Caracalla and Geta portrayed in the film Gladiator II came to Britain for the start of campaigning in Scotland in 209 and stayed for two years. Their father Septimus Severus the Libyan emperor and their mother Julia Domna, a Syrian, also came to Britain.

Cramond Roman Fort was used at this time and Caracalla may well have been there and travelled along the Glasgow Road past Corstophine. Very little evidence remains from this time as they spent only two years in Scotland so we can not say for certain.

Cramond Roman Fort was repaired and extended during this period to accommodate the troops. A carved lioness was found in 1997 as shown below , although it has not been dated to any particular period.

The Roman base was at York where the headquarters of the Sixth Legion were. The 6th Legion was involved in the invasion of Scotland building the fort at Carpow near Abernethy.

Caracalla is said to have led the military campaign with his father Septimus Severus in attendance but being carried in a covered litter due to his age and poor health.

There were over 50,000 soldiers that invaded – estimates vary – but many would have come by boat as well as up Dere Street now the A68. When reaching the fort at Carpow smaller boats would have been used to transport troops and supplies to Bertha and then onto the fort at Ardoch.

Cassius Dio, the Roman Historian who lived at the time of Caracalla and Geta describes the Caledonians in his book ( Roman History, Epitome of Book LXXVII, 12)

“Their form of rule is democratic for the most part, and they are very fond of plundering; consequently, they choose their boldest men as rulers. They go into battle in chariots, and have small, swift horses; there are also foot soldiers, very swift in running and very firm in standing their ground. For arms, they have a shield and a short spear, with a bronze apple attached to the end of the spear-shaft, so that when it is shaken it may clash and terrify the enemy, and they also have daggers. They can endure hunger and cold and any kind of hardship; for they plunge into the swamps and exist there for many days with only their heads above water, and in the forests they support themselves upon bark and roots, and for all emergencies, they prepare a certain kind of food, the eating of a small portion of which, the size of a bean, prevents them from feeling either hunger or thirst.”

The Romans defeated the Caledonians who sued for peace. However after afew months they gain revolted and it seems Caracalla and his father lost patience. Cassius Dio the historian reports

“he summoned the soldiers and ordered them to invade the rebels’ country, killing everybody they met; and he quoted these words:

“Let no one escape sheer destruction,
No one our hands, not even the babe in the womb of the mother,
If it be male; let it nevertheless not escape sheer destruction.””

The Romans never managed to subdue the Caledonians and in February 2011 the emperor died in York. Caracalla bought off the tribes in Scotland with bribes and hurried back to Rome, as did his brother Geta where they continued their fueding. They never visted Scotland again.