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Muirhouses

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Temporary Camp (Roman)

Site Name Muirhouses

Classification Temporary Camp (Roman)

Alternative Name(s) Drum; Holland Cottage; Antonine Wall

Canmore ID 49524

Site Number NT08SW 12

NGR NT 01662 80683

Datum OSGB36 - NGR

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/49524

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

Oblique aerial view.
Oblique aerial view.Oblique aerial view.Oblique aerial view.Oblique aerial view centred on the cropmarks of the Roman temporary camp and the possible souterrain, taken from the WSW.Oblique aerial view.Oblique aerial view.Oblique aerial view.Muirhouses and Drum, oblique aerial view, taken from the WNW, centred on the cropmarks of a Roman Temporary Camp and possible souterrain. The cropmarks of an enclosure and possible coal pits are visible in the bottom left-hand corner of the photograph.Muirhouses and Drum, oblique aerial view, taken from the SW, centred on the cropmarks of a Roman Temporary Camp and possible souterrain.Oblique aerial view.Aerial view of the location of Muirhouses Roman temporary camp, taken from the SE.Muirhouses, NT08SW 12, Ordnance Survey index card, RectoMuirhouses, NT08SW 12, Ordnance Survey index card, page number 1, RectoMuirhouses, NT08SW 12, Ordnance Survey index card, RectoOblique aerial view of Muirhouses temporary Roman camp.Oblique aerial view centred on the cropmarks of the enclosure, taken from the NNW.Oblique aerial view.Oblique aerial view.Oblique aerial view.Oblique aerial view of Muirhouses centred on the cropmarks of a Roman temporary camp, taken from the E.Muirhouses, NT08SW 12, Ordnance Survey index card, page number 1, RectoOblique aerial view of Muirhouses Roman Temporary Camp, taken from the NNE.Oblique aerial view.Oblique aerial view.Oblique aerial view of Muirhouses centred on the cropmarks of a Roman temporary camp, taken from the NE.Oblique aerial view of Muirhouses centred on the cropmarks of a Roman temporary camp, taken from the NE.Oblique aerial view of Muirhouses centred on the cropmarks of a Roman temporary camp, taken from the NW.Aerial view of the location of Muirhouses Roman temporary camp, taken from the NNE.Oblique aerial view.Map showing the Antonine Wall, the World Heritage Site area, the areas of the World Heritage Site in public ownership or care, the Buffer Zone and the Council boundaries. Created for the World Heritage Site nomination - Management plan.Muirhouses and Drum, oblique aerial view, taken from the N, centred on the cropmarks of a Roman Temporary Camp and possible souterrain. The cropmarks of an enclosure and possible coal pits are visible in the bottom half of the photograph.Drum and Muirhouses, oblique aerial view, taken from the WNW, centred on the cropmarks of an enclosure and possible coal pits. The cropmarks of a Roman Temporary Camp and possible souterrain are visible in the top half of the photograph.Map 1 of 8 from IV.2 1-8 - Series 2: Maps of the Antonine Wall at a scale of 1:25000 showing the proposed World Heritage Site, known forts and fortlets, camps, other features and the buffer zones. Maps were prepared for the nomination document to propose the extension of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site through the addition of the Antonine Wall.Muirhouses and Drum, oblique aerial view, taken from the SW, centred on the cropmarks of a Roman Temporary Camp and possible souterrain.Oblique aerial view centred on the cropmarks of the Roman temporary camp and the possible souterrain, taken from the SSW.Oblique aerial view.Oblique aerial view.Oblique aerial view.Oblique aerial view.Drum and Muirhouses, oblique aerial view, taken from the S, centred on the cropmarks of an enclosure and possible coal pits. The cropmarks of a Roman Temporary Camp and possible souterrain are visible in the bottm half of the photograph.Oblique aerial view of Muirhouses centred on the cropmarks of a Roman temporary camp, taken from the SE.Aerial view of the location of Muirhouses Roman temporary camp, taken from the E.Map 1 of 8 from IV.I 1-8 - Series 1: Maps of the Antonine Wall at a scale of 1:25000 showing the proposed World Heritage Site, known forts and fortlets, camps, other features and the buffer zones. Maps were prepared for the nomination document to propose the extension of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site through the addition of the Antonine Wall.Map 1 of 39 from Series V. Maps of the Antonine Wall and its known features at a scale of 1:5000 showing the scheduled areas and the proposed World Heritage Site. Maps were prepared for the nomination document to propose the extension of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site through the addition of the Antonine Wall.Oblique aerial view centred on the cropmarks of the Roman temporary camp and the possible souterrain, taken from the SE.Oblique aerial view.Oblique aerial view.Oblique aerial view of Muirhouses centred on the cropmarks of a Roman temporary camp, taken from the SW.Aerial view of the location of Muirhouses Roman temporary camp, taken from the NNE.Oblique aerial view.Map 2 of 39 from Series V. Maps of the Antonine Wall and its known features at a scale of 1:5000 showing the scheduled areas and the proposed World Heritage Site. Maps were prepared for the nomination document to propose the extension of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site through the addition of the Antonine Wall.Antonine Wall 1:25000 broadsheet map Drum and Muirhouses, oblique aerial view, taken from the SW, centred on the cropmarks of an enclosure and possible coal pits. The cropmarks of a Roman Temporary Camp and possible souterrain are visible in the right half of the photograph.Aerial view of the location of Muirhouses Roman temporary camp, taken from the N.Muirhouses, NT08SW 12, Ordnance Survey index card, page number 2, Recto

Administrative Areas

  • Council Falkirk
  • Parish Bo'ness And Carriden
  • Former Region Central
  • Former District Falkirk
  • Former County West Lothian

Archaeology Notes

NT08SW 12 0166 8067

For possible souterrain within the area of this camp, see NT08SW 91.

