I. EXCAVATION E ROMATH T SNA FOR NEWSTEADF TO , 1947Y B . PROFESSOR IAN A. RICHMOND, M.A., LL.D., F.B.A., F.S.A., F.S.A.ScoT. Read April 12, 1948. The Roman fort at Newstead was thoroughly and skilfully excavated by the late Dr James Curie 1 in a great continuous series of campaigns covering the years 1905—10. Dr Curie's excavations, which were far in advance of contemporary practice, disentangled a detailed plan of much of the fort and s surroundingsit , produce dcollectioa relicf no notablo s e that they have never since cease excito dt e wonder, and, above all, provide da genera l chronological scheme for the occupation. They demonstrated conclusively that ther bee d maio eha n tw n period occupationf so firse th , t commencing under lulius Agricola in A.r>. 81, the second under Lollius Urbicus in A.D. e principa139—40th f o e . l on distinctionIndeed s wa t i , f Jameo s s Curie's work, and there were many, that it first established in Britain a sound differentiation between pottery of these two epochs. But within the two main periods, whose commencemen welo s s lti determine botn di h casey sb literatur confirmed ean secone th n di d cas epigraphyy eb phasee th , s proved difficult to define. Dr Curie thought that he could distinguish five distinct earle th phases yn i perioo tw ,occupatiof do e th t latee thred Bu th nan .n ei determination was loose and unsatisfactory. The truth was that, while the evidence had manifested itself piecemeal, in many ways and in many parts of the site, no systematic attempt was made to correlate the data stratigraphically thao e s remain, th l tperiod al f o s s coul e viewedb n di direct relationship. To expect such an effort would be to ask for something out of its time, almost thirty years too early. And a generation later, whe tune comd nth eha describo et Royae th site r elth efo Commission no Ancient and Historical Monuments for Scotland, Dr Curie himself felt this strongly. Befor expectatioe eth 193 n i r 8 laiwa f dparalysinna o g hand upon l majoal r archaeological projects worked ha t wite writee h ,dou hth plaa r n to cut trial sections across the fort in order to make a fresh and systematic study of the stratification. All we could then do was to plan and to hope that better times would permit excavatio futuree t therth n Bu ni e. were nine long years to wait, and when they were over Dr Curie was no longer with us. Only his inspiration remained, changing the work from a long- awaited collaboration into the dutiful fulfilment of a pledge. 1 James Curie, A. Roman Frontier Post and its People: the Fort of Newstead in the Parish of Melrose (Glasgow, 1911); hereinafter referred to as Newstead. 1 VOL. L.XXXIV. 2 PROCEEDING E SOCIETYTH F O S , 1949-50. The work itself was carried out between 26th August and 24th x Septembe o sectionr Tw 1947.s fee0 wer8 e firs tey Th la tcut ) (fig. 1 . middl e easternmose easth th f f o te o t sout t acroshcu whole gatd sth ean e system of defences and well into the interior of the fort, crossing the fourth contubernium from the west in Curie's Barrack I. Its special objective was e secondarth t earlybu y stone building 2 r CurifounD thin y ei db s quarter of the fort. The second section (fig. 2) was taken 230 feet south of the middle of the west gateway hi the so-called reducing-wall, with the intention of defining the relationship of this wall to the occupation levels within the resulte fortTh eac.n i s h case were highly fortunate. Almost everywhere e stratificatioth n remained completely undisturbe y formeb d r word an k supplied, together with much dating material, the clearest possible definition of periods, so as at once to confirm and to simplify Dr Curie's interpretation of the site. THE EXCAVATIONS. Phase I. The Agricolan Occupation. A first contact (figwit) 1 Agricolae . hth n defences madditcs e th wa t he a discovered by Dr Curie just behind the Antonine fort wall. This was a steep- sided V-shaped ditch (PL I, 1) cut in rock, 5 feet deep and 8 feet wide at the top, narrowin channea o gt l abou foo1 t t squarbottome th n t ea Te . feet in front of this ditch lay an outer ditch, not hitherto disclosed on this half of the site, of which the outer lip had been removed by a later and wider s dimensionditchit f I . s were symmetrical t wili , l have measured 9 feet wide by 3 