Some rescue excavatio Antonine linth e f th e o n no e Wall, 1973-6 KeppiF J byL e The Antonine Wall is 60 km (37 miles) in length, but only 4-3-4-8 m (14-16 ft) wide; if the ditch which accompanies the Wall on the N side and the Military Way on its S side are included, we have her zonea f archaeologicaeo l importanc potentiad widem an 0 e6 runninc l g across central Scotland. As the Wall passes through some of the most populous districts of Scotland it particularls i y expose modero dt n development t merel No fort .e t als yWalth e sbu oth l curtain itsel constantle ar f t riskya , fro extensioe mth housinf no g estate industriad san l premises, from constructioe th improvemenr o n roaf o t d links frod layine an m, th pipelinef go cablesd an sr fo , electricity (Skinnel ,oi waterr o s r ga ,thi1973 n I . s respect,8) Antonine th , e Wall frontie hardls ri y unique t wherea provbu ,y ma et s i possibl rerouto et e road pipeliner so avoio st d known archaeo- logical sites or field monuments, the Wall runs across Scotland without a break: roads and pipe- lines wit hnorth-souta h alignment hav croso et t somewheresi followine Th . g pages give details excavation2 o1 f watching-briefr so Antonine linth e f sth e o carrie n o e t Waldou l curtain between June 197 Octobed 3an r 1976. Where possible, excavation took plac advancn ei f constructioeo n work or pipelaying, but in some cases all that could be achieved was for the archaeologist to be on hand as an observer, to collect as much information as could be gleaned in the short time available. parn I I eleveexcavationste th daysf o no tw 'r durationo ,e moson describee f o ar t, n di geographical order from E to W. The report on a pipeline at Inveravon (no. 1 in the geographical sequence) is contributed by Mrs Lorna Main, of the Planning Department, Central Region, and a note on a section cut at Balmuildy Road (no. 10) by Mr Alastair Henderson, of the Department of Humanity, Universit Glasgowf yo . Par I consistI t excavatioreporn a a f o s n dayso n t te f 'no duratio t Bantaskina n (Falkirk Marcn )i h 1976 shor a parn .I I II tt discussio attemptens i e th n do componen tWall e partth f so (i.e . rampart, ditch, upcast moun Militard dan y lighWaye f th o tn )i the excavation work described. The location of all the excavations is shown on fig 1. Unless specifie contrarye th o dt rampar e th , ditcd an t h were line founth e r n Georgshowdo Si y nb e Macdonald (1934, pi XIV etc) and on Ordnance Survey maps. Site records, drawings and small find depositee ar s Hunteriae th n di n Museum, Universit f Glasgowyo . PART I 1 Inveravon 95879S N FarmR 7 NG , by Mrs Lorna Main Octoben I r 197 ethylenn 6a e pipelin Inveravof o lais E dewa m acros 0 Wale n linth e 30 f sc lth e o Farm. Wit cooperatioe hth contractore th f o n opportunitn a s affordes ywa f observino d g pipe- \ EASTERN SECTION THE \\ ANTONINE o g WALL o 00 8 Falkirk .Mumrills fWesterwood WESTERN SECTION Croy fi _^^ Bar Hill Hill ^""^AucheridavT 1 y Old Kilpatrick Kirkintilloch Balmuildy Oi 8 kms 0. i 5 miles FI G1 Location recenf so t excavations KEPPIE: SOME RESCUE EXCAVATION ON THE LINE OF THE ANTONINE WALL, 1973-6 [ 63 laying operations trac o stonfoune s .N th ewa f e Antoninde o bas th f eo e rampart edgee th t s bu , of the ditch were located, at 04 m below the modern surface. The ditch had a width of 9-7 m (32 ft) and had a filling of dark brown silt. Nothing remained of the upcast mound on the N side of the ditch.1 2 Beancross 92479S N R 6 NG , Junn I e 197 sewaga 3 e pipe crosse Wale linth e df leth o immediatel hamlee th f Beancrosso f tyo S , corneE N e Mumrillf ro th f o E sm fortstone 0 c48 Th . erampare basth f locatees o twa sectiodn i n on the E side of the pipe-trench, at a depth of 0-685 m. The base was represented by a loose sprea stoneworf do k 4-57 widthn i 5 m kerbstone o n ; s were observed ha t leas a situ,e n dt i on t bu bee nmechanicae broughth y b p tu l excavator durin possiblt cuttine no trench ge th s th f wa eg o t .I to estimate the original width of the base, and no trace of the superstructure survived. The poor state of the base may be contrasted with the 'excellent condition' noted by Sir George Macdonald during trenching in the same field (1915, 134). The position of the ditch could not be established, owinunexpectee th o gt d presenc undulatinf eo g layer gravef so pebblesd an l , perhaps laid down during movement nearbe th f so y Westquarter Bur Macdonalf n(c d 1915, 134-5). 