OS1/19/10/113

Continued entries/extra info

[Page] 113
Parish of Fetteresso

"From R. Barclay, Esqr, of Urie to the Earl of Buchan."

"My Lord
I Had the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Lordship's letter. Since that time I have been at
the Camp at Raedykes, but Could not take an exact measure of it on account of the depth of the Snow.
As soon as the ground is clear, I will send to your Lordship an exact plan of it. I suppose it contains about
an hundred acres, but this is conjecture. At present I transmit to your Lordship a rude Sketch of the Country
near it, which, if it can be understood, it will convey the ideas I have formed with respect to the progress of
the army of some invader, who, I suppose was Roman, as the Camp here described could not, I think, be
Danish, English, or Scottish. I suppose the Roman army to have proceeded eastward through Strathmore
and the hollow of the Mearns to the Coast, by the dotted line A, which crosses the river Carron Q which runs
past Fetteressoe R, till they arrived at a place Called Arduthy, half a mile from Stonehaven O, where there is
clearly the remains of a camp at the letter B, this camp was in my memory, much more distinct than at present, great
part of it having been destroyed by the agriculture of the Country. It is situated upon an eminence with a preci-
pice to the north, and is about a quarter of a mile from the Sea, which I mark P,P,P, and about half a mile
from Stonehaven which I mark O. From this camp at B, I Suppose the Romans proceeded north-eastward crossing
the rivulet of Cowie XX, which runs past Ury at S, Still keeping the dotted line A, along a Smooth bank and a
plain heath to C, which is a point where three morasses meet at VVV, and the only rout they could take in their
progress northward by the coast, and not far from the present post road at NN, At this pass I suppose they were
opposed by the Caledonians, upon Kempstonehill at I, which is dotted with almost innumerable small
heaps of Stones, and likewise three very large ones at LLL, called Cairns. There is likewise, at the two crosses
at KK, two Stones Standing on end, at the distance of about one hundred yards from each other, and about
ten feet high without any inscription. In each of these large Cairns Several Stone Coffins have been found
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