Balmuildy

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Balmuildy
Balmuildy Bridge - geograph.org.uk - 56824.jpg
Balmuildy Bridge, modern road bridge near the Glaswegian section of the Antonine Wall
Place in the Roman world
Province Britannia
Structure
— Stone structure —
Location
TownGlasgow
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
Site notes
ConditionRuined

Balmuildy is the site of a Roman fort on the Antonine Wall in Scotland. [1] It is one of only two forts on the Antonine Wall to have been found with stone ramparts; the other is Castlecary. [2] A digital reconstruction of the fort has been created. [3]

Contents

Location

Balmuildy Bridge looking south towards Glasgow from the air Balmuildy Bridge from the air (geograph 2988005).jpg
Balmuildy Bridge looking south towards Glasgow from the air

The fort is located in Glasgow, west of Bishopbriggs and east of Bearsden, south of the River Kelvin and north of the Forth and Clyde Canal. The fort was just south of the River Kelvin and north-west of Easter Balmuildy Farm which locates it within Glasgow City Council's borders, close to East Dunbartonshire to the east. [4] Its neighbouring forts are Bearsden to the west and Cadder to the east although there are intermediate fortlets at Summerston to the west and Wilderness Plantation to the east. [5] See map below for details.

Context

Forts and Fortlets associated with the Antonine Wall from west to east: Bishopton, Old Kilpatrick, Duntocher, Cleddans, Castlehill, Bearsden, Summerston, Balmuildy, Wilderness Plantation, Cadder, Glasgow Bridge, Kirkintilloch, Auchendavy, Bar Hill, Croy Hill, Westerwood, Castlecary, Seabegs, Rough Castle, Camelon, Watling Lodge, Falkirk, Mumrills, Inveravon, Kinneil, Carriden Antonine.Wall.Roman.forts.jpg
Forts and Fortlets associated with the Antonine Wall from west to east: Bishopton, Old Kilpatrick, Duntocher, Cleddans , Castlehill, Bearsden, Summerston , Balmuildy, Wilderness Plantation , Cadder, Glasgow Bridge , Kirkintilloch, Auchendavy, Bar Hill, Croy Hill, Westerwood, Castlecary, Seabegs , Rough Castle, Camelon, Watling Lodge , Falkirk, Mumrills, Inveravon, Kinneil , Carriden
A statue to Mars Ultor has been scanned and a video produced. Romanfortatbalmu00mill orig 0143 Mars.png
A statue to Mars Ultor has been scanned and a video produced.

Balmuildy Castro was constructed between 142 and 154 AD at the order of Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius. [7] Quintus Lollius Urbicus, governor of Roman Britain at the time, initially supervised the effort. It was one of sixteen forts built to support the Antonine Wall, with small fortlets between them; troop movement was facilitated by a road linking all the sites known as the Military Way. Antoninus Pius never visited Britain, whereas his predecessor Hadrian did. Pressure from the Caledonians may have led Antoninus to send the empire's troops further north. The wall, and Balmuildy, was abandoned only eight years after completion, and the garrisons relocated back to Hadrian's Wall. In 208 Emperor Septimius Severus re-established legions at the wall and ordered repairs; this has led to the wall being referred to as the Severan Wall. The occupation ended a few years later, and the wall was not occupied again. [8]

Most Roman forts along the wall held garrisons of around 500 men. [9] Larger forts like Castlecary and Birrens had a nominal cohort of 1,000 men [10] but probably sheltered women and children [11] as well, although the troops were not allowed to marry. [12] It is likely that there were large communities of civilians around the site. [13]

Romanfortatbalmu00mill orig 0135 01 RIB2192a.png
RIB 2192 part a: capricorn's beard
Romanfortatbalmu00mill orig 0131 RIB2192bcd.png
parts b, c and d: partial inscription
Romanfortatbalmu00mill orig 0135.png
RIB 2192. part e: Legionary bearing vexillum and documents. Video. [14]
RIB 2192. Honorific Building Inscription of the Second Legion. [15]

Descriptions and finds

RIB 2191. Honorific Building Inscription of the Second Legion. George MacDonald calls in no. 27 in the 2nd edition of his book The Roman Wall in Scotland. It has been scanned and a video produced. Romanwallinscotl00macduoft raw 0421Lollius.png
RIB 2191. Honorific Building Inscription of the Second Legion. George MacDonald calls in no. 27 in the 2nd edition of his book The Roman Wall in Scotland. It has been scanned and a video produced.

