Some Excavation Along the Line of the Antonine Wall, 1981-85
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Proc Antiqc So Scot, (1989)9 11 , 143-159 Some excavation along the line of the Antonine Wall, 1981-85 L J F Keppie* and J J Walker with contributions by G B Bailey, D F Devereux, J Frances Murray and J S Wood ABSTRACT The results of 19 excavations and watching briefs are presented, in geographical sequence from variouseast the west, to and improvements knowledgeour to discussed. are OBSERVATIONS INVERAVO1 N7978 (NG95 ) S RN Augusn I pipelines tga 198o 3tw s were laid acros Antonine linth e f sth eo e Wall frontiee th d an r defence adjacenn a f so t temporary camm0 eas30 pInveravof c to n Farm trence receivo t .Th g hdu e pipeo acrost tw scu e Wal e cam th d north-west/south-eassa th lan n po parallet alignmentse s wa l d an , to (and 11 m west of) an existing pipeline laid in 1976 (report by Mrs Lorna Main in Keppie 1976, 61). Excavation in advance of the laying of the new pipes and a watching-brief during pipelaying operations faile deteco dt stonewory an t k belongin rampare th o gt t base itself, except tha thia t n skif no slipped turfwor detectes pointe kwa on t da . However, bot ditche lipth f hso were locate e sidee th th f so n d i pipe-trench, showing a width of c 7-5 m. This corresponds to the width obtained in the nearby pipe-trench in 19761. The line now plotted is c 6 m south of that shown on current Ordnance Survey maps. To the south of the Wall the opportunity was taken, after the removal of topsoil by the contractors, to search for the ditch-system of the temporary camp known as Inveravon 1, first detected by aerial reconnaissanc 1950d Josept mi s(S e th hn i e1958 ; 196589 , , 80). Excavation alon strie gth p clearee th y db contractors revealed the east ditch of the camp, which was shallow and flat-bottomed with sloping sides, elm wide and 0-55 m deep. The fill was a brown sandy clay, topped by a layer of cobbling which may represent deliberate residuafilline th f go l hollo moderwn i n times alignmene .Th confirmes twa d whee nth pipe-trench itsel beins fwa g dug faccontinuelinn s e ;i th tewa cropmara s da k see t grounna d e leveth n li field, east of the pipe-trench. Trowelling in the presumed interior of the camp revealed one stone-packed pesthole and possible traces of a second, but the ditch forming the north side of the camp's defences could not be found. The accompanying rampart had been entirely removed, either by ploughing or by scraping in preparatio diggine th pipe-trence r th nfo f g o h itself likel a Militare searc A .n th o yr y halignmenfo yWa t proved unsuccessful presumee soute t justh th f ,bu o h o t d positio Antonine th f no e Wall rampart some trace occupatiof so n were noted, including shallow channel patched san burnf so t clay uncertaif o , n date. * Hunterian Museum, Universit f Glasgoyo w 144 SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF SCOTLAND, 1989 LAURIESTO2 7946 91 ) S N(N J Frances Murray In August 1982 a watching brief was carried out during the construction of a house in the back garde Polmon4 3 f no t Road, Laurieston (frontin Sandyloao t n go n Crescent) aren a an ,i knowe li o nt withi annexe nth e wes Mumrillf o t s fort. Construction work include excavatioe dth deea f no p sub- basement. Several area burningf so pita d , weran , e note t depthda . mm s rangin0 20 o t g m from m6 The site lies immediately south-west of the central area of the annexe where previous work has demonstrate existence dth pitareaf d eo s an cobblinf so g (Macdonal Curid& e 1929,500; Steer 1961, 93) 194n I . oven excavate1s a nwa wese th tn dboundaro presene th f yo t site (Robertson 1942), confirming the industrial nature of occupation hereabouts. Unstratified finds made durin watchine gth g brief comprise followine dth g abraded sherds: sevef no samian colour-coate f wareo o ,tw d wares, thre black-burnishef eo warI dI e (confirmin Antonine gth e date deposit)e ofth greywaresf o 3 1 , ; there were also five flagon fragment mortariue on d san m fragment. Over 30 fragments of amphora were found, including a handle stamped ..ASR. (All small finds are now in Falkirk Museum.) CALLENDA3 795-904 R 90 PAR S K6(N 795) Excavation over three weekend Junn i Novembesd an e r 1981 establishee th e lin f th do e Antonin eformee Wal th Militar d n