Abstract
A FURTHER effort to settle the question of the number and character of the occupations of the Roman fort of Birrens, near Ecclefechan, Scotland, is being made by excavations now proceeding in charge of Mr. Eric Birley, of the University of Durham. The problem to be solved is whether the occupation of the fort was part of the organization of the Antonine Vallum, as Sir George Macdonald ha& suggested, or whether it is to be related to Hadrian's-Wall, as the Dere Street forts to the east recently have been shown to be by Mr. Ian Richmond's excavations. Two periods of occupation separated by a destruction were demonstrated in 1925 by excavation, but the examination of the stratification was not, nor was it intended to be, exhaustive. Search for further evidence is now being made, and with this object excavations are proceeding at two points down to the subsoil for a thorough examination of the stratification and the pottery. Up to the present, a section in the retentura of the fort, it is reported in The Times of August 10, has shown that a wooden building and two of stone preceded the two periods, of which evidence was found in excavations made in 1895. The wooden structure is assigned to the latter part of the first century and it is said that traces of Agricola have been found; while the two stone periods which follow are thought to belong to the Antonine occupation. Under the earlier of the two periods previously known, two vessels have been discovered, for which there are parallels from Hadrian's Wall. A second excavation in the prcetentura has been more fruitful as a source of pottery and other finds, including a large piece of a cut-glass bowl, of which a fragment was found in 1895. Excavation at the west gate has exposed what is described as “the worst Roman masonry so far found in Scotland”.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Frontier System in Roman Scotland. Nature 138, 279 (1936). https://doi.org/10.1038/138279b0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/138279b0