Romaw Ne nA Distance-slab froe Antoninmth e Wall by K. A. Steer and E. A. Cormack

In March 1969 a highly decorated and inscribed Roman building-record of the kind known distance-slaa s a farploughee s Cleddansf th m bo wa n o p du , Dunbartonshire, line closf th e o o et the and between the forts of Castlehill and . The eighteenth such tablet firse Wall, e como th fount e tth b s i ligho n et o t r mor1dt o i fo t e thahundree non d yearsn I . addition to its considerable artistic merit it is noteworthy because it challenges one of the funda- mental assumptions concerning thes instructione slabsth n farmerO e . . Mclndeorth I f r so M , , the stone was carefully raised and taken to the steading, where it was noticed some three months . WilliamsoA . G r lateM Scottisf no y b r h Agricultural Industries Limited broughe o th wh ,o t t i t attention of the second-named writer. When Mr Mclndeor learned of its importance, he gener- ously agree Hunteria e preseno dt th o t t i t n Museum Universite th , Glasgowf yo ,w wherno s i t ei displayn o . The slab (PI. 8) was found at the western end of Hutcheson Hill, in a small field which slopes steeply down to the Cleddans Burn and which is traversed by the Antonine Wall.2 Although the fiel question t beedi no nd ploughenha d within living memory before 1968 t musi , t have been intensively cultivate formen di r times, sinc Rampare traco evisiblth n w f eo no s ei t hereaboutd san Ditce th bees hha n almost completel precise yTh fille . e dup find-spo determinee b y ma t y db measuring alon centr. westwarde Ditce distanca ft g th th r 4 f hfo eo 29 f eo s fro hedge mth e that form eastere sth n boundar field. e southwardthed ft th 4 an f n,6 y o t righa s t angleDitche th o st . Assuming that the Ditch was its usual width of 40 ft. at this point, and the berm 20 ft. broad, the discovere th sit f eo y will have been about 1behin. 0ft Ramparte bace th d th f ko judgo T .th y eb e relatively unworn condition of the stone, and the fact that it was lying face downwards in what the ploughman, Mr D. Mclnnes, thought was a shallow pit, it can be assumed that it had been deliberately buried, presumably spoe closth t o ewhert t eoriginalli • y stood. Made of golden-yellow sandstone, the slab measures 37 in. wide, 30 in. high and 6 in. thick. edgee chippee Th sar placen di s where they have been ploughstruce th y kb , particularle th n yi area of the top right-hand corner, and the heads of three of the sculptured figures have sustained some damage generan i t carvine bu ;th l remarkabls gi y well preserve showd dan s scarcely yan sign of weathering. On the top edge and mid-way down each side there are dovetail cramp-holes for securin masonrslaa e gth o bt y framework majorite distance-slabTh e . th f yo s exhibit similar cramp-holes, and some remains of the masonry support itself were found with No. 1 at Bridge- ness. inscriptioe Th 3 bees nha n broken down into single letters r groupo , lettersf o s , whice har 1 Cf. Sir George Macdonald, The Roman Wall in first edition of his book) has been adopted in the (2nd ed. 1934), cap. x. In this edition present paper, and in order to place it at the appro- Macdonald number e seventeeth s n distance-slabs priate sequence poinslaw th referres bi n ne i t e eth d that he records from east to west, in conformity to as No. 10A. wit directioe hth whicn ni Wal e builts hth wa l . This = O.S. 6-inc; N.G.RSW h7 shee5 . 51547234S N t . system of numbering (which differs from that in the 3 Macdonald, op. cit., 364. 122 STEER AND CORMACK: A NEW ROMAN DISTANCE-SLAB FROM THE ANTONINE WALL | 123 worked skilfully int architecturan oa l facade consistin thref go e bays flanke cabley db d Corinthian pilasters uppee th , r capitale partth f so s being dentilled segmentaa s centrae ha Th y . ba ll arch- head, moulde enriched extradose dan th n do , whil flankine eth g bay surmountee sar - en y db tablatures with triangular pediments. The probability that this facade is intended to represent a Triumphal Arch is heightened by the addition of figure-sculpture symbolising the victory of the Roman army ove native rth e tribesmen that precede buildine dAntoninth e th f go e Wall.e Th 1 theme is a familiar one, but here relieved from triteness by the dignity of the composition and by hige th h degre f technicaeo l skill displaye modelline th figurescentran e de i a th th f y n go I ba l. female figure, bare-heade clalond a dn an di g high-waisted dress wit hcloaa k falling gracefully across the body from the left shoulder, is shown in the act of bestowing a miniature wreath on the eagle standard aquilifer,e bornth y senioe eb th r standard-beare legione th holde f e o Sh r. sth wreat righr he thn i hand thougs ,a eagle'e placth ho t n i st e i beak, 2 lefwhilr the hann e i carrie e dsh s what appear smala e usuae b l th o sdis t f l patera.r o absence hdistinguishino y th an n I f eo - gad juncts of a goddess, the identity of this lady is uncertain. The fact that her hair is coiled on the top of her head in the style popularised by the Elder Faustina, the consort of , who died not long before the Wall was built, might suggest that the deified empress herself is here represented. On the other hand, as far as is known no other Roman relief shows a deified emperor r empreso protagonise th s a s militara n i t y ceremon f thiyo s kind, while imperial fashionn i s coiffure were sometimes conferre artisty db goddessen so femalr so e personifications goddese Th . s Victory on distance-slab No. 17, for example, has her hair done up in precisely the same style as the lady on the Cleddans slab. Perhaps the most likely explanation, suggested by Professor Toynbee intende e tha s b figur,i e y tth epersonifma o d t Romanisee yth d province con- gratulatin Romae gth n victorys enlarginn armit o n d provincye o arean e th ,e gf th th a o y eb additio e territorth f no y betweeWallso tw e . nth Professor Toynbee pointe th t tha n ou so t ADVENTV BRITANNIAG IAV , 882no ;, E ii C.28 coi, provinc e Hadriaf S. no )th & . s eni (M personified as a female civilian figure wearing a long robe, as on the present distance-slab. respece froTh e mtdu morta a immortan a o lt l bein charmingls gi y conveye deferene th y db - tial attitud aquilifer,e portrayes i th o f eo somewhaa wh s da t smaller, slightly stooping figure, with eyes down-cast. Bare-heade clean-shavend dan weare h , shorsa t military cloak, beneath which is a kilted garment worn over knee-length trousers. Regularly spaced vertical lines on the kilt could represent either pleats or a reinforcement of leather or metal-plated strips. The legs appear to be protected by greaves and ankle-length boots cover the feet. At his right hip he carries a dagger similar to that depicted on the effigy of the centurion Facilis at Colchester.3 Romao N n triumph woul complete db e withou quots it t vanquishef ao d tribesmenn i d an , each of the two side bays there is a kneeling Caledonian warrior with hands bound behind the lefe clean-shaves i th t n o e back on nakedd e nan ;th , whil companios ehi beardes ni mousd dan - tache weard waisde an th belsa t ta twit hsporran-lika e attachment stonee th fooe f th o , tt A . formin wert i podiue s ga Archee th th inscribemf o ,o thertw e ear d panels flanke peltae,y db d an between the mspiritea d representatio chargina f no g wild boar emblee Twentiete th , th f mo h Legion. inscriptiolettere e th Th f so generalle nar . higIo triangulayd t fin . h1an ^ in r stope sar usually employed betwee lettere th nf o swords havo eTw . been e destroyeb texe n th ca t t dbu