i an lr y policieyWa Callendaf so r Park Colleg Educationf eo n o , the eastern outskirts of Falkirk (illus 1-3). The excavation was initially organized in search of the 'fort' mentione Timothy db y Pont unde name rth e Langtoun (Blaeu 1654,4), which might reasonably be interpreted now as one of the series of fortlets placed at intervals of approximately one mile along the Wall's line. (But see Hanson & Maxwell 1983,120.) Two possible locations for this site were at Gallowhill (now withi village nth Lauriestonf e o Callenda e th parklan n f o o ease d d th )an r en t t da estate. Attention was focused in 1981 on the latter site, firstly because Gallowhill is now entirely built over secondld ,an y because Ordnance Survey maps sho Wale wth l makin gsligha t turentert i s na e sth policie Callendaf so r Park fro easte mth . In 195 late 2th e Miss Doree HunternM , then curato Dollae th f o rr Park Museum, Falkirk, excavated hereabouts (Hunter 1953 detaileo , n 17)t bu , d record worr he kf s o appeare surviveo dt . However BaileB G 198n i ,yr 7(FalkirM k Museum) locate notebooa n di k some measurements relatin workr somhe d o gan t , e photograph stonewore th f so k were found, which mak t cleaei r that investigatee sh same dth e general thereforr areahe o ;t owes ei d discoverie e credisome th th r f etfo o s reported on here. In 1981, no trace of the anticipated fortlet could be detected, but the Antonine Wall and Military Way were located. The wall base was traced by probing, supplemented by limited trenching, for a distance fro m embankmene m0 th o15 f Edinburgh-Falkire th f to k Grahamston railwa yCollege linth o et e lodge- house (formerly East Lodge). The Wall base itself, lying at a depth of 0-45-0-5 m from the modern surface, proved to have a width of 4-5 m and to have been constructed of the usual squared-off kerbs with a core of cut sandstone and natural cobbles. The superstructure was of earth, revetted by narrow turf cheeks, usually 0- wide3m , though'occasionally somewhat broader. Laid turf survive maximua o dt m heigh f 0-o t2 m above the base. Individual turves measured 0-15-0-2 m long, and were 0-1 m deep. The ditch itself was not explored. Close to the railway embankment the alignment of the Wall proved to be markedly different from that printed on current Ordnance Survey maps (illus 1). After descending Gallowhill from the east and crossing the intervening Gallow-sike burn, the Wall climbed the opposite slope on a north-east/south-west alignment, before turning sharply to the west. The actual point of the turn had been dug away, perhaps durin constructioe gth adjacene th f no t railwa angle y lineth turf t eo ,nbu seem havo st e bee muct nno h less than 90°. The Wall then continued west to the lodge-house, making a very slight turn to the south about half-way alon courses git . Closaccese th o et s road int Collegee oth base th , e prove havo dt e been badly KEPPIE AND WALKER: SOME EXCAVATION ALONG THE LINE OF THE ANTONINE WALL 1981-85 145 ILLUS 1 Callendar Park: general plan showing presumed and actual alignments of Antonine Wall, ditch and Military Way damaged, with only scattered remnants of the core surviving. Probing behind the lodge-house itself failed to detect any traces of stonework, so that the Ordnance Survey line there could not be confirmed. e sharTh pe Wall' turth n ni s course hereabout commentes si r ChristopheD y b n do r Irvins (a e reported by Sibbald 1707, 30) and by William Maitland (1757,172-3), whose description runs as follows: (The ditch), descendin Gallow-hille gth , crosset Gallow-sike hth rillr eo , and, mountin opposite gth e eminence, deflects twenty-four feet southwards; then enterin easterCallender-parkgof the nend , recover westers sit n cours Macdonalf e(c d 1934, 120). This divergenc southe th revealeo s et a , excavatioy db fac n 1981i n ni ts mucwa , h greate t leasa r- t 20 m and probably more. Probing confirmed the alignment of the Wall base here within 4-6 m of the railway embankment, wher s stoneworit e d beeha kn lost correspondinA . g chang f course o e th n i e accompanying ditch is already hinted at by hatching on Ordnance Survey maps and is confirmed by a dip in embankmene th t wall. Probing to the south of the Antonine Wall established the line of the Military Way (illus 2-3), which was confirmed by excavation at two points (A and B).