The site was excavated by Steuart Napier Miller who wrote about it in his 1922 volume: The Roman fort at Balmuildy (Summerston, near Glasgow) on the Antonine Wall. [19] Sir George Macdonald also described the site in the 1934 in The Roman wall in Scotland. [20] The related site of Summerston was written about by J. M. Davidson in 1937. [21]

An altar to Fortuna was found in one of the fort's bath houses similar to the one found at Castlecary. [22] There was also an altar dedicated to Mars found along with some statues. [23] A dedication to a building by the Second Legion was found although the stone had been repurposed by farmers. [24] Fragments of another stone by the same legion were also discovered. [25] Part has been scanned and a video produced. [26] All of these finds are now in the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow. [27] Other discoveries include: a door hinge plate, [28] a terracotta bath house drainpipe, [29] a holdfast to stick tiles to the bath house wall, [30] a perfume pot, [31] an unguent pot, [32] a Samian ware platter, [33] and a clay cheese press. [34] An oil lamp [35] and a surgical probe [36] have also been scanned to video.

Romanfortatbalmu00mill orig 0137.png
RIB 2189. Altar dedicated to Fortuna. [37]
Romanfortatbalmu00mill orig 0143 RIB2190.png
RIB 2190. [38] Altar dedicated to Mars
Romanfortatbalmu00mill orig 0141.png
fragment of figure of Victory

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Summerston</span> Human settlement in Scotland

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duntocher</span> Human settlement in Scotland

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quintus Lollius Urbicus</span> 2nd century senator, military commander and governor

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Kilpatrick</span> Human settlement in Scotland

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cadder</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Cadder is a district of the town of Bishopbriggs, East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It is located 7 km north of Glasgow city centre, 0.5 km south of the River Kelvin, and approximately 1.5 km north-east of Bishopbriggs town centre, sited on the route of the Forth and Clyde Canal. There is a Glasgow council housing scheme of a similar name, generally pronounced Cawder, in the district of Lambhill some 3 miles (5 km) to the south-west along the Canal, which was built in the early 1950s. Similarly, within Cadder, there is Cawder Golf Club, which also uses that original pronunciation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Twechar</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Twechar is a small former mining village historically in Dunbartonshire and administered by the council area of East Dunbartonshire, Scotland close to the boundary with North Lanarkshire. It lies between the larger towns of Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch. The Forth and Clyde Canal runs close to the village to the north, and closely follows the line of the Antonine Wall. There are visible remains of the wall on Bar Hill and the Roman Fort is a local tourist attraction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rough Castle Fort</span>

Rough Castle Fort is a Roman fort on the Antonine Wall roughly 2 kilometres south east of Bonnybridge near Tamfourhill in the Falkirk council area, Scotland. It is owned by the National Trust for Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castlecary</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Castlecary is a small historic village in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, directly adjacent to the border with Falkirk. It has long been associated with infrastructure, being adjacent to a bridged river, a Roman fort and roads, a nationwide canal, a Victorian railway viaduct, and a modern motorway. Castlecary is close to the town of Cumbernauld but like Dullatur and Luggiebank is not officially part of the town. Around 1725, the barony of Castlecary, with a population of just seventeen families, was disjoined from the parish of Falkirk, and annexed to Cumbernauld quoad sacra. Castlecary is also near Allandale which, though in the Falkirk council area, was built for Castlecary fireclay workers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westerwood</span>

