Roman Turf War Gets a Boost-
Antonine Wall and Hadrian’s Wall Grant
I’ve just been on holiday in Portugal and it was hot. And as you might be aware we aren’t used to the heat, even after a year like we’ve had above normal temperatures. Indeed my wife is a very pale person, reddish blonde hair and a tendency never to suntan at all so she suffered in the heat. So it was a relief to get back to the mild airs of our island. What also struck me is how we do antiquity so very well. I was on the battlements of Silves Castle and it was good and well done but it wasn’t great. Here we do great. Take the Roman walls of which there are two a turf wall deep inside Scotland stretching between the firths of Forth and Clyde, the Antonine Wall and the better known stone barrier Hadrian's Wall which stretches from Bowness-on-Solway in Cumbria to Wallsend in Tyneside. Both of these are world heritage sites. And they are a lure to tourists and locals alike.
Walls Get Stoned
These walls have now benefited from £2m of lottery funding which will be used to train an army of volunteers with the aim of surveying and carrying out repairs to Hadrian's Wall in northern England. Over the fifteen centuries of its decline locals had pillaged the walls for stones to build with and there will be a campaign to locate these, whether they be local houses, farms, field walls, or churches. But in Scotland the funding will be used to educate the nation about the Antonine Wall and build more awareness of the riches of the past in central Scotland. The Antonine Wall stretches 37 miles (60km) between the firths of Forth and Clyde and for a time about 142 AD it marked the northernmost point of the Roman Empire. It was made of turf on a stone foundation and was 10ft tall with a wooden palisade atop of it and ditches to the northern side. So with these degradable construction materials it is easy to see how it can get lost in the landscape. But it is a historic treasure no less.
What Did the Romans Do for Scotland?
And we here are keen to preserve history, established as we were in 1890, I’m afraid a long time after the Romans quit these shores. You may ask what the Romans did for Scotland and I can answer truthfully, not a lot. However, you can ask what James Pirie can do for you and I can answer equally well quite a lot. We’ve taken quite a while to create whole selections to help you choose a gift for anniversaries, weddings, achievements and almost every occasion for a celebration. But we never rest on our laurels, I suppose the Romans did give us that expression. We love our national landmarks. So try this. Hand made in Scotland, the good people of Caithness Glass have give us a paperweight that depicts the glorious Forth Bridge, beneath the Northern Aurora. And there is a sizeable discount.
https://www.jamespirie.com/scottish-landmarks-forth-bridge.html
