Archaeology Notes
Event ID 701758
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Archaeology Notes
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/701758
NS47SE 12 4953 7264
See also NS47SE 83.00.
(NS 4953 7264) Roman Fort (site of)
OS 6" map (1957)
Roman fort - Golden Hill, Duntocher. Exploratory trenches cut in 1933 by Mr John Clarke revealed that the ramparts of the fort were probably of turf and not stone.
G Macdonald 1934
The fort was re-located by trenching in 1948 and further excavations between 1949-51 revealed its entire Antonine plan and the course of the Antonine Wall across Golden Hill Park.
The earliest structure was a fortlet 60ft square internally defended by a turf rampart set on a 12ft wide stone foundation and a surrounding ditch. Later, an irregularly shaped fort of only circa 1/2 acre internal area was added to the east side, the fortlet then serving as a small military enclosure. The fort was also defended by turf rampart set on a stone foundation, and by 3 ditches on the east, and south sides. An annexe with an internal area of almost twice that of the fort, adjoined it on the west. A central stone building of more than one period and two sets of barrack block post holes were found within the fort and building post holes were found in the fortlet.
The finds, all 2nd century, are with the Hunterian Museum, Glasgow. A full excavation report and early biblographic history are given by Robertson.
A S Robertson 1957
The site of the fort is now occupied by a park and football pitch and the surface has been so disturbed as to make it impossible to identify any features.
Visited by OS (DS) 17 January 1957
Air photographs show Golden Hill and vague vegetation mark detail of the fort and fortlet. In 1977-8 the stone base of the fortlet was exposed on behalf of Clydebank District Council, and in 1979 the Council created a "Roman Garden" north west of the fort.
A S Robertson 1979
No change to report of OS (DS). The recent exposures of the fortlet wall have been back filled, but a surrounding protection fence remains. There are no known plans for Clydebank District Council to permanently display or mark the site (information from D Breeze, Historic Scotland, December 1980).
The "Roman Garden" is an ornamental flower bed at NS 4958 7274. Sites of Fortlet and Fort re-surveyed at 1:1250.
Visited by OS (JRL) 19 December 1980
Possible pottery kiln.
D J Breeze 1987
A study of utilitarian pottery from the Antonine Wall has distinguished small numbers of locally made vessels with North African affinities at nine or 10 forts. Similar vessels at Chester and others made by Legio XX at the Holt works depot, one with a potter's graffito in neo-Punic, suggest the presence of North Africans. Detachments sent from Britain to Pius' Mauretanian war of AD 146-9 may have brought North Africans back with them to Britain (possibly including legionary recruits or transfers, and Moorish irregulars or levies). At the western sector of the Antonine Wall, changes in the legionary work-stints may be linked to troop reductions for the war, as the mural barrier and Bearsden and Duntocher fort interiors were still unfinished. After the conflict, Bearsden and Duntocher were each partitioned to make an annexe and their internal buildings re-planned and completed; a programme of annexe construction began at other forts, and secondary alterations were made to many existing fort interiors. All may be connected with changes in units or in the composition of the returning garrisons, now perhaps mixed and augmented with small numbers of North African troops. Possible epigraphic evidence is examined.
V Swan 1999.
Scheduled with length of Antoinine Wall [from NS 4940 7278 to NS 4960 7264] as Antonine Wall, Golden Hill Park Roman fort, annexe and bathhouse.
Information from Historic Scotland, scheduling document dated 2 February 1999.
NS 494 728 An archaeological evaluation was undertaken in November 2004 as the line of the Antonine Wall and its associated ditch might cross the SW edge of the site. The Roman fort of Golden Hill Park and its related bathhouse lie directly to the S. A total of 64m2 was investigated by means of evaluation trenches, though test pits were necessary in most areas to reach natural alluvial deposits. Modern made ground was identified to the S of the site, while made ground of 20th-century date and redeposited natural alluvial deposits associated with the burn were revealed in the N and E. No significant archaeological features or deposits were encountered.
Archive to be deposited in the NMRS.
Sponsor: Stuart McElney.
M Roy 2004
Features associated with the Antonine Wall (NS47SE 83) and the Antonine period fortlet, fort and annexe (NS47SE 12) have been identified in gradiometer data captured within Golden Hill Park.
The line of the Antonine Wall (NS47SE 83) follows that depicted on the 2022 edition of the digital OS MasterMap, running from NW to SE though Golden Hill Park. In the NW of the park the ditch has been recorded as a single linear negative anomaly 4.3m across. This splits into three ditches at the N corner of the annexe of Duntocher fort (NS47SE 12). This triple-ditch system extends for a distance of 139m to the S boundary of the park. The outer (NE) ditch measures 3m across, the central ditch 3m and the inner ditch 4.1m. The ditches are separated by berms 4.1m across. Causeways are visible across all three ditches.
Some 6.3m SW of the inner ditch a pair of narrow negative linear trends, set 5.5m apart, run parallel with the Antonine ditches. This conforms to the expected width of the Antonine Wall rampart base and so can be interpreted as surviving elements of the rampart. A series of discrete positive anomalies recorded on the berm between the inner ditch and the rampart may represent defensive pits called cippi.
The fortlet, fort and annexe (NS47SE 12) abut the Antonine Wall triple-ditch system (NS47SE 83). The fortlet (NS 49579 72684) is considered to pre-date the fort and annexe. It is visible as a square enclosure formed by a weak linear trend, representing the outer ditch of the fortlet, surrounding a 5.5m broad band of dipolar anomalies enclosing an area measuring 15.9m across. This response is caused by the buried rampart base. A series of positive linear anomalies within the fortlet appear to align with the ramparts and may relate to internal structures.
The NE defences of the fort and annexe are formed by the triple-ditch system of the Antonine Wall (NS27SE 83) described above, while the ditches of the SW defences have been recorded as three negative linear responses some 55m to the SW. The inner (NE) ditch of the SW defences measures 2.7m across, the central ditch 2.1m and the outer ditch 3m. No causeways across the ditches can be identified. The SE rampart has been partially detected at the S extent of the park as a negative linear anomaly 8.6m in length and extending from NE to SW from the NE rampart of the fort. The NW defences have not been detected.
The enclosed area is divided into fort and annexe by a rampart represented by a pair of weak negative linear trends. These trends extend from SW to NE from the S ditches of the fort towards the S corner of the fortlet. There are a small number of discrete positive anomalies visible between the linear trends, probably representing stones forming the base of the rampart.
What may be the remains of buildings have been recorded within both the fort and annexe. Within the SW section of the fort, negative and positive linear trends interspersed with discrete positive anomalies form a broadly rectangular pattern measuring 24m from NE to SW by 7m. These correspond with the location of a building identified during excavations in the 1950s (Robertson 1957: 14 & 15 figure 4) and may relate to the remains of this building, although they could also be an artefact of the excavation process. Similar negative and positive linear trends within the SW section of the annexe share a similar alignment and may also represent the remains of buildings.
Information from HES Archaeological Survey (N. Hannon), 22 June 2022.
