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Romanno
Cultivation Terrace(S) (Period Unassigned)
Site Name Romanno
Classification Cultivation Terrace(S) (Period Unassigned)
Canmore ID 49990
Site Number NT14NE 8
NGR NT 1625 4700
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/49990
- Council Scottish Borders, The
- Parish Newlands
- Former Region Borders
- Former District Tweeddale
- Former County Peebles-shire
NT14NE 8 1625 4700.
(NT 1625 4700) Cultivation Terraces (NR)
OS 6" map (1967)
One of the best known groups of cultivation terraces in Scotland is situated on the west-facing slope that rises steeply from the left bank of the Lyne Water about 1100 yds S of Romanno Bridge. Fourteen terraces are still in good preservation, and a fragment of a fifteenth can be seen at the S end just above the modern road. The road itself has probably destroyed at least one more terrace, and there are traces of yet another on the W side of the road, beyond the N end of the main group.
At the present time the longest terrace measures 460ft but it is evident that the group as a whole is only a portion of what was once a more extensive system which has been saved by the steepness of the ground from obliteration by later cultivation and then framed by plantations as a kind of curiosity. Alexander Gordon records that in his day (1726) the terraces extended "for a whole mile, not unlike a large amphitheatre", but the existence of intervening valleys renders it unlikely that the terraces at Romanno Bridge and Whiteside Hill ever formed part of this system.
The most notable features of the Romanno terraces are the steepness of the risers and the narrowness of the treads, which give them a step-like appearance. They are not however strictly horizontal, tending to rise in the centre and fall towards both ends, nor are their measurements uniform; the treads vary in breadth from 3ft to 10ft, and the risers range from 2ft to 22ft in height. Individual risers also show considerable variation in height from one end to the other, and the southern ends of the sixth and seventh terraces actually converge. Excavation has shown the soil to be a loam with a more sandy subsoil resembling that on the adjacent unterraced hillside.
The name Romanno means the "monks rath", but in the absence of any specific evidence it is not possible to accept Watson's suggestion that the cultivation terraces owe their origin to the canons of Holyrood. RCAHMS 1967, visited 1963
An outstanding group of cultivation terraces.
Visited by OS (JTT) 24 August 1964 and (SFS) 15 October 1974
Publication Account (1985)
In 1726 Alexander Gordon wrote that these terraces extended "for a whole mile, not unlike a large amphitheatre"; and one cannot but wonder whether the fragments at Romanno Bridge (NT 162482-163483) and at Whiteside Hill (NT 163457) were not originally part of the same system.
The present group of west-facing terraces is one of the best-known in Scotland. Fourteen are still well preserved, saved from later cultivation by the steepness of the slope. They lie between 222 m and 268 m, the longest now measuring 140 m. Generally the terraces are narrow (0.9 m-3 m) and the risers steep (0.6 m-6.7 ill high). But though they appear as steps, they rise towards the centre, falling away towards each end. The sandy subsoil is similar to that on the adjacent hillside; excavation showed it to be covered, however, with a loam built up through intensive cultivation.
Though unproven, the suggestion has been made that the terraces originated with the canons of Holyrood who, in the mid 12th century, were granted a carucate of land (roughly the land worked by a team of 8 oxen during a year) together with pasturage for 1000 sheep at 'Rothmaneic'-Rath Manach, the monks' rath or farm. Certainly they are similar to the terraces on the slopes of Arthur's Seat near to the Abbey in Edinburgh. Perhaps the Romanno name and terraces relate, however, to an earlier religious settlement of the Celtic church? The terraces themselves are notoriously difficult to date, and in general terms could be anything from 300-1300 or more years old.
Nearby is the old Romanno Bridge (NT 159479) of 1774, and the former toll-house (NT 160480) built either in 1830 when the turnpike was constructed, or shortly after. In 1832, over half the revenue came from cattle droves.
Information from 'Exploring Scotland's Heritage: Lothian and Borders', (1985).
Sbc Note
Visibility: This is an upstanding earthwork or monument.
Information from Scottish Borders Council
