Border - Crawford - Inveresk (?)

NY17NE 26 1999 7712 to 1652 7999 RR 1.

Formerly RR 7f.

OS 6-inch 1st ed. map shows ROMAN ROAD as extant running across this 1:10,000 plan, Name Books noting 'The pavement can be seen nearly the whole way'.

OS 6-inch map, Dumfriesshire, 1st ed. (1862), sheet 11; Name Books, Dumfriesshire.

The road crosses a large meadow (NY 2005 7707 to NY 1978 7732) and enters the next field at the gate in the fence between the two (at NY 1978 7732). For the first 30 yds beyond the gate occasional cobbles are seen amongst the turf, and a faint mound is visible a little further on, crossing the field on the OS line. In 1924 road-bottoming was exposed for a width of three paces in a newly cut drain on the N side of this field. The lane to Relief Cottages is crossed at NY 1953 7754. There are no traces of the road in the fields adjacent to Relief farm, but the Roman road is converging with the modern road to Burnswark, and the last field before they join, the course is certain, for O G S Crawford observed in 1924 that new drains revealed road-metalling along the plotted line; stones of different sizes were found packed together, whereas ditches elsewhere in the field exposed only a few stray boulders. The Roman and modern roads joined at NY 1909 7793, and they diverge again at NY 1881 7816, the Roman road turning W; it has served as a field-road yet the hump of the agger, 7 or 8 yds wide, is still prominent for some distance. A wall follows its S edge. At NY 1876 7819 the slope is broken by digging for gravel or road-metal. Little

or nothing that is Roman remains opposite Burnswark Cottage (NY 186 782). The Roman line then passes under the wall (in course of removal in 1939) round an old plantation. Here, and for 10 yds beyond the plantation, the agger is very well preserved, some 24 ft wide; both ditches are visible, that on the N very distinct. For the next 50 yds there is a slight cutting for the road on the N side to maintain a more level surface. Some 70 yds from the plantation, the road turns to NW, running towards Courstein. For the next half mile the agger is well preserved, though often sunk in boggy ground. This sector was clearly visible from the air in 1939 as a long belt of parched grass. About 25 yds of the Roman causeway remain on either side of Gimmenbie Burn (NY 1769 7892). On the S bank, the side ditches are enlarged to hollow tracks, while on the N the agger ascends the bank in a slight cutting, running into the field beyond the burn, where it measures 8 yds between ditch-centres. The road is visible across the rest of this field as a very faint, low mound (NY 1766 7894 - NY 1747 7912). The agger is then very clear for 90 yds across the corner of an arable field (NY 1747 7912 - NY 1743 7911) and into the adjoining field, which it enters 40 yds W of the fence junction. There is little or no trace in the next few fields, but the gate at NY 1708 7947 is exactly on line. Beyond the old grass track to Mosshead (NY 1701 7954) the ground rises, and the road is visible for 200 yds as a slight shelf some 22 ft wide, ascending the hill obliquely. A few quarry-pits occur to S of the road near the obtuse angle of a plantation (NY 1688 7965). The road-mound appears intermittently in a straight line running towards the top of the hill, and at the summit, its E side is overlain by mound NY17NE 1 (at NY 1665 7986). The road is seen again at the N end of the same field; some modern digging is seen close beside it on the W. Macdonald describes a road-section hereabouts which exposed 18ft of metalling with a camber of 6ins; both kerbs and side-ditches were absent. The same alignment continues to sheet edge.

J Macdonald 1894; J K St Joseph 1952; I D Margary 1957.

NY 1909 7712 - NY 1859 7826 No trace.

NY 1859 7826 - NY 1820 7845 Extant.

NY 1820 7845 - NY 1814 7851 Mound here may represent agger, but mutilated by ditches.

NY 1814 7851 - NY 1774 7889 Course of road visible in places as a slight mound mutilated by drainage ditches and field banks.

NY 1774 7889 - NY 1771 7891 Extant.

NY 1771 7891 - NY 1766 7894 No trace.

NY 1766 7894 - NY 1764 7897 Extant.

NY 1764 7897 - NY 1747 7912 No trace.

NY 1747 7912 - NY 1743 7911 SW scarp of agger visible.

NY 1743 7911 - NY 1701 7954 No trace.

NY 1701 7954 - NY 1677 7976 Vague terrace.

NY 1677 7976 - NY 1665 7986 No trace.

NY 1665 7986 - NY 1655 7996 Course of road faintly visible, and skirts mound NY17 NE1 on its NE side.

NY 1655 7996 - NY 1652 7999 No trace.

Visited by OS (WDJ) 26 May 1966.