Publication Account

Date 17 December 2011

Event ID 885690

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Publication Account

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/885690

The camp at Auchtermuchty was first recorded from the air by St Joseph in 1962 (St Joseph 1965, 82). It lies on the east side of the village of Auchtermuchty, some 7km south-east of the fort and camps at Carpow, and about 11km west of the camp at Edenwood. Parts of all four sides have been recorded over the years, indicating that the camp measured some 601m from north-west to south-east by 408m transversely, enclosing some 23.5ha (58 acres). A gap in the cropmark on the south-east side may represent the position of an entrance gap, but no other entrances are known. A possible annexe or attached camp is visible on its south-west side, lying to the west of the probable entrance. Here, a narrow ditch is visible running south-east at right-angles to the camp ditch, and a further narrow ditch is discernible in the neighbouring field, suggesting the possible south-east side of the annexe, with hints of a possible entrance gap and a titulus. The annexe measures some 106m by at least 100m, enclosing a minimum of 1.23ha

The camp has been subjected to numerous small-scale excavations and watching briefs, with the excavated ditch recorded as V-shaped, measuring 2.35-3m wide and 0.6-1.5m deep (RCAHMS St Joseph Collection: Notebook 3; St Joseph 1965, 82; Cachart and Williams 1992; Duffy 1993, 183). A watching brief in 1992 on the probable line of the south-west side of the camp recorded a round-bottomed ditch which measured 2.35m wide and 0.6m deep. The ditch had a small piece of medieval pottery in its fill, although the excavators interpreted the ditch as belonging to the Roman camp (Cachart and Williams 1992).

R H Jones 2011