feet deep. hala Foud f an feer t behin innee dth r ditch restind an , g immediately upo e subsoilnth , cam a stone e rampart-foundation 1\ feet wide, formed osingla f e laye mixef ro d stoncobbled bordered re ed an carefullsa an y db y laid front ker f largebo stifn d i r re cobblee stonet f se Th e s. sar (PI 2) , I . clay and are often placed sticking end upwards, so as to form a corrugated surface which would prevent the front of the rampart laid upon it from slidin r squeezingo g forward ove e ditchrampare th r Th . t materiaa s i l stiff whitish clay,3, beaten very hard, and here and there exhibiting layers of trodde nt extend I mud fee3 2 . t r behinsfo outee dth rfounda e edgth f eo - tion or bottoming and then terminates against a small mound or heel of gravel, piled 4^ fee tfoo1 widd t highan e , manifestly intende maro dt k the position chosen for the back of the rampart at the time of erection. Whil rampare bace th eth f ko thus i t s clearly defined frone bees th , ha tn 1 Labour of six German prisoners was kindly supplied through the Roxburgh War Agricultural Executive Council, local labour being unobtainable. 2 Newstead, 65-66. 3 This material was visible from the top of the North Eildon Hill, on 28th April 1951, as a broad white streafreshle th n ki y ploughed fields coverin ramparte sitee gTh forth e . th t f anso d annexed san bath-house were perfectly defined by this notable example of an archaeological soil mark. -LATE DOMITIANIC BUILDING LATE DOMITIANIC -BUILDING -ANTONINE I RAMPAR" AND FORT-WALL- —AGRICOLAN FLOOR-LEVEL REMOVED-* -LATE DOMITIANIC INTERVALLUM -LATE DOMITIANIC RAMPART -*—————AGRICOLAN TIMBER BUILDING- ——AGRICOLAN INTERVALLUM -AGRICOLAN RAMPART- ->AND*-lNNER DITCH- NEW STEAD 1547 SECTION THROUGH SOUTH DEFENCES AND BUILDINGS NORTH SOUTH -ANTONINE 1C: THREE DITCHES -ANTONINE I: TWO DITCHES -TWO \GRICOLAN DITCHES _*LATE DOMITIANIC: ONE DITCH 10 O 10 20 40 100 I I I I ~l— I I I I I —I—- I i 1 FEET IAN A. RICHMOND. Pig. 1. [To face p. 2. EXCAVATIONS AT THE ROMAN FORT OF NEWSTEAD. 3 obscured by later alterations. Originally, it plainly coincided with the front of the bottoming, but in a later demolition the upper part of the white clay was shovelled forward and a flat working-platform 9 feet wide was e surfacth f o eforme p thuto n sdo created n , whic me churnes e hwa th y db t wora k into dark trodden significancmude Th . thif eo s change, however, concern nexe sth t discusseperios i d dan d. late7) . (p r The Intervallum behind the white clay rampart is represented by a gravel spread inche,6 froo t ms4 thick, covere trampleashey d db an sd dmu and extending for 38 feet. It is then cut off by one of Dr Curie's trenches levelliny b d r latean gfo r Roman building d doe t reappearan sno s e Th . next surviving structural featur f thio e s period occurfee0 5 t t behina s d the rampart back. This is a slot for the foundation of a timber building, and it measures 1 foot square (PI. V, 2). The building itself was 32^ feet overal widthn li norts it , h limit being represente secona y db d slot inche2 1 , s wide and 9 inches deep. Both these slots are only the heels of the foundation-trenches which they represent and of which a complete picture is afforded by a third slot, 12 inches wide by 21 niches deep, which marks the long axis of the building (PL II, 1). A minor subdivision was also found (PL II, 2), a much shallower north-to-south slot, 1 foot square, which turns westward just unde fee5 r t axiae nortth f lho divisio eastward nan d space 5^Th feee sout bordereo . t tit minoe f ho th y drb divisio paves nwa d with light cobbling much worn by treading. Similar cobbling was observed extending farther nort partitione floorinease ho th t sout f th o t o t i t f gho ,bu was of clay only, the cobbling terminating as if at a threshold. In the clay floor there was one small post-hole and an irregular excavation for other timber structure f uncertaio s n significance. Farther north, beyone th d timber building, the ancient ground surface, and any remains of the first period havwhicy ema ht carriedi agaid ,ha n been remove latey db r buildings. sectione th f norto e almosr ,th d thafo s hen a , feet 7 r is t1 t fa , s thera t eBu wa traco sn timbef eo r buildings t seemi d an s, likely tha site tth e this swa ostreea f t betwee blockso ntw .