Watling Lodge facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Watling Lodge |
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| Founded during the reign of | Antoninus Pius |
| Founded | 142 AD |
| Place in the Roman world | |
| Province | Britannia |
| Location | |
| Town | Near Tamfourhill |
| County | Falkirk |
| Country | Scotland |
| Site notes | |
| Condition | Ruined |
Watling Lodge was a small Roman fortlet built long ago on the Antonine Wall in Scotland. It was like a mini-fort, part of a big wall that the Romans built to protect their land. You can find it near Lock Sixteen on the Forth and Clyde Canal in Falkirk. Other Roman forts nearby were Rough Castle to the west and Falkirk to the east. There was also a fort at Camelon to the north. The Romans even had a temporary camp not far from here.
Discovering Watling Lodge
Watling Lodge is famous for having the best-preserved part of the Antonine Wall's ditch that you can still see today. It's located along Tamfourhill Road, which is southwest of Falkirk. This section of the ditch is in amazing condition, almost like it was when the Romans were here!
Visiting the Site
If you want to visit, Watling Lodge is signposted from the A9 road. You can get there from the B816, which is Tamfourhill Road. There's an information panel close to the wall. This panel helps you imagine what the wall looked like. It also shows how Watling Lodge fit into the Romans' big plan for the wall.
What We've Learned
Many people have studied Watling Lodge. Sir George Macdonald, a famous archaeologist, wrote about the site. Today, you can even see digital models of the fortlet. Someone even made a model of it in Minecraft!
Most Roman forts along the Antonine Wall held about 500 soldiers. Bigger forts, like Castlecary, could hold around 1000 soldiers. These forts likely had many civilians living nearby too. These were people who helped the soldiers or traded with them.
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