Discoveries on the Line of the Antonine Wall. 93 Some
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DISCOVERIE E ANTONIN E TH LIN F TH O EN O SE WALL3 9 . I. SOME RECENT DISCOVERIE E ANTONIN E TH LIN F TH EO N SO E WALL. BY GEORGE MACDONALD, F.B.A., LL.D., F.S.A. SCOT. e threOth f e main elements that wene barrieo th makt t p u er which Lollius Urbicus drew from Forth to Clyde in 142 A.D., the Military Way, alway e leasth s t conspicuous s vanisheha , d almost pointo tw r a discerninso n stile entirelyca on l e t distinguisA ey g . h otherw fe s remain it a ss track it t A s. would doubtles e founb s f i d they were systematically looke da rule s fors coursit A , . onln e ca y b conjectured. The Wall itself is in somewhat better case. Consisting e Glasgo(ath s w Archaeological Society's Report1 first a taughf o ) us t substantial mass of turf, heaped some 10 feet high and resting on a solid and carefully-laid stone foundation from 14| to 15J feet broad, it was well calculated to resist the ordinary influences of time and weather therefors i t I .t surprisin no e g that hertherd ean e acrose th s isthmus it has been preserved in something approaching a recognisable shape Ditche Th . , originally som fee0 e4 tfee2 1 broa t d deeps dan wa , naturally much harde eradicateo t r . Even longe o whern s i rt e i strongl y marked, its precise direction can often be determined by the aid of a mor r leseo s faint depressio e presenth n no t surfac fieldse th f e.o By following up this obvious clue it has been possible to map out e actuath e Romalth linf o en frontie r manfo r y miles with very substantial accuracy e detaileTh . d description whic I hpublishe n i d 1911 bases wa 2 d upon observation e sortth f , o scouple f coursdo e with such information as could be gleaned from the accounts furnished by earlier writers. But, after all the aid that surface appearances can give has been exhausted, there remain a considerable number of points, and some of them rather critical points, where we are left without any apparent guidance and "where certainty is only to be obtained by properly directed exploration. During the past year or two, with the help of a Research Grant from the Carnegie Trust for e Universitieth f Scotlando s I hav, e bee momentd n od carrying n i , s on of leisure, a modest series of investigations designed to clear up some of the more conspicuous cases of doubt. Although the task I have set myself is not yet completed, the results already secured seem to possess sufficient interest to justify their being chronicled. And perhaps this is the most appropriate place in which to put on record my sense of 1 Glasgow (MacLehose), 1899. 2 The Roman Wall in Scotland, pp. 108 ff. 94 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, FEBRUARY 9, 1915. how deeplindebtem a e proprietor th I y o t d farmerd an s whosn o s e lan dI hav occasiod eha worko nt . Individual names wil notee b l n di connection with the different localities. Here it will be enough to say generally that without a single exception they have shown the greatest cordiality in giving leave to open up the ground, while several of them have rendered practical assistance of a very valuable kind. Of others whofortunats wa m I e enoug preso ht s int servicee oth woul,I d specially mention Mr John M'lntosh of the Gartshore Estate and Mr Mungo Buchana f Falkirkno I hav. e als o thanot e Directokth r Generaf o l the Ordnance Survey, as well as Major Robinson, R.E., formerly officer in charge of the Northern District, for putting at my disposal the skill of Mr John Mathieson, one of the most experienced members of their staff. Mr Mathieson has grudged neither time nor pains to provide an accurate serie f mapso s . Throug e courtes th he Controlle th f o y f o r H.M. Stationery Offic I ehav e been abl o utilist e publicatione th e f o s the Survey in preparing illustrations for this paper. Before entering into detail t wilsi wel e b lgivo t l brieea f description of the modus operandi. Theoretically the'procedure is simple enough. hopy f ther I f an findino e s i ee ston th g e foundation, that muse b t y b t go e b n ca t alla t i ,t go e b o t s i looke t a