Eastermains, Kirkintilloch
Distance Slab(S) (Roman)
Site Name Eastermains, Kirkintilloch
Classification Distance Slab(S) (Roman)
Alternative Name(s) Inchbelly
Canmore ID 45202
Site Number NS67SE 13
NGR NS 668 748
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/45202
- Council East Dunbartonshire
- Parish Kirkintilloch (Strathkelvin)
- Former Region Strathclyde
- Former District Strathkelvin
- Former County Dunbartonshire
NS67SE 13 c.668 748.
'A': A Roman distance slab is said to have been found about 1740, a little W of Inchbelly Bridge (NS 668 749). It was donated to the Hunterian Museum about 1744. Its inscription reads: "IMP . CAESARI . T . AELIO . HADRIANO . ANTONINO . AVG . PIO . P . P . VEXILLA . LEG . VI . VIC . P . F . PER . M . P". It measures 5ft 2ins x 2ft 6ins.
'B': A second slab is said to have been found in 1789 in the centre of the Antonine ditch at Eastermains, close to where slab 'A' was found. Its inscription reads: "LEG . XX . V . V . FEC . M . P . IIICCC . IV". This is the only inscription from the wall from the wall which mentions not just a detachment, but the 20th legion as a whole. The fact that the slab was found lying in the ditch suggests that it was almost in situ. It measures 1ft 11 1/4ins x 1ft 5ins.
The slabs commemorate the completion of adjacent lengths of the wall by different sets of soldiers.
G Macdonald 1934
The precise provenance of these slabs is unknown, but from their inscriptions and description of find spots they would have come from approximately NS 668 748.
Information from A S Robertson, Hunterian Museum to OS, 10 January 1957.
Antiquarian Observation (1740)
'A': A Roman distance slab is said to have been found about 1740, a little W of Inchbelly Bridge (NS 668 749). It was donated to the Hunterian Museum about 1744. Its inscription reads: "IMP . CAESARI . T . AELIO . HADRIANO . ANTONINO . AVG . PIO . P . P . VEXILLA . LEG . VI . VIC . P . F . PER . M . P". It measures 5ft 2ins x 2ft 6ins.
Antiquarian Observation (1789)
'B': A second slab is said to have been found in 1789 in the centre of the Antonine ditch at Eastermains, close to where slab 'A' was found. Its inscription reads: "LEG . XX . V . V . FEC . M . P . IIICCC . IV". This is the only inscription from the wall from the wall which mentions not just a detachment, but the 20th legion as a whole. The fact that the slab was found lying in the ditch suggests that it was almost in situ. It measures 1ft 11 1/4ins x 1ft 5ins.
Publication Account (1934)
The slabs commemorate the completion of adjacent lengths of the wall by different sets of soldiers.
G Macdonald 1934
Field Visit (10 January 1957)
The precise provenance of these slabs is unknown, but from their inscriptions and description of find spots they would have come from approximately NS 668 748.
Information from A S Robertson, Hunterian Museum to OS, 10 January 1957.
