but it would be more obvious to view it as the creation of a controlled military zone which could monitor movement and maybe trade

Question 45

Who manned Hadrian’s Wall? Who constructed it? How do we know?

Answer 45

auxiliary units manned it, after detachments of the three legions had built it. There are many inscriptions testifying that it was the auxiliaries who manned it

Question 46

Evidence that Hadrian felt that he had vanquished Britannia, with the Tyne-Solway line and wall the final and obvious place to cease expansion?

Answer 46

A sestertius from c.134-138 depicts Britannia with her right foot resting on a rock, with a shield resting beside her. Clearly demonstrating the change to a defensive nature