Despite the significant undertaking in its construction, Hadrian’s successor as Roman head of state, Antoninus Pius, abandoned the wall following the former’s death in A.D. 138. Under Antoninus’ orders, Roman soldiers began building a new wall some 100 miles to the north, in what is now southern Scotland. This became known as the Antonine Wall.

The Antonine Wall was perhaps constructed to serve the same purpose as Hadrian's Wall but is thought to have functioned more pragmatically than the earlier construct. Hadrian's Wall is thought to have been plastered and white washed so that it would be a shining beacon of the might of Rome, visible from considerable distances.

The resulting Antonine Wall stretched for 37 miles (59 km) along the narrow isthmus between the estuaries of the Rivers Forth and Clyde. Within two decades, however, the Antonine Wall was abandoned in favour of Hadrian’s Wall, which continued in use nearly until the end of Roman rule in Britain (410).

Antoninus Pius was the man who gave his name to the Antonine Wall of 142 AD, which runs between the the Rivers Clyde and Forth, extending Roman Britannia north from Hadrian's Wall. The wall was designed as a frontier for the empire, and a barrier to raiding Caledonian tribes.