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The Antonine Wall, known as the Vallum Antonini, was a defensive wall built by the Romans in present-day Scotland. The wall ran for 39 miles between the Firth of Forth, and the Firth of Clyde (west of Edinburgh along the central belt), and was protected by 16 forts and around 41 fortlets.Construction of the wall commenced during the reign of Emperor Antoninus Pius in AD 142 in Caledonian territories previously held by the Damnonii, Otadini, Novantae, and the Selgovae tribes. The wall was intended to extend dominion over lands conquered by Governor Quintus Lollius Urbicus, cementing a new frontier 100...

By the beginning of the 1800s, Bell Rock in Scotland’s Firth of Forth was responsible for wrecking numerous ships each year. In just one of such wrecks, 491 sailors were killed. It was clear to everyone that sailors needed to be warned about Bell Rock. But since the Rock was 11 miles from shore, and submerged by the sea for all but two hours a day, most all the experts believed it would be impossible to construct a to build a lighthouse there. For Robert Stevenson, the challenge of building a lighthouse on Bell Rock—in order to improve his corner...