Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 122 (1992), 189-195

Ravennas and the MannJC *

ABSTRACT The so-called Ravenna Cosmographer, in his description of Britain, has a very accurate section on 's Wall, providing an acceptable list of the forts, with their names, in the correct order. This manifestly is case the with not purported his Antoninethe the list for is it Wall,and object of this paper searchto possiblefor reasons this.for

INTRODUCTION RAVENNE TH : A COSMOGRAPHE HADRIAN'D RAN S WALL assessinn I informatioe gth n tha Ravenne tth a Cosmographer provide Antonine th r sfo e Wall, s instructivii t looo et kinformatioe th firs t a t n whic suppliee hh r Hadrian'sfo s Wall t mighI . e b t expected tha informatioe tth Antonine th r nfo e Wall woul f comparablo e db e value. Cosmographee Th r list sfort e mos th f Hadrian' o sf o t s Wall maie Th . n sequence appeara n si section in which he is consciously listing a connected list of sites (which he calls civitates) stretching acros countrye sth , even thoug doee ht specificallh sno y describ sitee eth lyins sa g along a Wall (unlike the Notitia Dignitatum, which in a similar situation uses the words per lineam Valli). The Cosmographer states: iterum sunt civitates in ipsa Britania qu(a)e redo tramite de una pane in alia, id est de oceano in oceano esistunt, hac dividunt in tercia porcione ipsam Britaniam, id est. . . . (There are also places in Britain itself, which stand in a direct line from one part to the other, tha fros i t m ocea oceano nt dividd thira an , f edof par Britainf o t : these are.) . . . There then follows this lis f sites:to 1

143 Serduno 4 14 Condecor Ben well 145 Vindovala Rudchester 146 Onno Halton Chesters 147 Celuno Chesters 148 Brocoliti 149 Velurtion Housesteads 150 Esica Great Chesters 1 15 152 Uxelludamo Stanwix 3 15 Avalana Burg Sandy hb s 154 Maia Bowness on Solway

The order is geographically correct. His source was a good one, but five of the 17 forts of Hadrian's Wall are missing from the list. t Catherine'S 8 2 * s Avenue, Bletchley, Milton Keynes 190 | SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF , 1992

Three of these forts are omitted because they had already been listed: 0 13 Carvoran 131 Gabaglanda Castlesteads 2 13 Vindolande Chesterholm

These three names were given earlier, probably becaus Rives ea Smit& t h suggested (1979, 210), they were written to the south of the Wall on the map which the Cosmographer was using e maith nf o sequence (unlik2 1 e th e , which will have been writte e north)th o nt . They were probably written to the south of the Wall because all three, and only these three, were actually physically detached from the Wall, by about a mile, the other two in each case by only a few yards. Having mentioned them once, the Cosmographer, in accordance with his almost universal practice, forebore to mention them again. He thus lists 15 of the 17 forts of Hadrian's Wall. These 15 may be listed as follows, in their correct order, with their know probablr no e sizes: 2 size acres hectares 7 1. Serduno 1 4. Wallsend Condecor 5.64 2.2 Vindovala Rudchester 4.5 1.8 Onno Halton Chesters 4.3 1.7 (original size) Celuno Chesters 3 2. 5.75 Brocoliti Carrawburgh 3.5 1.4 0 2. Velurtion 5 Housesteads Vindolande Chesterholm 3.5 1.4 Esica Great Chesters 3 1.2 Magnis : Carvoran 3.5 1.4 1 2. Banna 3 5. Birdoswald Gabaglanda Castlesteads 3.75 1.5 Uxellodamo Stanwix 9.32 3.8 Avalana by Sands c 4.5-5 1.8-2.0 Maia Bowness on Solway 5.9 2.4

The two which are missing are:

Pons Aelius Newcastle Congavata(?) Drumburgh

Of these, Drumburgh cover aren sa f abou ao t 1.96 acres (0.8 ha)r NewcastlFo . have ew o en dimensions, but the limited topography of the site suggests that the fort there also measured less than about two acres. If this is correct, it may be that the Cosmographer omitted these sites simply because of their small size. With this reservation we may note that he has produced a very accurate list of the forts, in the correct order from east to west (allowing for the three listed prematurely), and apparently correct in number. Although some of the names are corrupt (notably apparently thiVelurtion)n i sp arema ae seemth , havo st e bee s notn t ha wouli plai, e h reado nt d seeman , , introduce inappropriaty dan r intrusiveo e names which really belon otheo gt r features. Correlation with the Notitia Dignitatum confirms the identification of forts in most cases. MANN: RAVENNAS AND THE ANTONINE WALL I 191

