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Publication Account
Date 1985
Event ID 1016617
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Publication Account
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1016617
This fortlet is one of a series of stations situated along the course of the main Roman road leading from the Wend of Hadrian's Wall to west central Scotland. Unlike the present A 74, which follows the floor of the Evan and Clyde Valleys, the Roman road avoided the low-lying ground, preferring a higher course to the east.
The fortlet is situated to the south of the Roman road, which runs along the forest boundary at this point. It is rectangular with rounded angles and measures 19.8m by 17.4m within a rampart 5.5m thick and 0.3m in height. There is a single entrance, 4m wide, at the centre of the north side, from which a metalled trackway leads to the main Roman road. The more vulnerable east and south sides of the fortlet are protected by twin ditches, while on the west, where the Redshaw Bum forms a natural defence, only a single ditch was dug. At a date after the initial construction of the fortlet, an additional length of rampart and ditch was built running from the cliff above the Redshaw Bum and across the line of the earlier trackway. This provided an enclosure which probably served as a wagon park for vehicles moving up and down the road.
Information from ‘Exploring Scotland’s Heritage: The Clyde Estuary and Central Region’, (1985).