Westerwood is an area in the north-east of Cumbernauld in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. Historically it was the site of a Roman Fort of which a video reconstruction has been produced. In the past two decades, new housing developments have been built around the Westerwood Hotel and Golf Course. The golf course, which was designed by Seve Ballesteros and Dave Thomas, is located on the north side of the town, close to Cumbernauld Airport. Westerwood Community Council was set up for local residents and a committee has been appointed. Neighbouring villages which are outside of Cumbernauld include Dullatur to the north-west and Castlecary to the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antonine Wall</span> Defensive fortification in Roman Britain

The Antonine Wall, known to the Romans as Vallum Antonini, was a turf fortification on stone foundations, built by the Romans across what is now the Central Belt of Scotland, between the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth. Built some twenty years after Hadrian's Wall to the south, and intended to supersede it, while it was garrisoned it was the northernmost frontier barrier of the Roman Empire. It spanned approximately 63 kilometres and was about 3 metres high and 5 metres wide. Lidar scans have been carried out to establish the length of the wall and the Roman distance units used. Security was bolstered by a deep ditch on the northern side. It is thought that there was a wooden palisade on top of the turf. The barrier was the second of two "great walls" created by the Romans in Great Britain in the second century AD. Its ruins are less evident than those of the better-known and longer Hadrian's Wall to the south, primarily because the turf and wood wall has largely weathered away, unlike its stone-built southern predecessor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bridgeness Slab</span> Roman distance slab created around 142 CE

The Bridgeness Slab is a Roman distance slab created around 142 CE marking a portion of the Antonine Wall built by the Second Legion. It is regarded as the most detailed and best preserved of the Scottish distance slabs. The sandstone tablet was found at Bridgeness in Bo'ness, Scotland in 1868 on a promontory close to Harbour Road. The original is in the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, while a replica is near the site of its discovery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bar Hill Fort</span>

Bar Hill Fort was a Roman fort on the Antonine Wall in Scotland. It was built around the year 142 A.D.. Older maps and documents sometimes spell the name as Barr Hill. A computer generated fly around for the site has been produced. Lidar scans have been done along the length of the wall including Bar Hill. Sir George Macdonald wrote about the excavation of the site. Many other artefacts have also been found at Shirva, about a mile away on the other side of Twechar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Croy Hill</span>

Croy Hill was a Roman fort, fortlet, and probable temporary camp on the Antonine Wall, near Croy, to the north east of the village in Scotland. Two communication platforms known as ‘expansions’ can be seen to the west of the fortlet. Alexander Park excavated the site in 1890-1891. Sir George Macdonald wrote about his excavation of the site which occurred in 1920, 1931, and 1935. At Croy Hill, the ditch in front of the rampart was not excavated by the Romans. It is likely that hard basalt and dolerite of the hill was virtually impossible to shape with Roman tools. This is the only place along the Wall where the ditch wasn't dug. There is a bath house just outside one fort. A video reconstruction of the site has been produced.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Auchendavy</span>

Auchendavy was a Roman fort on the Antonine Wall in Scotland. Much of the site archeology was destroyed by the builders of the Forth and Clyde Canal. Between Bar Hill and Balmuildy the wall roughly follows the southern bank of the River Kelvin. The site of the fort is north of Kirkintilloch's northern border. It can be seen as a mound mid-way between the Forth and Clyde Canal and the road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cleddans</span> Roman fortlet on the Antonine Wall, Scotland

Cleddans is the site of a Roman fortlet on the Antonine Wall in Scotland. Its postulated existence was confirmed by trial trenching in 1979. Evidence of building work on Cleddans and on the Wall by units of both the sixth and the twentieth legions has been found in the area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mumrills</span>

Mumrills was the site of the largest Roman fort on the Antonine Wall in Scotland. It is possible that Mumrills could exchange signals with Flavian Gask Ridge forts. Some believe Mumrills may have been the site of Wallace's defeat at the Battle of Falkirk. The farm at Mumrills was also used as an early site for the Falkirk Relief Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seabegs Wood</span> Site of a Roman fortlet on the Antonine Wall in Scotland

Seabegs Wood was the site of a Roman fortlet on the Antonine Wall in Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castlehill Fort</span>

Castlehill was a Roman fort on the Antonine Wall in Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilderness Plantation</span> Site of Roman fortler

Wilderness Plantation was the site of a Roman fortlet on the Antonine Wall in Scotland.