ANTONINE TH E WALL mighe W t have expecte dsimilaa r accuracy wit Antonine hth esituatioe Wallth t bu , sadls ni y different Rives a , Smit& t h 211(1979& 6 ) hav19 convincingl,w eno y demonstrated sectioe Th . n dealing wit Antonine hth e Wall start bravelf sof y enough wordn i , s echoing those use introduco dt e Hadrian's Wall: iterum sunt civitates in ipsa Britania recto tramite una alteri conexa, ubi et ipsa Britania plus angustissima oceanode oceanoin esse dinoscitur, est.. id . . These words make it almost certain that the Cosmographer was attempting to name structures along the Antonine Wall, and this seems to be confirmed by the fact that the first name on the list, Velunia, is certainly that of the fort at Carriden (JRS 47, 1957, 230 no 18) just east of the eastern end of the Wall at Bridgeness, and reasonably to be regarded as the first fort if we reckon fro e east ms witth A . h Hadrian's Wall e Cosmographeth , s attemptinwa r namo gt e forts from eas westo t . For convenience, the Cosmographer's list may be given here:

191 Velunia 2 19 Volitanio 3 19 Pexa 194 Begesse 5 19 Colanica 6 19 Medio Nemeton 7 19 Subdobiadon 8 19 Litana 199 Cibra 0 20 Credigone

t seemI s likely that Colanic place th s eai which appear Colanis sa Ptolemyn ai , while Rive& t Smith suggest that Cibra is Ptolemy's . Ptolemy places both Colania and Coria in the central lowlands, assignin gDamnoniie botth o ht thud an ,s conceivably both place t leas sa neay e la t th r Antonine Wall. However, whereas for Hadrian's Wall the number of forts in the list correlates perfectly wit e numbehth r knowe groune argumentth th n f o n(i d s abov e accepted)eb e Antoninth r fo , e Wall there is a great discrepancy between the Cosmographer's 10 forts and the number to which archaeolog pointn yca . Admittedly Antonine case th th f eo n i , e Wal suffee w l r fro mdeficienca y which doe t cripplsno r stude ou f Hadrian'yo argun lattere s ca case th Walle th f w eo that, n I . , fro evidence m th grounde encumberes th n wa eo t i , d wit forts 7 lesso cash 1 e n mor o n Th ,d .e ean e Antoninth f o e Wal s differenti l e cannow : t poin precisa o t t e numbe f palpablo r e forts distributed along its length. The Antonine Wall was begun (as John Gillam brilliantly demonstrated: 1975) as virtually a copy of Hadrian's Wall, with large forts (large enough, that is, to hold a complete unit) at distances from each other strictly comparable wit originae hth l Hadrianic 'standard f abouo ' t seven miles, and with defended gateways at about one-mile intervals along its whole length. (It seems clear that the ditch was everywhere dug immediately afterwards.) The plan was altered even before construction had been completed: smaller forts were interspersed at about two-mile intervals, at least along some part of the length of the Wall. This was presumably to answer a need in frontier control which became apparent only after construction had begun. Sizeable bodies of men placed at frequent intervals along the line suggest a form of localized pressure from the north which differed from that encountered on Hadrian's Wall in Hadrian's reign. What 192 SOCIET ANTIQUARIEF YO SCOTLANDF SO , 1992

precise form this greater pressure took we can hardly say, but it seems to have been thought real enough. f thiI s were simply overland pressure fro norte mth hnorthere (anth n do n frontie f Britaino r , clearla threase y b yt only became eviden thire th df t o century towardd en e s;th before then hostility fro norte entirels mth hwa y land-based) t couli , arguee db d that there woulgreao n e td b nee r dfo any reinforcement eas f abouo t t , Wale th r l betweefo n ther Bridgenesd ean s facee th s 3 south Forthe shorth f eo . Howeve cleas i t i r, frobe r my tha evidencma t groune th n eo d that, from at least Rough Castle westward, this reinforcement did indeed take place, and we may note the following primary and secondary forts:4

Primary Secondary knowe b o nt size size larger than acres hectares acres hectares two acres (0.8 ha) 4.2 1.7 1 0.5 0.2 Castle Hill 3.2 1.3 2 2.3 0.9 3 4 1.6 4 2.8 1.1 5 Auchendav1 y1. 8 2. or r HilBa l 3 1. 2 3. Croy Hill 1.5 0.6 2 Castlecary4 1. 5 3. [Seabegs? ?] Rough Castle 0.4 [? ?] Mumrills 6 2. 5 6. [? ?] [Kinneil? ?] Carriden 4 1.6 10

