Archaeologists From Historic Environment Scotland (HES) Have Discovered the Remains of a Roman Fortlet Next to the Antonine Wall in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland.Image Credit : Harald Lueder
Posted on 04/23/2023 6:11:24 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
The Antonine Wall, known as the Vallum Antonini, was a defensive wall built by the Romans in present-day Scotland. The wall ran for 39 miles between the Firth of Forth, and the Firth of Clyde (west of Edinburgh along the central belt), and was protected by 16 forts and around 41 fortlets.
Construction of the wall commenced during the reign of Emperor Antoninus Pius in AD 142 in Caledonian territories previously held by the Damnonii, Otadini, Novantae, and the Selgovae tribes. The wall was intended to extend dominion over lands conquered by Governor Quintus Lollius Urbicus, cementing a new frontier 100 miles north of Hadrian’s Wall.
A recent geophysical survey using gradiometry has revealed the remains of a fortlet in the area around Carleith Farm in West Dunbartonshire. Gradiometry measures small changes in the earth’s magnetic field to detect archaeological features otherwise invisible from the ground surface...
The fortlet was first was mentioned in 1707 by antiquarian Robert Sibbald, however, archaeologists searching for physical evidence of its existence have been unable to determine the exact location until now.
A small garrison of up to 12 soldiers occupied the fortlet in rotation from the larger fort at Duntocher. Within the interior would have been two small buildings, protected by the Antonine wall on the northern side and a surrounding wall around the perimeter of the buildings.
According to the researchers: "The geophysical survey will help to better understand and protect the Antonine Wall. While up to 41 fortlets may have lined the Wall when it was built, only nine have previously been found. This discovery marks the tenth known fortlet and shows that there is still more to be discovered about this important Roman monument and its functions even after centuries of enquiry."
(Excerpt) Read more at heritagedaily.com ...
Archaeologists From Historic Environment Scotland (HES) Have Discovered the Remains of a Roman Fortlet Next to the Antonine Wall in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland.Image Credit : Harald Lueder
I always thought that the Romans never set foot in Scotland, well I guess I’ve been proven wrong!
The rest of three keywords, duplicates out, sorted:
The Romans realized (three or four times) that there was almost literally nothing of value in all of Caledonia (there was no Scotland, and the Scots didn't arrive from Ireland until the Romans had been gone for over a century), campaigns were expensive, and there were generally other fish to fry. Most of the revenue to support the empire's structure came from a handful of provinces, almost all of them in the east.
Hadrian's Wall was in a better spot, since it mostly runs along the top of a natural ridgeline, minimizing the size of the garrison, which was typically made up of non-Roman auxiliaries under Roman command.
This practice of hired mercenaries from other lands enlisted to fight in their army, pioneered by the Romans, was also deployed by the Ottoman Turks in their ranks of the Janissaries from Eastern Europe.
there was almost literally nothing of value in all of CaledoniaAnd to think, they were walking on peat moss all that time...
The advantage of Rome’s use of auxiliaries came from the fact that they were unwelcome among the local populations, so they wouldn’t have an option other than to follow Roman leadership. It’s an old idea, long predating Rome. The Assyrians used it, for example.
There was no Scotch in Scotland................
It was only a matter of time...
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