stirling-1963-vol-1/05_138

Transcription

No. 117 -- ROMAN MONUMENTS -- No. 117
Wood where some remains of fortifications are, in fact,
said to have been visible at the end of the 17th century. ¹
Here, between the wood and the farm of Seabegs Place,
there is an elevated plateau which is admirably adapted
for the purpose, having a steep scarp to the N., and
commanding a wide view northwards across the Bonny
Water and eastwards and westwards along the Wall.
Horsley, on the other hand, ignores this site, and refers
instead to "some ruins that possibly may be the remains
of a station" ² at Dick's House, a village long since
demolished, which was situated a quarter of a mile E. of
Seabegs Place. The latter site is, however, inferior from
the tactical point of view since it lies in a hollow, while
considerations of spacing are also entirely in favour of
Seabegs. ³

c. 817794 -- NS 87 NW (unnoted) -- 20 March 1957

117. Roman Fort, Castlecary. The Roman fort at
Castlecary (Fig. 41) stands rather less than 2 miles
beyond Seabegs and immediately to the E. of the little
glen through which the Red Burn makes its way to the
Bonny Water. ⁴ It occupies a rounded knoll at the W.
end of a low ridge, and is protected by the valley of the
Bonny Water on the N., the ravine of the Red Burn on
the W., and also by a tract of low-lying land, which was
formerly marshy, along nearly the whole of the S. front.
The only easy approach to the site in Roman times was
thus from the E. where the ground is nearly level and
free from natural obstacles. Periodically raided for
building materials from at least as early as the 15th
century, ⁵ the fort was grievously mutilated in 1841 when
the line of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway was
carried diagonally across it, and further damage was no
doubt done when the modern road was laid along the N.
front. At the present time the portion of the site that lies
to the N. of the railway is in permanent pasture, while
the portion S. of the railway is cultivated.
Excavations conducted in 1902 ⁶ showed that the fort
was oblong on plan and enclosed an area of 3 1/2 acres, the
internal dimensions being 455 ft. from N. to S. by 350 ft.
from E. to W. As at Balmuildy, the main defence
consisted of a stone wall which was carried round all
four sides of the fort, the Rampart of the Antonine
Wall abutting against the NW. and NE. corners. The
fort wall was built of stones quarried from the outcrop
of rock immediately to the W. of the site: it was 6 ft. 6 in.
thick and was set on a massive foundation-course which
in turn rested on a bottoming of clay and cobbles. The
N. wall, however, differed from the others in that it was
thickened at either end to bring it more nearly into
conformity with the thickness of the Antonine Rampart,
while it may have had a rampart bank against the inner
face. The Ditch of the Antonine Wall formed the outer
defence of the fort on the N. side, although to the W. of
the causeway opposite the N. gate it was reduced to
about half its normal width. The other three sides each
had two ditches, both 14 ft. wide and 7 ft. deep, except
for about half the length of the E. side where there were
three. The four gates were of uniform design, and their
arrangement shows that the fort faced N.: each had only
a single passageway, 10 ft. wide and 14 ft. long, the fort
wall returning inwards for a distance of 7 ft. 6 in. on either
side of the entrance. An internal tower, 15 ft. square, was
found at the SW. corner, and it may be assumed that a
similar tower was provided at the SE. corner.
The lay-out of the interior of the fort was only partially
recovered, and scarcely anything was done in the way
of distinguishing between the work of different periods
of occupation. In the centre, looking down the via
praetoria, was the headquarters building which measured
98 ft. by 85 ft. over all and consisted of an outer and an
inner courtyard, both paved, with a row of three rooms
at the end furthest from the entrance. On the E. side of
the headquarters there was a granary - a long, narrow
buttressed building, measuring 83 ft. by 15 ft., whose
floor had been supported, for purposes of ventilation, on
pillars formed of large boulders. Some slight traces of
two other buildings, one of which was presumably the
commandant's house, were observed in the same range
fronting on to the via principalis, and the internal bath-
house which had been discovered in 1769, and planned
by General Roy, ⁷ was located near the SE. corner. The
excavations also revealed a latrine in the NE. corner of
the fort, a rubbish-pit, 24 ft. deep, behind the head-
quarters building, and part of the internal drainage
system, but nothing was learned about the number, or
method of construction, of the barracks. Nevertheless,
it is worth noting that there does not appear to be
sufficient room in the praetentura and retentura for more
than eight of the ten barrack-blocks (centuriae) which
would be required if the milliary garrisons which have
left records of their presence at Castlecary at different
times (see below) were up to strength.
One of the most important results of the excavations
of 1902 was the discovery of a fortified annexe on the E.
side of the fort (Fig. 41). An irregular pentagon in shape
it covered an area of 2 3/4 acres and was defended on the
exposed sides by a rampart of earth or turf and a ditch.
It had a gate in the E. side and was traversed by the
Military Way which ran parallel to the via principalis
of the fort but slightly to the N. of it. Traces of another
street were observed in the annexe, but owing to farming
reasons it was not possible to undertake a systematic
search for buildings. Stuart, however, was presumably
referring to this area when he remarked that so many
foundations had been discovered in the neighbourhood

1 Sibbald, Historical Inquiries, 30.
2 Britannia Romana, 171.
3 R.W.S., 239-40.
4 A temporary camp which may have been used to house the
labour force employed on the construction of the fort has been
discovered by crop-markings seen from the air on the W. side
of the Red Burn, in the fields of Garnhall farm, Dunbartonshire
(J.R.S., xlv (1955), 86).
5 Cf. No. 203.
6 P.S.A.S., xxxvii (1902-3), 271-346.
7 Military Antiquities, pl. xxxix.

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