e arguEvew f ni e that ther s onle reinforcinewa yon g fort eas f Castlecaro t t Rougy(a h Castle), thecleas i t ni r tha have w tt leasea fort 5 1 taccouno t s accepe t w for (perhape f I .th t s less probable) fort t Seabegsa s , Falkirk, Inveravo Cosmographee th t Kinneild Bu nan . totae 19 th ,s i lr lists only 10 putative names of Antonine Wall forts. It would be interesting to know from whence came the number of 10. Did the map from s workinwhicwa e h g sho line wf Hadrian'th eo s Wall, wit littl2 1 h e squares attachee th o dt Wall itself, and three semi-detached little squares on the south side, all with names attached? shop Antonine ma w th e th d e Di Wall with onl littl0 y1 e squares attache r semi-detachedd(o ),

namee th f whicso misreade hh , theconceivabls i so t ni f ? I y significan f leave o t w t tha f eou (i t 5 account the unproven forts at Seabegs, Falkirk, Inveravon and Kinneil) there are precisely 10 forts whic e know e largear hb o t nr thaacreso e Cosmographer'tw n Th . apparentlp ma s y marked onl e fort th yHadrian'n o s s Wall which were over abou acreo t i tw t sizen i sd Di . similarly mar e Antonin th fort0 k 1 n onl o se th ye Wall which also exceede acreso de tw ?Th MANN: RAVENNAS AND THE ANTONINE WALL | 193

words recto tramite una alteri conexa (connected with each other in a direct line) certainly suggest that on the map there was a precise line with the exact number of symbols marked, however carelessly the Cosmographer may have confused names of other places, or even tribes, with name f fortsso . However, ther s anotheei r possibility t coulI . arguee db Antonine fortth 0 d 1 f thao se th te Wall s misnamea , e Cosmographerth y db , represen perioa t d whe s garrisoninnit s mucgwa h reduced from earl e beed whath ha yn n i occupationt e yeari t th f so excavatione Th . t Bearsdensa , in particular, have shown that at some forts on the Antonine Wall, there was no later occupation at all. It is necessary to say a word here about the 'occupations' of the Antonine Wall. Archaeologists are, not surprisingly, keen to link discoveries on the ground with known historical events, or known historical characters. But this process needs to be carried out with witp u hd historicaen o t t greano l e fictiontar rigoue w particularn I .f i r muse jumt w , no o t pto readily to conclusions in attempting to relate the 'occupations' of Antonine Wall sites to known or supposed historical events on the northern frontier. The intensification of the occupation of the line in its very early days, attested by the small forts at about two-mile intervals, may not have lasted very long. It may have proved to be an over-reaction to the threat it was supposed to meet. It may be that there was a substantial reduction or alteration of garrisons long before the withdrawal to Hadrian's Wall in AD 158. The archaeological levels which we glibly label 'Antonine Wal 'Antoninld 1an ' e Wal case both,y l th f som2 eo ma n ' i e fort t leasta s withie li , n the period c 145-c 158, and there may have been a somewhat smaller garrison in the years just before 158. The campaigns of Ulpius Marcellus must have further gravely reduced the capacity of the Highlander resumo st e attack t leas(a s generatiot w untine a l f warriorno s gre I havw s a up)e , If . argued elsewhere Antonine th , e Walhels wa dl again fro earle mth y 180195c o st , that occupation may indeed have been lighte askee b o rt d still s t whetherepresentei t no I . s i groune t i rth n y do db the so-called 'third occupation' of certain forts. It may be possible to build up a picture of this putative occupation (from c 184 to c 195) from this and other sources, applying the results to the diagram (illus 1).

INSCRIPTIONS PROBABL LATDATEE E B TH E O Y O SECONDT T D CENTURY

Castlecary Coh I Tungrorum and coh I Fida Vardullorum could have been successive garrisons within the perio d145-c c 158 t coulI . d the thae detachmentne b th t AugustaI I I Victrix f V s o d an attested 214B RI 6y belonb perioe th o gt d I afteVictrixB V RI 180c f rdate o n i Th n .e proposeme e th r dfo 2148 (c 175-190) would fit this very well.

HillBar Co hI Baetasiorum I Hamiorum h co d an could have been successive garrisons withie nth period c 145-c 158. The detachments of II Augusta and XX V.v. attested as building (RIB 2171) may have been doing so after c 180.

(Less certai daten ni t quit bu , e possibl ye secon th lat n I ei d h centuryaltae co th f o re ar , Baetasiorum at Old Kilpatrick, I, 1970, 310-11, and the dedications by M. Cocceius Firmus at , RIB 2174-7.) 194 SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF SCOTLAND, 1992

Namey db '3rd period Late Late Ravennas occupation' coins inscriptions * Old Kilpatrick Duntocher Castlehill Bearsden Balmuildy * * Cadder * Kirkintilloch Auchendavy Hilr Ba l * * * Croy Hill Westerwood * Rough Castle * * Mumrills * Carriden

ILLU 1 SPossibl e late occupatio Antonine th f no e Wall

COINS DATING AFTER AD 158

Old Kilpatrick Miller's report on excavations here recorded a silver coin of Lucilla (AD 164/183) which was found in a granary of the fort (Miller 1928, 34).

