Geophysical Survey

Date 2010

Event ID 881221

Category Recording

Type Geophysical Survey

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/881221

NO 1251 3971 The work begun in 2009 (DES 2009, 145) was continued. The die-back of undergrowth during the winter made it possible to conduct a magnetic survey of the so called ‘Stores Compound’ or ‘Redoubt’ to the E of the legionary fortress. The presence of trees and bushes still forced gaps in the coverage and made resistance surveying impractical, but a reasonable image was obtained. The defences showed clearly, but no internal structures were detected, apart from slight banding at right angles to the NW ditch, that might represent rig or modern drainage. It is not unusual for a geophysical survey to fail to show internal buildings on turf

and timber built sites, but the clarity with which the fortress buildings were revealed by the same instrument, just to the W in 2009, suggests that the absence of evidence here may be significant, especially as it fits well with the small scale trenching done in the compound’s interior during the

Richmond excavations, which also located no structures, apart from small gullies. To the SW of the fortress, a further area of the large (19.9ha)

temporary camp interior was surveyed. This revealed a good deal of pitting, a clear trace of the so called ‘Vallum’ ditch and an extension of a former carriage drive, connected with Delvine House, which is visible on the surface in the fortress field itself. All of this enhances data already known from the air, and fieldwalking continued to find extensive spreads of

lead working debris and other finds both inside and outside the camp.

At the SW end of the Inchtuthil plateau, a second enclosure has been seen from the air which has been taken to be a much smaller temporary camp, estimated at only 0.94ha. The camp was surveyed in its entirety, except for a small area at the NE corner, which was planted with a cover crop and inaccessible. It proved to be slightly smaller still at c125 x 70m (0.87ha).

The N, S and W ditches were detected clearly, but no trace of an entrance break was found in any of them. Nor were other camp entrance features, such as tituli, revealed. Moreover, the enclosure appeared to be entirely open to the E, with no sign of either an E ditch, or a turn at the eastern end of the S ditch to form a corner. The site shows poorly from the air (unlike the large camp), but what data has been obtained bears out the impression gained from the survey image. A resistance survey is planned, to make a further search for the E ditch but, on present evidence, there must now be some doubt as to whether this is a Roman camp.

Archive: The Roman Gask Project

Funder: The Roman Research Trust