The Roman Fortlet at Barburgh Mill, Dumfriesshire

Breeze, David J.; Jobey, George; Hartley, B.; Gillam, J. P.; Miket, Roger

doi:10.2307/525725

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…m, stands out as exceptionally large in the context of the Cumberland-coast fortlets. 38 It is likely to have held a century, as did Barburgh Mill in Dumfriesshire, 39 a fortlet of 840 sq. m; and it most prob-ably owed its special size to its isolated position at the western end of the Anthorn peninsula.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Biglands Milefortlet and the Cumberland Coast Defences

Potter

1977

Britannia

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

By TIMOTHY POTTER T HE Biglands milefortlet, the first known site of the Cumberland coast defences, lies 5,500 feet beyond the terminal fort at the western end of Hadrian's Wall at Bowness-on-Solway. It survives as a low but prominent grassy mound (FIG. I), situated some 60 m from the edge of the salt marsh and with views which command the Cardurnock peninsula, the Solway estuary and the mountains of Galloway. Its height above the level of the highest tides is 4-5 m, the subsoil consisting of the bedded sands and shingle of a raised beach. The most prominent feature both from the air 1 and on the ground is the silted ditch of the fortlet; it encloses an area which is subrectangular in plan, measuring c. 40 by 50 m. Only the southern end of the fortlet, where there are the farm buildings of Biglands House, lies concealed. There is no obvious sign of a break in the ditch and it was thus assumed that this was a 'long-axis' fortlet, orientated north-south, with a rear entrance as at Cardurnock. 2 The air photographs also showed traces of a palisade revetting the rampart which, as was demonstrated by trial-trenching in 1954, 3 was built up of marsh silt; but no structures were recovered in these excavations, and there was only a thin scatter of second-century pottery. The present excavations at Biglands House resulted from plans to construct a bungalow on the line of the east ditch of the Roman fortlet. By the time an excavation could be mounted, in August 1974, the foundation-trenches for the bungalow had already been cut and the archaeological work had consequently to be confined to two hand-cut sections of the ditch. While this work was in progress, it was learnt that the landowners intended to garden the interior of the fortlet and further to disturb it with power-cable trenches. A test trench • We would like warmly to acknowledge the cooperation and hospitality of the landowners, Mr and Mrs H. Jefferson and Mr Brian Jefferson, and of many other friends in the area. We would also like to thank Miss Dorothy Charlesworth (Department of the Environment); Mr J. Cansfield and Mr E. Phillips (University of I^ancaster); Mr George Richardson, Mr Anthony Ellwood and other members of the Cumberland and Westmorland Archaeological and Antiquarian Society; Mr Tom Clare and the Cumbria County Council Planning Department; and those who contributed specialist reports, Mr Brian Hartley and Miss Brenda Dickinson (Samian), and Mr J. P. Gillam (coarse pottery) and Dr David Shotter (coins). The finds were drawn by Richard Turner and the survey in FIG. I was carried out by Richard Andrews. Finally we would like to thank Mr Richard Bellhouse, the pioneer of research on the Cumberland coast defences, who visited the excavations and profered much helpful advice, and Professor Sheppard Frere, who made many helpful suggestions on the first draft of this report.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Biglands Milefortlet and the Cumberland Coast Defences

Potter

1977

Britannia

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…There has, however been a recent systematic study of the location of fortlets, not restricted to the Scottish evidence . The increase in the numbers of fortlets located between forts in SW Scotland in the Antonine period is generally taken to indicate greater concern for local security (Maxwell 1977;Breeze 1974; see 3.4 above).…”

Section: 2mentioning

confidence: 99%

Scotland: The Roman Presence

Hunter¹,

Carruthers²,

Breeze³

et al. 2012

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The main recommendations of the panel report can be summarised under five key headings:  Scotland in the Roman world: Research into Roman Scotland requires an appreciation of the wider frontier and Empire-wide perspectives, and Scottish projects must be integrated into these wider, international debates. The rich data set and chronological control that Scotland has to offer can be used to inform broader understandings of the impact of Rome.  Changing worlds: Roman Scotland’s rich data set should be employed to contribute to wider theoretical perspectives on topics such as identity and ethnicity, and how these changed over time. What was the experience of daily life for the various peoples in Roman Scotland and how did interactions between incomers and local communities develop and change over the period in question, and, indeed, at and after its end?  Frontier Life: Questions still remain regarding the disposition and chronology of forts and forces, as well as the logistics of sustaining and supplying an army of conquest and occupation. Sites must be viewed as part of a wider, interlocking set of landscapes, and the study of movement over land and by sea incorporated within this. The Antonine Wall provides a continuing focus of research which would benefit from more comparison with frontier structures and regimes in other areas.  Multiple landscapes: Roman sites need to be seen in a broader landscape context, ‘looking beyond the fort’ and explored as nested and interlocking landscapes. This will allow exploration of frontier life and the changing worlds of the Roman period. To do justice to this resource requires two elements: o Development-control archaeology should look as standard at the hinterland of forts (up to c.1 km from the ‘core’), as sensitive areas and worthy of evaluation; examples such as Inveresk show the density of activity around such nodes. The interiors of camps should be extensively excavated as standard. o Integrated approaches to military landscapes are required, bringing in where appropriate topographical and aerial survey, LIDAR, geophysics, the use of stray and metal-detected finds, as well as fieldwalking and ultimately, excavation.  The Legacy of Rome: How did the longer term influence of the Romans, and their legacy, influence the formation, nature and organisation of the Pictish and other emergent kingdoms?

show abstract

“… 22 The ditches and latrine pit were deliberately backfilled, the presence of burnt material in the latter interpreted as coming from the demolition of internal buildings (Breeze 1974, 142–3).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Julius Verus and the Abandonment of Antonine Scotland

Hanson

Breeze²

2020

Britannia

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The abandonment of the Roman occupation of Scotland in the governorship of Julius Verus is seen as deliberate, ordered and, so far as we can see, peaceful. It is argued that the withdrawal is linked to an ongoing shortage of military manpower in Britain, brought to a head by the transfer in a.d. 158 of legionary vexillations to the German provinces (attested by RIB 1322) to assist with the reconfiguration of the frontier there.

show abstract

The Roman Fortlet at Barburgh Mill, Dumfriesshire

Cited by 6 publications

References 0 publications

The Biglands Milefortlet and the Cumberland Coast Defences

The Biglands Milefortlet and the Cumberland Coast Defences

Scotland: The Roman Presence

Julius Verus and the Abandonment of Antonine Scotland

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About