Cadder bronzA e coi f Marcuno s Caesara s , foundatinD wa A , d o g t e for hereth t n i (Clark, e 1933, 82).

Kirkintilloch A 'coi Commodusf no claimes Johr wa 'D ny d b Buchana n (Macdonald 1918, 224).

Bar Hill A bronze coi f Commoduno s found herhavy ma ee been accompanie f Veruo e son y db (Macdonald 1918,224).

Mumrills bronzA e coi Marcuf no founds typa swa f eo , date A(Robertsoo 4 dt D 17 n 1961, 134). f theso e e On coin s specificallwa s y recorde s havinda g been foun fora n ti d granarye Th . others canno dismissee b t d simply because they hav preciso en e archaeological context. They were not blown wind e therth y e.b MANN: RAVENNAS AND THE ANTONINE WALL 195

THIRD OCCUPATIO WALE TH LF NO Although much doubted, evidenc whicn eo h this beeha s n base s beedha n claime t fouda r forts. (In general, evidence is to be explained, not explained away.) It is interesting that coins dating after AD 158 have been foun t threda f theseeo Kilpatrickd Ol : , Cadde Mumrillsd an r . There evidenco in s e that this occupation belong Severae th o st n period t coulI . d belon reige th f no o gt .

RAVENNAS Only Velunia (or Veluniate) can be confidently assigned to the Antonine Wall. The inscription which confirms the identification with Carriden is more probably of late second century date than earlier: it was set up by a civilian named Aelius Mansuetus - a name derived from Hadria r Antoninuno absencse Piusth t f praenomebu , eo n suggest datsa e later than their reigns. e diagraTh m (illu ) collect1 s l thial s s evidence suggestd an , tentativa s e identificatiof o n fort0 1 se eighwhicth lurf y o t khma behin e entrdth Ravennasn yi onln e stresseca yb t I . w dho speculative this is. But it can be argued that it may be in some such way that we approach the truth latee ofth r occupatio Antonine th f no e Wall.

NOTES 1 Items in the text of Ravennas are numbered according to the more convenient system used by Crawfor Richmond& d 1949, 1-50. r thesFo e 2 see, most conveniently, Bruce 1978 essentiae th , Wale l th too r l studentfo l reducee Th . d sizf eo Bownes Solwan so establishes ywa Pauy db l Austen's recent excavations . Britanniacf , (1989)0 2 , 275. . BreezCf 3 e 1979. 52 , e sizesth . Robertsor cf , Fo 4 n 1979Hansod an , , 8 Maxwelnesp& g fi . l 1983, esp. Tablea 8.1r Fo . possible fort (or fortlet?) at Falkirk, see Bailey 1991, 5-18. r HilCarrided t attacheBa an l no Wall e 5 e knoe th nar o W d.t w thaCosmographee th t r named Carriden ni the Wall list, but had he, on the analogy of Hadrian's Wall, already named the semi-detached Bar Hill earlier in his list? (The structure now postulated at Falkirk seems also not to have been attached to the Wall: report forthcoming.)

REFERENCES Bailey, G 1991 'A Roman fort on the Wall at Falkirk', Calatria, 1 (1991), 5-18. Breeze J 197D , 9 'Roman Scotland durin reige gth f Antoninuno s Pius' Hansonn i Keppie, & S W ,L , (eds), Roman Frontier Studies 1979, Oxford, 45-60. Bruce, J C 1978 The Handbook to the Roman Wall, 13th edn, C M Daniels (ed), . Clarke, J 1933 The Roman fort at Cadder, . CrawfordRichmond& S G A O ,194 I , 9 'The British sectioRavenne th f no a Cosmography', Archaeologia, (1949)3 9 , 1-50. Gillam P 197J , 5 'Possible change course constructioe plan th th i s n f ni eo Antonine th f no e Wall', Scott Archaeol , 1 (1975), 51-6. Hanson Maxwell& W , G ,198 3 's North West Frontier, Edinburgh. Macdonald, G 1918 'Roman coins found in Scotland', Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 52 (1917-18), 203-76. Miller N Roman192e S , Th 8Kilpatrick,d Ol fort t a Glasgow. RIB Collingwood Wright& G P Romane 196R R ,, Th 5 Inscriptions f Britain,o I: Inscriptionsn o stone, Oxford. Rivet, A L F& Smith, C 1979 The Place-names of , London. Robertson S 196A , 1 'Roman coins foun Scotlann i d d 1951-60', Proc Antiqc So Scot, (1960-1)4 9 , 133-83. Robertson, A S 1979 The Antonine Wall (3rd edn), Glasgow.