Battlefields›Pictish Attack on Hadrian's Wall Outpost Forts, 180 AD
Roman Period

Pictish Attack on Hadrian's Wall Outpost Forts, 180 AD

180
Scottish Borders, England
Era
Roman Period
Battle Type
Raid
Location
Scottish Borders, England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Rome
VS
Victor
Northern tribes (Caledonian/Pictish confederation)
Outcome
Roman commanding officer/governor killed; Wall garrisons overwhelmed; emperor Commodus dispatched Ulpius Marcellus, who campaigned north (reoccupying the Antonine Wall area for a time) and restored the frontier, with control not fully regained until c. 184 (archaeological evidence suggests unrest continued to c. 186/7).
The Battle

History & Significance

Pictish Attack on Hadrian's Wall Outpost Forts, 180 AD was a Roman raid, fought in the area of Scottish Borders, England in 180. Northern tribes (Caledonian/Pictish confederation) prevailed over Rome. Roman commanding officer/governor killed; Wall garrisons overwhelmed; emperor Commodus dispatched Ulpius Marcellus, who campaigned north (reoccupying the Antonine Wall area for a time) and restored the frontier, with control not fully regained until c. 184 (archaeological evidence suggests unrest continued to c. 186/7).

The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Pictish Attack on Hadrian's Wall Outpost Forts, 180 AD lies on Yoredale Group, bedrock that formed in the Bashkirian. The rock here is limestone, argillaceous rocks and subordinate sandstone, interbedded.

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Everything a full report reveals about Pictish Attack on Hadrian's Wall Outpost Forts, 180 AD

This page covers Pictish Attack on Hadrian's Wall Outpost Forts, 180 AD. A full Aubrey report for the area pulls together this battle alongside scheduled monuments and everything else the record holds within a few miles:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
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Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Pictish Attack on Hadrian's Wall Outpost Forts, 180 AD

Romano-British settlement, 150m ENE of Hawkhirst scout camp
Romano-British settlement, 150m ENE of Hawkhirst scout camp
Scheduled monument · ~1.4 mi

The Romano-British settlement 150m ENE of Hawkhirst scout camp is a scheduled ancient monument in Northumberland comprising archaeological remains of domestic and agricultural occupation dating to the Roman period. The site represents evidence of native settlement during the Romano-British era, a…

Devil's Lapful Long Cairn, 1km east of Butteryhaugh Bridge
Devil's Lapful Long Cairn, 1km east of Butteryhaugh Bridge
Scheduled monument · ~3.2 mi

Devil's Lapful Long Cairn is a Neolithic long barrow situated approximately one kilometre east of Butteryhaugh Bridge in Northumberland. The monument consists of an elongated mound of stone and earth characteristic of early Neolithic communal burial practices, dating to the fourth millennium BC.…

Tim Fish / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Kielder Viaduct
Kielder Viaduct
Scheduled monument · ~3.6 mi

Kielder Viaduct is a stone railway bridge constructed in the mid-nineteenth century to carry the North Tyne Railway across the River Tyne valley in Northumberland. Built between 1854 and 1858, the viaduct represents significant Victorian engineering achievement and comprises multiple stone arches…

Peter McDermott / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Shilla Hill bastle 350m west of Comb
Shilla Hill bastle 350m west of Comb
Scheduled monument · ~5 mi

Shilla Hill bastle is a fortified farmhouse situated in Northumberland, approximately 350 metres west of Comb. The structure dates to the early modern period, likely constructed during the sixteenth or seventeenth century when such defensive agricultural buildings were common in the Anglo-Scottis…

Sandy Gerrard / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Shieling, 670m south west of Spy Crags
Shieling, 670m south west of Spy Crags
Scheduled monument · ~9.1 mi

Shieling, located 670 metres south west of Spy Crags in Northumberland, is a prehistoric or early medieval settlement site. The monument represents evidence of pastoral land use in the upland regions of northern England, typical of shieling sites which served as seasonal shelters for shepherds an…

Haw Hill camp
Scheduled monument · ~0.9 miles
Defended settlement 580m north west of Gowanburn and associated medieval buildings
Scheduled monument · ~2.8 miles
Shieling on north bank of Lewis Burn
Scheduled monument · ~3.1 miles
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In the same landscape

Battles near Pictish Attack on Hadrian's Wall Outpost Forts, 180 AD

Northern Raid on Hadrian's Wall, 155 AD
155
~12.7 miles away
Late Roman defence of the Wall (post-383)
383
~13 miles away
Severan Reconstruction of Hadrian Wall 205-207 AD
205
~13.2 miles away
The Barbarian Conspiracy: Picts Breach Hadrian's Wall, 367 AD
367
~13.8 miles away
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