Red and yellow paint on Antonine Wall

Dr Louisa Campbell with the Summerston distance stone at The Hunterian Museum . University of Glasgow archaeologist using cutting edge technology on remnants of the Antonine Wall has shown parts of it were painted in bright colours. Dr Louisa Campbell's research, which has used x-ray and laser technology to analyse parts of the Roman Empire's most north-western frontier, showed it was painted with vibrant red and yellows. Dr Campbell, a postdoctoral fellow in Archaeology at the University, looked at pigments applied to Roman sculpture, with a focus on distance stones from the Antonine Wall. She said these vibrant coloured stones were Roman propaganda against the indigenous local communities: "The public are accustomed to seeing these sculptures in bland greys, creams, white (for marble) and don't get the full impact that they would have had on the Roman and indigenous audiences 2000 years ago. "These sculptures are propaganda tools used by Rome to demonstrate their power over these and other indigenous groups, it helps the Empire control their frontiers and it has different meanings to different audiences." The Summerston distance stone from the Antonine Wall, which was found near Bearsden, was one artefact successfully tested for pigment © The Hunterian Dr Campbell said that some of the colour sculptures tell stories of different Roman legions and their loyalty to the Emperor as well as their part in the construction of the Antonine Wall, one of Scotland's UNESCO World Heritage Sites.