Archaeology Notes

Event ID 704120

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Archaeology Notes

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/704120

NS77NW 32 70700 75750

Situated immediately S of the Roman fort on Bar Hill (NS77NW 8). First noted on aerial photographs and confirmed by excavation. The ditch on the E side has been located; this turned W short of the fort, but the N side could be traced for only 25m, beyond which it may have been destroyed by mine-working or have turned. The S side, indicated on aerial photographs, was marked by a hollow not certainly man-made, and the W side could not be located. The topography suggests an enclosure of c.0.6ha (1.48 acres), but the camp could have extended further to W and S.

RCAHMS 1982; L Keppie and J Walker 1982; 1983; S Frere 1985

Excavation took place between October 1982 and February 1984. The ditch was located without difficulty as the S end can be seen as a shallow dip. The ditch, 2m wide and 0.5 to 0.7m deep, runs to the NW (towards the fort) before turning at right angles to the W, where it was followed for 25m; thereafter its course could not be established. The ditch may have been disturbed by mine workings as a pit shaft is visible nearby and a spread of cinders and coal was found overlying the natural clay in trenches close to this disturbance. It seemed reasonable to conclude that the ditch formed part of the defences of a temporary camp lying immediately SW of the fort (NS77NW 8).

L J F Keppie and J J Walker 1990