Field Visit
Date August 1980
Event ID 1136773
Category Recording
Type Field Visit
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1136773
Raeburnfoot NY 251 990 NY29NE 5
Situated on the level summit of a low hillock overlooking the confluence of the River White Esk and the Rae Burn, some 90m SW of Raeburnfoot farmhouse, there are the well-preserved remains of a small Roman fort. Measuring about 73m by 64m internally, it was defended by a turf rampart (up to 8.2m thick and 1m high) and two ditches; there are two entrances, directly opposed, on the NNW and SSE respectively. The fort lies within a roughly rectangular enclosure - presumably an annexe - measuring 165m by at least 110m within a single ditch and rampart; the defences of both fort and annexe have been truncated on the W by the erosion of the steep scarp above the River White Esk. Excavation in 1959-60 revealed that the interior of the fort contained a number of timber buildings and cobbled streets, but the plan, as far as it could be seen, was not that of a standard fort. There was apparently only one occupation, in the Antonine period. The finds from this and earlier excavations are in Dumfries Museum (DUMFM 1934/68, 1963/10).
RCAHMS 1980, visited August 1980
(RCAHMS 1920, pp. 68-70, No. 172; Robertson 1961; 1964, 198)