restored to read:

3 Capitolinus1 , Historia Augusta, Vit. Ant. . . 4 Pii,Hull R , 5 . ,M Roman Colchester (1958), pi. IA; Professor Jocelyn Toynbee reminds us that an eagle G- Webster, The Roman Imperial Army (1969), a on a standard on one of the Marcus Aurelius reliefs pi- !• Arce th f Constantin ho n o e holdr o littla sg eba pursbeaks it n ei . 12 | 4 PROCEEDING THF SO E SOCIETY, 1968-9 Im[p](eratori) [C]t(aesari) T(ito) • Ae(lio) • Hadriano Antonino Aug(usto) • Pio • p(atri) • p(atriae • vex(illaio) • leg(ionis) • V(aleriae X X ) V(ictricis• ) • fec(it) • p(er) • p(edum) ) III (milia) 'For the Emperor Caesar Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Augustus Pius, father of his country a detachmen, e Twentietth f o t h Legion Valeria Victrix built 3.00e 0th feef (o t Wall).' From a study of eight tablets (Nos. 9-12 and 14-17) found between the fort of Castlehill Rivee th d r Clydean , Macdonald concluded tha constructioe tth thif no s las Wal e mile4 t th f lso allocates working-partieswa x si o dt froo m,tw legione eacth f ho s the Britainn i e thath d n an ,to completion of a given sector the squad responsible 'signed' the work by erecting a distance-slab at either end. The details of the individual lengths are tabulated in his book as follows. 1 Sector Legion Roman feet (pedes) Castlehill—Hutcheson Hill XX 3,000 Hutcheson Hill—Braidfield VI 3,240 Braidfield—Duntocher Burn II 4,140 Duntocher Burn—Carleith II 3,271 Carleith—Dalnotter Burn VI 4,141 Dalnotter Burn—The Clyde XX 4,411

