Earthwork record MAB45288 - KIRKBUDDO

Remains of a Roman Camp.

Remains of a Roman Camp. The marching camp of Kirkbuddo, 'Norway Dykes' or 'Harefaulds' (after the farm which lay just outside the middle of the northeast side in the 18th century). Recorded first by Melville and then Roy in the 18th century. The camp was almost complete in Roy's time,apart from the area occupied by the farm of Harefaulds at the north-east, a further gap at the south-east, plus a swampy section at the north-west of the southwest side. The antiquarians records what was probably an annexe at the south-east corner. The camp is now partly only visible as cropmarks and has been recorded by CUCAP and the RCAHMS during aerial reconnaissance. This has confirmed the antiquarian reports, that the camp measures 63 acres in area with six gates covered by tutuli, and therefore probably belongs to the possibly Flavian series of camps although it is longer and narrower than the others in the series. The small annexe, about 27m square on the southeast side, corresponds closely to those attached to Inverpefferay and Broomhill camps of this series of camps. It occupied the highest ground, apparently had two lines of rampart and a ditch, as opposed to the single rampart and ditch of the main camp, and a traverse across its entrance. The northwest part of the camp now lies in arable land and can no longer be traced on the ground, but air photographs (CUCAP) have recorded its lines and show that the southwest defences made a deviation from the straight to skirt a small bog - a most unusual feature in a Roman camp (this area had previously been thought to have never been fortified). Most of the southwest and southeast sides lie in a wood, and, when visited in 1939 by Crawford, were very well preserved, including the three traverses. On the southeast side, the 14.63m wide entrance and 12.19m long traverse lay immediately south of the road. A modern drainage ditch with a small bank followed the line of the rampart and was continued across the entrance. When visited by the OS in 1958 and 1967, the earthen bank of the camp is 5.5m broad, 1.5m high above the ditch and has a counterscarp circa 0.7m high. The ditch is generally 1.5m broad at base, and throughout its whole course a modern drain has been cut. No trace was found of the earthworks in the fields to north and east. That on the north was under grass at the time of investigation, and those on the east were under growing crops. A considerable number of pieces of old square-toed shoes were found among the earth of four large mounds, when they were removed from the middle of the camp in the 18th century. Fieldwalking was undertaken by the Kinnettles and District Heritage Group in winter of 2015. Objects recovered included several possible 'hobnails'. and a few small flints. Slag and small fragments of coal suggested the possibility of domestic dumping or post-medieval activity on the site.

A/83245/PO, A/83245/PO (Photograph). SAB25997.

A/83246/PO, A/83246/PO (Photograph). SAB25998.

A/83248/PO, A/83248/PO (Photograph). SAB26852.

A/83249/PO, A/83249/PO (Photograph). SAB25999.

A/83250/PO, A/83250/PO (Photograph). SAB26000.

A/83251/PO, A/83251/PO (Photograph). SAB26853.

A/83252/PO, A/83252/PO (Photograph). SAB26001.

AN/2930, AN/2930 (Photograph). SAB26002.

AN/2931, AN/2931 (Photograph). SAB26003.

AN/3095/PO, AN/3095/PO (Photograph). SAB26854.

AN/3096/PO, AN/3096/PO (Photograph). SAB26004.

AN/3097/PO, AN/3097/PO (Photograph). SAB26855.

AN/3098/PO, AN/3098/PO (Photograph). SAB26856.

AN/3099/PO, AN/3099/PO (Photograph). SAB26005.

AN/3100/PO, AN/3100/PO (Photograph). SAB26857.

AN/4016, AN/4016 (Photograph). SAB26936.

AN/4017, AN/4017 (Photograph). SAB26006.

AN/4018, AN/4018 (Photograph). SAB26007.

AN/4019, AN/4019 (Photograph). SAB26008.

AN/4020, AN/4020 (Photograph). SAB26009.

AN/4021, AN/4021 (Photograph). SAB26010.

AN/4022, AN/4022 (Photograph). SAB26011.

AND/150/1, AND/150/1 (Photograph). SAB26012.

AND/150/2, AND/150/2 (Photograph). SAB26013.

B/34001/CN, B/34001/CN (Photograph). SAB26014.

B/34002/CN, B/34002/CN (Photograph). SAB26858.

B/34010/CN, B/34010/CN (Photograph). SAB26859.

B/34010/CS, B/34010/CS (Photograph). SAB26860.

B/34015/CN, B/34015/CN (Photograph). SAB26861.

B/34015/CS, B/34015/CS (Photograph). SAB26862.

B/51382/PO, B/51382/PO (Photograph). SAB26015.

B/51383/PO, B/51383/PO (Photograph). SAB26016.

B/51384/PO, B/51384/PO (Photograph). SAB26017.

B/51385/PO, B/51385/PO (Photograph). SAB26018.

B/51386/PO, B/51386/PO (Photograph). SAB26025.

B/51387/PO, B/51387/PO (Photograph). SAB26026.

B/51388/PO, B/51388/PO (Photograph). SAB26027.

B/51389/PO, B/51389/PO (Photograph). SAB26028.

B/51390/PO, B/51390/PO (Photograph). SAB26029.

B/51391/PO, B/51391/PO (Photograph). SAB26030.

B/51392/PO, B/51392/PO (Photograph). SAB26863.

Crawford, O G S, 1949, [Untitled], 97-100 (Bibliographic reference). SAB11739.

St Joseph, J K, 1958, J Roman Stud 48, 92-4 (Bibliographic reference). SAB9639.

St Joseph, J K, 1965, J Roman Stud 55, 83 (Bibliographic reference). SAB9647.

St Joseph, J K, 1969, J Roman Stud 59, 116 (Bibliographic reference). SAB9651.

Romans and Robertson, J C C an, 1975, [Untitled], 38 (Bibliographic reference). SAB11485.

Breeze, D J, 1979, [Untitled], 45 (Bibliographic reference). SAB11693.

JONES, R. H., 2011, ROMAN CAMPS IN SCOTLAND, 248-9 (Bibliographic reference). SAB925.

TAYSIDE AND FIFE ARCHAEOLOGICAL COMMITTEE, 2015, NEWSLETTER ISSUE 23, APRIL 2015 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1995.

Record last edited

Feb 11 2025 12:41PM