Roman military fort discovered in Scotland far north of Hadrian’s Wall
Scottish archaeologists have discovered the remains of a Roman “fortlet” which was built next to a massive wall that ran across Scotland.
Known as the Antonine Wall, the defensive border separated what is now southern Scotland, which had been conquered by the Romans, from the unconquered northern Scotland. The 38-mile-long (62-kilometer) wall was made largely of turf or earthen materials, and its construction began in AD 142 on the orders of the Roman emperor Antoninus the Pious (reigned AD 138–161) after the Roman conquest of southern Scotland.
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The newly discovered fortlet dates from the mid-2nd century to the mid-3rd century AD, radiocarbon dating revealed. It was built on the south side of the Antonine Wall, in the town of Bearsden, around 8km northwest of Glasgow, and extends over the gardens of three private residences on a “high area directly adjacent to the Antonine Wall”, archaeologists from Garda Archeology said in a statement. statement. “It offered stunning views of the landscape, particularly to the north, which was beyond Roman control.”
The fortlet also had a good view of a nearby Roman fort and could have potentially signaled the garrison if it detected an enemy force. Most of the forts along the Antonine Wall could accommodate between 20 and 50 soldiers at a time, the team noted.
Archaeologists first discovered the fortlet in 2017 in the backyard of a private residence that was the subject of an archaeological survey before construction. The team then conducted larger excavations and recently published the results in the journal Online archaeological reports.
The fortlet was built on a stone base, the archaeologists wrote in the newspaper article. There was also a ditch located just outside the fortlet which could have helped defend it.
Guard Archeology has created a digital reconstruction of the fort, which shows two buildings that may have housed a small garrison of Roman troops as well as two watchtowers and a series of ditches and walls to protect them.
The fort would likely have been “an integral part of the Roman wall defenses which included forts and fortlets along its entire length,” the archaeological team wrote in the newspaper article.
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