SCOTLAND’S Roman past will be remembered thanks to a share of £2 million in lottery funding.
The money will help bring communities together along the Antonine Wall in central Scotland and Hadrian’s Wall in the north of England, both UNESCO World Heritage sites.
Replica distance markets based on Roman originals will be placed around the 63km Antonine Wall to help young people learn more about the past.
Five Roman play areas will also be created at other sites near the wall for children to explore.
And a programme of 30 community-designed projects, such as a Scouts Big Roman Camp Out and a Roman-inspired community garden, will take place across the five local authorities the wall passes through.
Emma McMullen, Antonine Wall Heritage Lottery Fund Project Manager, said: “We are delighted to have been awarded this funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund to support our £2.1m Rediscovering the Antonine Wall project over the next three years.
“This will give us the opportunity to work with communities along the length of the wall to better engage them with their Roman heritage, along with creating facilities that will help to promote the Antonine Wall to visitors.
“The funding will also allow us to work with colleagues at Hadrian’s Wall and the German Limes to share ideas.”
Elsewhere, a National Lottery grant of £1.17m will enable experts at Newcastle University to work with community volunteers to help protect, preserve and interpret Hadrian’s Wall.
Some locations are at risk from threats such as severe weather, tourism and invasive plant species, including Roman cemeteries.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here