22,203 firse f thesth o t r e Fo sectors Macdonal abls calo dewa t evidenc n i l duplicatea e paif o r distance-slabs. One (No. 9) was turned up by the plough in 1847 roughly half-way down the field that lies betwee fore Castlehilf nth o t Peee th l d Glenlan , whil othee e th foun s r (Nowa d) durin10 . g drainage operation 'southere 186n th si n 5o n slope Hutchesof o ' n Hilaboud lan yds6 t . soutf ho the Wall. Both tablets record the construction of 3,000 pedes of the Wall by a draft of the Twen- tieth Legion Macdonald an , d argues convincingl mus0 y1 tha. t havtNo e come fro westerne mth - most field on Hutcheson Hill. As this is the same field which has produced the latest slab there doubo n e originallb tA than 10 ca td Nosyan samstooe 0 1 .th t eda poin junctiof o t n betweeo ntw sectorsnewcomee th t bu ; r doe t falsno l neatly into plac Macdonald'n ei s system sinc t alsei - ore cords the construction of 3,000 pedes by the Twentieth Legion, and not (as the system requires in order to match No. 11 from Braidfield) 3,240 pedes by the Sixth Legion. One possible solution to the problem would be to suppose that Nos. 10 and 10A relate not to the same but to different sectors thef firse o th me t f secto o on markin, d en r wese g th Castlehilf o tothe e th stare d rth tan l of a sector of similar length, also constructed by the Twentieth Legion. On this basis No. 11 would have been erected at the beginning of the third sector, and not, as Macdonald assumed, the end of the second. This explanation, however, will not serve. Measured on the map the distance fro fore f mCastlehilth o t Clyde th 22,66o s et i l 0 English feet, wherea table sth e given above shows that the distance on the tablets, excluding No. 10A, is 22,203 pedes or 21,555 English feet. The difference is on the wrong side, for owing to undulations in the ground the sum of the