NT 016 807. At Muirhouses a small Roman temporary camp has been identified. The N side, about 425ft long with a central gate, a similar length on both E and W sides, and the two rounded northern angles, showed as faint lines in a cereal crop.

(Visible on CUCAP air photograph ACC 94).

J K St Joseph 1961.

NT 0166 8067. There is nothing visible of this camp on the ground.

Site surveyed at 1:2500 scale from air photograph.

Visited by OS (B S) 12 March 1974.

Additional aerial photographs taken by the RCAHMS in 1979.

(RCAHMS WL 2015-17).

Information from OS Archaeology Branch records [1979].

Scheduled as 'Antonine Wall, Roman temporary camp 105m NNW of Holland Cottage... the buried remains of a Roman temporary camp, visible on oblique aerial photographs as cropmarks of its perimeter ditch.'

[Dated to mid-2nd century AD, and associated with the construction of the Antonine Wall and of Carriden fort (NT08SW 7.00)].

Information from Historic Scotland, scheduling document dated 23 November 2010.

Further Details

Activities

Aerial Photographic Interpretation (1961)

NT 016 807. At Muirhouses a small Roman temporary camp has been identified. The N side, about 425ft long with a central gate, a similar length on both E and W sides, and the two rounded northern angles, showed as faint lines in a cereal crop.

J K St Joseph 1961; Visible on CUCAP air photographs ACC 94.

Further Details

Aerial Photography (1968)

Further Details

Field Visit (12 March 1974)

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Revision Programme

NT 0166 8067. There is nothing visible of this camp on the ground.

Site surveyed at 1:2500 scale from air photograph.

Visited by OS (B S) 12 March 1974.

Further Details

Note (1978)

RCAHMS: The Archaeological Sites and Monuments of Clackmannan District and Falkirk District

Muirhouses NT016 807 NT08SW 12

Listed as a temporary camp.

RCAHMS 1978

(St Joseph, 1961, 122)

Further Details

Aerial Photography (31 July 1979)

Further Details

Aerial Photography (1979)

1979 RCAHMS Aerial Survey

Additional aerial photographs taken by the RCAHMS in 1979.

Visible on RCAHMS air photographs WL 2015-17.

Further Details

Aerial Photography (1986)

1986 RCAHMS Aerial Survey

Further Details

Aerial Photography (1990)

1990 RCAHMS Aerial Survey

Further Details

Aerial Photography (1991)

1991 RCAHMS Aerial Survey

Further Details

Aerial Photographic Transcription (9 March 1994)

Aerial Photographic Transcriptions

An aerial transcription was produced from oblique aerial photographs. Information from Historic Environment Scotland (BM) 31 March 2017.

Further Details

Aerial Photography (29 July 1996)

1996 RCAHMS Aerial Survey

Further Details

Aerial Photography (20 August 1997)

1997 RCAHMS Aerial Survey

Further Details

Aerial Photography (4 March 1997)

1997 RCAHMS Aerial Survey

Further Details

Aerial Photography (25 July 2006)

2006 RCAHMS Aerial Survey

Further Details

Publication Account (2008)

Antonine Wall - preparation of maps for the World Heritage Site nomination document

A 1:25000 scale map of the Antonine Wall was published by RCAHMS in 2008. The map shows the course of the Antonine Wall on a modern map base, including areas where the Wall is in public ownership or care and can be visited. The data had been collated as part of the project to prepare maps for the World Heritage Site nomination bid.

Further Details

Magnetometry (October 2009)

NT 0166 8067 A magnetic survey of the northern part of the camp and its exterior undertaken in October 2009 revealed the camp entrance, the ditch and a strong semi-circular feature of c18m diameter close to the entrance. This last feature, which appears more fully circular in the corresponding aerial photograph, has an apparent internal bank/rampart. Several anomalies were detected immediately to the N of the camp, at least some of which are probably modern.

Richard Jones – Glasgow University

Further Details

Publication Account (17 December 2011)

The camp at Muirhouses was first recorded from the air by St Joseph in 1960 (St Joseph 1961: 122), on fairly level ground just west of the village of Muirhouses. The Antonine Wall runs somewhere to the north of this camp, but its exact course here is unknown. The Roman fort of Carriden lies about 900m to the east.

The NNE side and parts of the WNW and ESE sides have been recorded through cropmarks. Although the SSW side has not been recorded, it is likely that Acre Road represents the perimeter on this side, as the road bends slightly to take in both likely corner angles. The camp measures around 162m from NNE to SSW by 137m transversely, enclosing an area of almost 2.2ha (5.4 acres). There is no definite trace of an entrance on the NNE side, but a possible entrance gap is located just north of the centre of the NNW side. St Joseph recorded a titulus in the centre of the NNE side in his planof the camp (RCAHMS St Joseph Collection: DC 39398), but this could not be confirmed in the air photographs.

R H Jones.

Further Details

References

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