Kinneil today is a suburb of the town of Bo'ness (Borrowstounness) on the Southern shores of the River Forth, not far from Abercorn, and in modern times has primarily been the location of Kinneil House, one time residence of the philosopher, Dugald Stewart. Today, Kinneil lies in Falkirk District and is thus, strictly speaking, not in modern Lothian, but was once an important place within the kingdom of Gododdin. Click here for a location map provided by StreetMap.
However, it figures at several significant points in the ancient history of the Lothians, not least as the location of the penultimate Eastern fort of the Antonine Wall in Roman times, which separated the Picts from the Romano-British territories South of the Forth. Indeed, the etymology of the name itself literally means "wall's end", with its modern Scots form deriving from Gàidhlig Ceann-Fháil, which in turn probably derives from a Brythonic form such as Pen-guaul. According to Nennius' History of Britain:
Severus was the third emperor who passed the sea to Britain, where, to protect the provinces recovered from barbaric incursions, he ordered a wall and a rampart to be made between the Britons, the Scots, and the Picts, extending across the island from sea to sea, in length one hundred and thirty-three miles: and it is called in the British language, Guaul. Moreover, he ordered it to be made between the Britons, and the Picts and Scots; for the Scots from the west, and the Picts from the north, unanimously made war against the Britons; but were at peace among themselves.
It seems clear that the Brythonic form of guaul (modern Welsh gwal) relates directly to Latin vallum, Gàidhlig fháil, and also modern English "wall". A marginal note in Nennius also gives the truncated Gàidhlig form of Cenail. However, perhaps the most intriguing source on the name of Kinneil comes in Bede's Ecclesiastical History. Writing of the Antonine Wall, Bede says:
they drew it for many miles between the two bays or inlets of the seas, which we have spoken of; to the end that where the defence of the water was wanting, they might use the rampart to defend their borders from the irruptions of the enemies. Of which work there erected, that is, of a rampart of extraordinary breadth and height, there are evident remains to be seen at this day. It begins at about two miles' distance from the monastery of Aebbercurnig, on the west, at a place called in the Pictish language, Peanfahel, but in the English tongue, Penneltun, and running to the westward, ends near the city Alcluith [Dumbarton].
Bede's Aebbercurnig is, of course, nearby Abercorn, but it is the allegedly Pictish form of Peanfahel for Kinneil which is of immediate note here. The pean element obviously accords with Brythonic pen, but the fahel element seems more directly related to Gàidhlig fháil, than Brythonic guaul. Of course, so little is known of the Pictish language that any attempt to give a complete analysis of even one placename can be a risky affair, but this apparent combination of a Brythonic element with a Goidelic element is often claimed to be proof that the Southern Picts of Bede's time were already shifting their language from P-Celtic to Q-Celtic.
However, despite the apparent etymology in any of the languages which the placename has passed through, Kinneil Roman fort was in fact only the penultimate fort on the Eastern end of the wall, and not the terminus at all - the actual end of the wall is to be found at the fort on the other side of Bo'ness at Carriden (Caer Eidyn in Brythonic) on the literal shore of the River Forth.
However, Bede's comments also seem to suggest that Picts were present in West Lothian, South of the Firth of Forth, and thus South of the popularly-held Southern border of Pictish territory. But if the function of the Antonine Wall is taken literally as the Northern border of Roman influence and a defence against Pictish incursion, then it seems unsurprising that Picts would be occupying the area in the post-Roman period.
Regardless, the remains of this Eastern stretch of the wall are still just visible today in the grounds of the Kinneil Estate, with the rough outline of the Roman fort enhanced by stone and wood markers.
Remains of Penguaul Fort
Due to natural erosion and agricultural usage, little remains of the wall at this end, except for that section of it which was immediately joined to the Northern side of the fort.
Penguaul Fort, looking West Down the Wall
Penguaul Fort, looking East Down the Wall
Perhaps the most significant part of the fort which is still evident today is the gatehouse set within the wall itself. Effectively, this gatehouse represents the official border between Pictavia on its Northern side and Roman Britain on its Southern side. Fortunately, today, a passport is not required in order to walk through the gate.
The Penguaul Gatehouse, Looking North into Pictavia
The Penguaul Gatehouse, Looking South into Roman Britain
Kinneil also receives a mention (as "Kinel") in the anonymous Life of St. Servanus, where Servanus or Serf re-enacts a Biblical moment in his search for the perfect monastic site:
S. Servanus, with only a hundred companions in his train, came to Kinel, and threw the branch which he held across the sea, and from it there grew an apple tree, which among the moderns is called Monglas. Then the Angel said to the blessed man: "There where that very beautiful tree has grown shall be the resting place of thy body." S. Servanus then came to the place which is called Culenros [Culross], desiring to dwell there, and cleared away all the thorns and thickets which abounded in the place.
Whether or not there was already a religious community at Kinneil in Servanus' day is unclear, but certainly, it faces his own foundation at Culross across the river, and lies a short distance upstream of the ancient site at Abercorn. However, a ruined medieval church still exists at Kinneil, complete with a graveyard presumably containing the remains of various dignitaries from the now disappeared settlement which used to lie adjacent to it.
Ruins of Kinneil Kirk
When visiting Kinneil, it's also worth dropping in to the local history museum at Kinneil House, which contains an exhibition on the Antonine Wall, some vague remains of which can also be discerned in the gardens of the house itself as it winds East towards Carriden.