cit.. 2 1op , 395. giving the length of the Roman mile (1,000 passus = 2 Macdonald (op. cit., 399) makes the equivalent 5,000 pedes) as 1,618 yds. or 1,480 m. This has been distance 21,834 English feet, but throughout his confirmed in practice by Goodchild who measured calculations he consistently exaggerates the value of e sout1,48du h0m fro s zer mhi n Cyreni o d an e the pes in terms of the English foot. The approxi- found a milestone of Claudius, and then a further mate Romavalue th f eo n foobees ha tn established 1,48 fino remaine t th d 0 m secona f o s d milestone e e tombstonmeasuremenbth th y n o t f i o e f o t (Papers of the British School at Rome, xvra (1900), T. Statilius Aper, a mensor aedificiorum in Rome 83 thin ff.)O s. basis 3,00 0equivalene pedesth e ar t (Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum,y , b 1975 vi d an ) f 2,91o 2 English feetnotd Macdonals an ,a , d states the discovery of several foot-measures. The most (op. cit., 384), 2,950 English feet. commonly accepted figure is 11-65 in. or 296 mm, STEE CORMACKD ROMARAN W NE NA : DISTANCE-SLAB FRO ANTONINE MTH E5 WAL12 | L opus valli should alway more sb e tha dead-levee nth l reckonin Macdonals mapa e t th bu n , go d observe combinee dth d lengths (72 northere 0th ft.f o ) n rampart forte Duntocheth f so f so d ran , which were constructed before the Wall-builders arrived on the scene, should presumabl deductee yb measurementp d froma e mth . Althoug resultane hth t . differencft 5 38 f eo additioe accouno th t cleat wron , ie furthesa w it no th stilf r nrho s o n i tfo g l o t i rside 3,00d ,an 0 pedes 2,91r o 2 Englis totae h th fee lo t talread y slabe giveth sn no woul d mean that irregularities groune inth absorbed dha d more tha nimpossibln 2,50a - . 0ft y high figure. Moreover credio t , t the Twentieth Legion wit extrn ha a 3,000 pedes wouldestroo t e dbalancb e yth e that existt sa presen apportionmene th n i t wore th kf o tbetwee three nth e legions westwardd an , s9 fro . mNo whic preciso s s hi e tha t cannoi t regardee b t beins da g purel resule yth chance.f o t Since neither No. 10 nor 10A can be 1regarded as a 'waster',2 we are, therefore driven to the conclusion that Nos. 9,10 and 10A all refer to the same sector, in which case it must be supposed tha perhape t foueacy on slabb o - rt h s tw 'signedlengtwals s bu e bein y th b lwa f t hgo no place' d in front of the Wall and one behind at each end. It is worth noting that on 's Wall two pairs of centurial stones were used to mark each length of the Vallum, the members of each pair bein oppositt g se anothe e innee on th o et n rnortri e face soutth d f han so h mounds, althouge hth 3 centurial stones on the Wall itself appear to have been restricted to the south face. At one time Macdonal convinces dwa d tha Antonine t fouth f o r e Wall tablets found eas Castlehilf o t l (Nos. 5-8) same relatth eo et sector, since the l bea samye al th r e awkward numbe f unito r s (3,666£ paces). In this case, however, two different legions are involved, and on reconsideration Mac- donald preferre thino dt squado k tw tha e s th tconcerne build dha d adjacent length Walle th f ,so rather than that they had worked side by side on the same sector - one squad perhaps digging the Ditch whil othee eth r erecte Rampart.e dth lighe th thif o tn sI 4 lates t discover t woulyi d seem wises leavo t optione eth timse opeth er beingnfo . To conclude this brief paper attention may be drawn to three points. First, the Cleddans slab provides welcome confirmation that the unit of measurement in those inscriptions where P and not MP is used is the Roman foot. In order to check this, the distance between its find- indicates a , O.Se 9 th . . n spomapthadd o No measure s f tan to ground,wa e th n includind o ,an g Peee th l Gle foun s 2,66e b n wa o d6t English feetalreads A . y stated equivalene ,th t measurement on the slabs is 2,912 English feet, but it must be remembered that No. 9 was not lying flat when right-hane foundth d an , d sidbeed eha n broke nprobables i offt I . , therefore sub,d thaha - t i t sequently been moved from the place where it was originally buried, and if this was some 80 yds. further uphill, as the measurement on the inscription requires, the stone will have been erected initially close to the outer defences of Castlehill fort - an appropriate point at which to begin a new sector of the Wall. Second, the architectural detail on No. 10A enables us to recognise the rathesama e han , th f 17 edr o . carve lesNo s n ambitiouri s wor draf, alsa y up ok b t t whicse s hwa of the Twentieth Legion, at the western end of the Wall. But at least two other sculptors were employed on these tablets by the Twentieth Legion, one of whom was responsible for Nos. 9 and 13, and the other for Nos. 10 and 16. Lastly, unless it was protected by some form of canopy, the relatively unweathered conditio Cleddane th f no s ston inconsistens ei t with Macdonald's view thae distance-slabth t s remaine situn di unti e first-namel th 185 s a ; d write s alreadha r y sug- gested, it is more likely that they were taken down and concealed at an earlier date, possibly at 5 e totalTh 1 n Romai s ne thre feer th eac fo f et o h 3 Archaeol. Aeliana, seriesh 4t , xrv (1937) ff7 . 22 , legions in the table on p. 124 are: Second Legion * op. cit., 377, n. 3. 7,411, Sixth Legion 7,381 Twentietd an , h Legion , Archaeol. Aeliana, seriesh 4t , xm (1964). 22 ,

Like No. IDA, No. 10 is equipped with cramp-holes, 2 presumptive evidenc actualles thawa t ti y erected. 12 | 6PROCEEDING SOCIETYE TH F SO , 1968-9 time th e whe Antonine nth e Wal evacuates wa l shora r dfo t period durin Brigantiae gth n rising of 155-8. writere Th gratefue sar r advicfo l specifin eo c point Professoo st . C.M Toynbee. J r s M , . WrightP . R r . . RiveM TheF d . alse L . Roberfsonan yt ar o. S . indebteA A r D o ,dt Keepef ro Hunteriae th n Museum supplyinr fo , excellene gth t photograph use illustrateo dt ; this paped ran to the University of Glasgow for permission to reproduce it.

The Society is indebted to the Civil Service Department for a grant towards cost the thisof paper. Copyright: Crown copyright permissionby the of Controller H.M. Stationery Office; drawings photographs,and Royal Com- mission on Ancient Monuments of Scotland.