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Little Clyde

Temporary Camp (Roman)

Site Name Little Clyde

Classification Temporary Camp (Roman)

Canmore ID 47314

Site Number NS91NE 7

NGR NS 9940 1595

NGR Description Centred NS 9940 1595

Datum OSGB36 - NGR

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/47314

Ordnance Survey licence number AC0000807262. All rights reserved.
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Digital Images

Administrative Areas

  • Council South Lanarkshire
  • Parish Crawford
  • Former Region Strathclyde
  • Former District Clydesdale
  • Former County Lanarkshire

Activities

Field Visit (11 August 1959)

NS91NE 7 centred 9940 1595.

(NS 9940 1595) Roman Camp (R)

OS 6" map (1962)

This temporary camp was in a similar condition when seen in 1959.

Surveyed at 1:10,560.

Visited by OS (WDJ) 11 August 1959

Field Visit (June 1971)

NS 994 159. Roman Temporary Camp, Little Clyde: The farmstead of Little Clyde, situated at a height of about 325m OD on the watershed between the Evan Water and the Clydes Burn, lies wholly within the perimeter of a temporary camp, which is the best preserved Roman work in the country. Although the ground occupied by the camp is reasonably level and conveniently close to the Roman road (RR 7f) it suffers the disadvantage of being traversed by two streams, both of which run in steep-sided gullies. The camp, which is nevertheless almost exactly rectangular on plan, measures 440m from E to W by 290m within the defences, enclosing an area of 12.7 ha (31.4 acres). Most of the N half of the circuit can still be traced on the ground, the rampart being 3.0m in average thickness and 0.7m in greatest height, while the ditch, probably rock-cut in places, is 2.1m wide and only 0.3m deep. Cultivation has levelled the rest of the circuit, apart from the SE corner with portions of the adjacent sides, a short stretch of the S side and the SW corner.

Two gates have been identified on the N side, each protected by a titulum (R G Collingwood and M V Taylor 1924), although the easternmost cannot now be clearly distinguished. The former existence of four more gates may be assumed, two in corresponding positions on the S side, and the others near the centres of the E and W sides.

RCAHMS 1978, visited June 1971

This temporary camp was in a similar condition when seen in 1959.

Surveyed at 1:10,560.

Visited by OS (WDJ) 11 August 1959

NS 995 162. Work in the vicinity of Little Clyde Roman camp was monitored during the construction of the North West Ethylene Pipeline. The pipeline passed through the scheduled area several metres E of the upstanding Roman remains. The excavated trench was c2m wide and 2m deep.

Outside the scheduled area, topsoil was observed to a depth of 0.3m along the trench. Below this lies a brown sandy soil, 0.3m in depth. EWithin the scheduled area, near to the camp, the topsoil increased to 0.6m in depth and contained more stones. The brown sandy layer was absent here, topsoil lying directly over a clayey subsoil. No features of archaeological significance were recorded. Extensive traces of earlier ground disturbance were recorded in the trench, caused by forestry ploughing, track construction, the nearby gas pipeline and drainage trenches. Some of this ground disturbance extended into the scheduled area.

Sponsor: Shell Chemicals UK.

CFA 1992.

Watching brief NS 994 159 An overhead power line upgrade between Glenslack and Harthorpe crossed the Scheduled area of Little Clyde Roman camp (NS91NE 7) and Roman road (NS91NE 29 and 30). Archaeological works were undertaken in March 2005, involving the monitoring of the machine-excavation of one post-trench and the hand-excavation of four other post-trenches and associated stray trenches. No significant archaeological features were encountered, although two small undiagnostic sherds of pink fabric ceramic were recovered.

Archive to be deposited in NMRS.

Sponsor: PLPC.

D Wilson and Martin Cook 2005

Aerial Photography (1990)

Watching Brief (1992)

NS 995 162. Work in the vicinity of Little Clyde Roman camp was monitored during the construction of the North West Ethylene Pipeline. The pipeline passed through the scheduled area several metres E of the upstanding Roman remains. The excavated trench was c2m wide and 2m deep.

Outside the scheduled area, topsoil was observed to a depth of 0.3m along the trench. Below this lies a brown sandy soil, 0.3m in depth. Within the scheduled area, near to the camp, the topsoil increased to 0.6m in depth and contained more stones. The brown sandy layer was absent here, topsoil lying directly over a clayey subsoil. No features of archaeological significance were recorded. Extensive traces of earlier ground disturbance were recorded in the trench, caused by forestry ploughing, track construction, the nearby gas pipeline and drainage trenches. Some of this ground disturbance extended into the scheduled area.

Sponsor: Shell Chemicals UK.

CFA 1992.

Watching Brief (March 2005)

Watching brief NS 994 159 An overhead power line upgrade between Glenslack and Harthorpe crossed the Scheduled area of Little Clyde Roman camp (NS91NE 7) and Roman road (NS91NE 29 and 30). Archaeological works were undertaken in March 2005, involving the monitoring of the machine-excavation of one post-trench and the hand-excavation of four other post-trenches and associated stray trenches. No significant archaeological features were encountered, although two small undiagnostic sherds of pink fabric ceramic were recovered.

Archive to be deposited in NMRS.

Sponsor: PLPC.

D Wilson and Martin Cook 2005

Trial Trench (6 November 2006 - 7 November 2006)

NS 992 158 The hand excavation of three small archaeological trenches were undertaken on 6-7

November 2006 in relation to alterations to an existing 11000 volt electricity overhead line and underground service cable. The excavations were within the boundaries of the scheduled ancient monument of Little Clyde Roman Temporary Camp (NS91NE 7). No archaeological features or deposits were located.

Archive to be deposited with RCAHMS. Report deposited with WoSAS, RCAHMS and Historic Scotland

Funder: Scottish Power.

D Sneddon 2006

Publication Account (17 December 2011)

First recorded through ground survey by Crawford in 1924 (Collingwood and Taylor 1924: 207), the camp at Little Clyde still survives as an upstanding earthwork on the line of the Roman road between Annandale and the Upper Clyde. It measures 434m from east to west by 288m and enclosed 12.5ha (almost 31 acres). An upstanding titulus is visible in the north side, and Crawford reported a second titulus on this side (Collingwood & Taylor 1924: 207), but this one can no longer be discerned on the ground. The upstanding rampart of the camp survives to a height of some 0.7m and is spread some 3m wide, with the accompanying ditch 0.3m in depth and 2.1m in width. RCAHMS recorded that the ditch may have been rockcut in places (1978a: 134).

R H Jones.

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