rule i r first s f fo di A , . digging a foot or two below the present surface. And it would not be unnatural to expect that so substantial a mass would, for the most part, have remained undisturbed. Experience, however, goe provo t s e that l reall e casal th f eo y n i difficult gaps the chance Ditce thate th ar s f h,i s beeha n rendered invisible stone th , e foundatio e Wal alss th f ha loo n been deliberatel l mark s formeal it d yf so an tor r, presencnup e removed, the progress of agriculture having been the common foe of both. In such circumstances one is thrown back upon the vanished Ditch. However completely this may have disappeared, it is hardly possible for it to be altogether lost. The earth that fills it cannot have con- solidate e indistinguishablb o firmlo s t d s a y e fro e naturamth l soil. The spade, properly wielded, will always bring out the difference. Sometimes, indeed e differencth , s madi e e apparen n anothei t r way. Where, as not infrequently happens, the foundations of a building of sizy ean hav esoftee bee lesd th exten o lait o o san nrs t s d compaca n do t substratum, o taksubsidencet t e ap place e ar s. Cracked walld an s twisted gables may thus be highly significant. The search for the Ditch, it should be added, has one obvious advantag s comparea e d e witstone searcth th h r e fo hfoundation . Since it was 40 feet broad as against only 14| or 15|, the odds in favour of hitting upon it within a given area are two or three times as heavy. On the other hand, to look for the Ditch is a much more laborious DISCOVERIES ON THE LINE OF THE ANTONINE WALL. 95 business, and has in it not a little of the element of speculation. Thus, if one happens to strike the middle instead of the edge, one may have fee6 dowo r tg o beforo 5 nt e one's eye e rejoicee blackisar s th y b d h patches that denote decayed vegetatio giv d necessare nan eth y assurance that one is really in the footsteps of the legionaries. Many blanks, too, may drawe havb o et n befor lighte on e s upo nprizea , bese whilth tt ea indicatioe th f futurno e direction whic gaines hi uncomfortabls di y vague as compared with the much more helpful conclusions that are yielded e accuratelbyth y laid e stonkerbth f eo s foundation. When working n unpleasana s e ha Ditchb th ye ton , sens f havino e o gropgt e one's way. Per contra, the satisfaction that attends success has a corre- spondingly keener edge. e methodth f o O fI sp d havconstructe coursai ma ee o th n e y b d been describing could claim to be absolutely accurate. We know, from e pointwha th e see b t s stili t a sn o t lwher e barrieeth r surviven i s tolerable completeness, that, whil e dimensioneth e stonth f eo s founda- tion are fairly constant, the Ditch varied somewhat in breadth, as also—an muca o dt h greater extent—di distancs dit e fro northere mth n face of the Wall. Interesting examples of such variation are carefully registere e Glasgoth n i d w Society's Report. r practicaFo l purposes, however, it was necessary to fix an average, and in the maps which Mr Mathieso s lainha d down unde y directionm r whicd an , h havw eno been adopted by the Ordnance Survey as their permanent record, it has been assumed that the Ditch itself was always 40 feet wide, and tha s souther alwayit s t wa fee 0 p s2 nli t away fro northere mth n kerb of the Wall. I have over and over again found that these averages approximate very closely to actuality. At the most they can never be more than a very few feet astray. Bearing this caveat in mind, let us see what measure of progress has been achieved in each of the three sections wher e woreth k done approaches most nearl completenesso yt . t wilI conveniene b l proceeo t te traditiona th n di l order—tha fro, is tm west to east. I. FROM OLD KILPATRICK TO DuNTOCHER.1 Ever since people began to write about the Roman Wall, there has been a certain amount of doubt as to the precise point at which its western extremity touched the Clyde. Horsley and others long ago balance prose d consdth s betweean a n Dumbarto d Bowlinan n d gan connection 1I n with this portio proprietoe n e linbes th y oth feo m e t t th e thankf ro du e sar land r W Bair.