3 Bantaskin, Falkir Pare I I tse k- 4 Oakvale Cottage, Tamfourhill 86179S N R 8 NG , In August 1973 trenching was carried out on the presumed line of the rampart at Tamfourhill, outskirtW e th f Falkirkso n o advancn i , realignmene th f eo f Tamfourhilo t l Roa 816)B d( . Trenches were cut in the garden of the now demolished Oakvale Cottage. The S kerb of the stone base was located, with four kerbstones in position, at a depth of 0-4 m from the present ground surface. Onl southernmose yth cor e survived d kerth eN ha f t searc e a o 2-b th 7d prove m r ,an h fo d unsuccessful. Of the superstructure all that remained was a band of turfy material 0-075 m thick above the core. A westwards extension of the trench failed to reveal more than a few scattered core-stones, and it seems not improbable that the base had suffered at the hands of an owner of the Cottage, during improvement gardene th o st . 5 Bonnyside 83779S N R 8 NG , Naturao Tw pipelines lGa s have crosse Wale linth e df lth e o frontie f o t Bonnysida rW m 0 80 ec Rough Castle fort, within the guardianship area. After representations by the Inspectorate of Ancient Monuments, the Scottish Gas Board agreed to thrust-bore the pipes below the Wall-line, thus avoiding disturbance at ground level. It is to be hoped that this may form a precedent for future work devastatios a wid, m 0 e3 frontiee zona th f f neo o r avoideds linewa . Howevern i , the course of these operations it proved necessary to cut a trench across the modern access road to Rough Castle, below which the Military Way was believed to run. The Military Way was indeed located below the modern road, but only the S part was accessible owing to construction work in progress. Cobbles forming the lowest stratum of the Roman highway lay immediately below modern road bottoming. These cobbles rested on a double layer of turfwork, of which the bottom cours beed eha n laid grass downwards secone th d dan , grass upwards somn I . e places there were trace third-ua f so p cours turff eo . The Roman roadway did not march exactly with the modern access road; the laid turfwork was found to extend southwards from the S edge of the tarmacadamed surface for a further 1-8 m, terminating below the modern field-dike bordering the access road. No kerb or drainage gutter were observed, but a greyish white staining showed the position of the turf-line in Roman times. | PROCEEDING 4 6 THF SO E SOCIETY, 1975-6 The general marshiness of the ground W of Rough Castle may account for the apparent decision turf-builraisa o t Militare n o eth y ty Wa agger: resultine th g moun continues dha servo dt s ea a road until modern times, with the field-dike carefully positioned on its S edge (Macdonald 1934, 130). 6 Weste 68475S r N Shirva R 2 NG , In November 1973 the laying of a gaspipe E of Kirkintilloch necessitated the cutting of a trench acros Wale sth l between Auchendav Westef o Twechard W y an r m Shirv0 ,20 sid E a e farmth n I . of the pipe-trench the stone base was represented by a spread of stonework 4-3 m wide, at a depth of 1-27 m, but it had been much disturbed. The cause was at once apparent: an extensive pit fiel e farr th dfo m n i bee d refuseg ha ndu , dislodgin Romane gth stones thoug t movinhno g them from their original position. Twigs, branches, fence greaposta d tsan mas decayinf so g vegetation were visible above, among and in part below the Roman stonework. The N and S limits of this stonework were marked by kerbstones; no trace of the superstructure had survived. On the pipe-trence othe sid) th f eo r(W h stone w onl survived fe ya sha diggine refusde th th f geo pitt ,bu these include spread limite S dth d f kerbstonedistancse o an ;th N e eth betweet sa kerbstonee nth s was 4-37 m.