OS1/9/15/83
| List of names as written | Various modes of spelling | Authorities for spelling | Situation | Description remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Remains of the WALL OF ANTONINUS PIUS | Remains of Fosse or Ditch of Roman Wall Remains of Fosse or Ditch of Roman Wall Remains of Fosse or Ditch of Roman Wall Remains of Fosse or Ditch of Roman Wall Remains of Fosse or Ditch of Roman Wall Remains of Fosse or Ditch of Roman Wall Remains of Fosse or Ditch of Roman Wall Remains of Fosse or Ditch of Roman Wall Remains of Fosse or Ditch of Roman Wall Remains of Fosse or Ditch of Roman Wall Remains of Fosse or Ditch of Roman Wall Remains of Fosse or Ditch of Roman Wall Remains of Fosse or Ditch of Roman Wall Remains of Fosse or Ditch of Roman Wall Remains of Fosse or Ditch of Roman Wall |
Mr John Morton. Cleddans Mr A Harvey. Milton Mr J. Miller. Braidfield Mr Wright. Duntocher Mr Barr. Duntocher Mill Mr Walter Harvey. Milton (late of) Mr R. McGowan. Auchentoshan Mr R. Black. Carleith Mr Bowman. Auchentoshan Mr Turner. Gavinburn Revd [Reverend] Mr. Reid Ph. [Parish] Minister Mr Findlay Schoolmaster Mr Campbell of Barnhill Mr. Geils of Dumbuck Mr Colquhoun Kilmahew Cardross Caledonia Romana |
022 ; 023 | "For the last two hundred and fifty years, the site of the great northern rampart - known as the Wall of Antoninus, from its having been constructed in his reign - has commanded the attention of not a few amongst those of our national antiquaries whose ardour led them to penetrate the recesses of the land__ And seldom, since the eye of the inquiring visitant first rested on the dilapidated traces if this ancient barrier have many years been added in succession to the 'measure' of its age, without one accidental circumstance or another exposing to light some fresh memorials of its Roman constructors; whose individual names appear at times before us, in sculpture as fresh as if the work of recent years while the grandeur of their united labours has crumbled into dust. (P. [Page] 270) - This great Military work, then, consisted, in the first place, of an immense fosse or ditch - averaging about forty feet in width by some twenty in depth - which extended over hill & dale, in one unbroken line from sea to sea. Behind this ditch, on its southern side, and within a few feet of its edge, was raised a rampart of intermingled stone and earth, strengthened by sods of turf; which measured, it is supposed, about twenty feet in height, and twentyfour in thickness at the base. This rampart or agger was surmounted by a parapet behind which ran a level platform, for the accomodation of its defenders. To the southward of the whole was situated the Military Way - a regular Causewayed road, about twenty feet wide - which kept by the course of the wall at irregular distances, approaching in some places to within a few yards, and in others receding to considerable distance. Along the entire line, from West Kilpatrick to Carriden, there were established, it is believed, Nineteen principal Stations or Forts; we cannot be quite certain of the number because, towards the east end of the wall, the traces of their existence have, for two centuries at least, been either very indistinct or entirely obliterated. Calculating by those whose remains have been plainly perceptible, the mean distance between each may be stated at rather more than two English miles. Along these intervals were placed many smaller Castella or Watch Towers, of which only some two or three could be observed in the year 1755. While the continuous rampart seems to have been little more than a well formed earthen mound, it is probable that many, if not all of the Stations, were either revetted with stone or entirely built of that material. In some places it would even appear that the vallum itself had been raised upon a stone foundation - probably in situations where the ground was low & marshy, and where it was necessary to form drains beneath the works to prevent the accumulation of water on their interior side. Roy supposes the ditch to have constituted the chief strength of the whole, & seems to consider the agger itself as having been of very secondary importance. He was evidently led to this opinion from the insignificant appearance which even the best preserved of its sections presented when he saw them; it must, however be remembered, as a circumstance highly probable, that the rampart was, in course of time, much more liable to be demolished than the fosse to be filled up - hence, perhaps, the distinct appearance of the one compared with that of the other." Caledonia Romana 278 & 279. The Remains of the great Ditch of the Roman Wall, throughout Old Kilpatrick Parish, are fast dissapearing, & what still exist are much disconnected & broken from the continuous line of the hollow track. In some parts it is still tolerably deep, particularly what remains of its south side, on the farm of Cleddans before it crosses Cleddans Burn going in direction of the Castlehill Station by Hutcheson Hill. in N. [New] Kilpatrick. It is also in good preservation as it ascends to the Fort on the "Golden Hill" at Duntocher. [continued on page 84] |
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[Page] 83County Dumbarton -- Old Kilpatrick Parish
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