Edinburgh, Cramond Roman Fort

NT17NE 3.03 1894 7673

NT 1894 7673. Excavation was carried out in October 1995 in advance of development within an area though to contain both the outer Roman fort ditch and the road leading from the S gate. Two trenches and two test pits were excavated.

Trench A: measured 10.8m by 1.4m, and confirmed the existence of the Roman road running southwards from the S fort gate. The road itself was in a poor state of preservation having suffered from robbing, with only a single layer of metalling surviving. The trench produced small quantities of Roman and Medieval pottery as well as several struck lithics, some certainly Mesolithic in character.

Trench B: measured 9.5m by 1.5m. The W edge of a Roman ditch was excavated, running N-S along the length of the E baulk. An extension trench showed that the ditch was V-shaped in profile 2.0m wide by 0.95m deep with a central 'ankle-breaker', producing Roman Grey Ware from the main fill. This ditch is not on the same alignment as the known fort, and may be of an earlier fort, possibly Flavian. The expected outer ditch of the Antonine/Severan fort did not occur on its projected alignment, though the S edge of a ditch was located further N under the N baulk.

The main N-S Roman Ditch cut through a linear feature, possibly prehistoric, 1.08m by 0.14m running NE-SW across the S end of the trench, which was associated with two small pits close by. This later (sic) ditch produced two struck lithics.

Sponsor: City of Edinburgh District Council Archaeology Service

J A Lawson 1995.