during the roman invasion of brittania a
wall was built by the emperor hadrian to represent the northernmost point of the empire. it still stands to this day near the modern border of england and scotland. beyond the
wall - caledonia. it comes from 'caledonii' which was the name the romans gave to the tribe of 'wild
men' they encountered numerous times over nearly four centuries that occupied the lands north of the
wall. no one knows what this means or why the name was applied to the people. they have been written in
history by the romans as ...."red haired and tall with large limbs". they had a passion for battle, went naked into combat and painted themselves
blue with intricate designs. warlike and fearless the caledonii, believed to be of celtic origin...earned a reputation with the roman empire. to such an extent that a great wall was built...seperating the roman province of brittania from the kingdom of caledonia. the capital of caledonia was on the banks of the river
ness, inverness. the word survives in the form of the caledonian canal and inverness caledonian thistle
football club....but the word is used all over scotland for many things.
