Burnswark rises a thousand feet from the Solway plain and is clearly visible from miles around. On its summit the remains of a native hill fort and on the north and south slopes, two huge Roman camps capable of housing 6,000 soldiers or more. The latest findings suggest Burnswark was the first target in the Roman invasion of Scotland around 140 AD.

Lollius Urbicus, on the orders of the new Emperor Antoninus Pius, led the assault on the native hillfort that dominated the surrounding countryside.