References

  1. "Balmuildy". CANMORE . Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland . Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  2. "BALMUILDY: FORT" (PDF). Frontiers of the Roman Wall. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  3. "Reconstruction of Balmuildy Fort". 11 May 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  4. "Balmuildy". OpenStreetMap. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  5. "OS 25 inch map 1892–1949, with Bing opacity slider". National Library of Scotland. Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  6. "Statue of Mars Ultor, Balmuildy". 11 May 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  7. Robertson, Anne S. (1960) The Antonine Wall. Glasgow Archaeological Society. ISBN   9780902018143 p. 7.
  8. John), Breeze, David J. (David (2006). The Antonine Wall. Historic Scotland. Edinburgh: John Donald. ISBN   9780859766555. OCLC   65469031.
  9. "Soldier". Frontiers of the Roman Empire. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  10. Miller, S. N. (1952). The Roman Occupation Of South Western Scotland Being Reports Of Excavations And Surveys Carried Out Under The Auspices Of The Glasgow Archaeological Society By John Clarke, J. M. Davidson, Anne S. Robertson, J. K. St. Joseph, Edited For The Society With An Historical Survey By S. N. Miller. Glasgow: Robert Maclehose & Company Limited. OCLC   561168405 . Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  11. "Children". Frontiers of the Roman Empire. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  12. "Roman child's leather shoe". A History of the World. BBC. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  13. Rohl, Darrell, Jesse. "More than a Roman Monument: A Place-centred Approach to the Long-term History and Archaeology of the Antonine Wall" (PDF). Durham Theses. Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online ref: 9458. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  14. "Fragment of a building tablet, Balmuildy". 11 May 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  15. "RIB 2192. Honorific Building Inscription of the Second Legion". Roman Inscriptions of Britain. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  16. "RIB 2191. Honorific Building Inscription of the Second Legion" . Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  17. Macdonald, Sir George (1934). The Roman wall in Scotland, by Sir George Macdonald (2d ed., rev., enl., and in great part rewritten ed.). Oxford: The Clarendon press. pp. 404–405. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  18. "Commemorative Stone Fragment of the Second Legion, Balmuildy". 3 July 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  19. Miller, Steuart Napier (1922). The Roman fort at Balmuildy (Summerston, near Glasgow) on the Antonine Wall. Glasgow: Printed for the Glasgow Archaeological Society by Maclehose, Jackson. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  20. Macdonald, Sir George (1934). The Roman wall in Scotland, by Sir George Macdonald (2d ed., rev., enl., and in great part rewritten ed.). Oxford: The Clarendon press. pp. 312–324. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  21. Robertson, Anne S.; Miller, S. N. (1937). The Roman Occupation Of South Western Scotland. Glasgow: Robert Maclehouse Com.ltd The University Press Glasgow. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  22. "RIB 2189. Altar dedicated to Fortuna". Roman Inscriptions of Britain. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  23. "RIB 2190. Altar dedicated to Mars". Roman Inscriptions of Britain. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  24. "RIB 2191. Honorific Building Inscription of the Second Legion". Roman Inscriptions of Britain. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  25. "RIB 2192. Honorific Building Inscription of the Second Legion". Roman Inscriptions of Britain. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  26. "Fragment of a building tablet, Balmuildy". 11 May 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  27. "building tablet of the Second Legion (in five parts; these 3 pieces – fragments of lettering)". Hunterian Museum Archaeology & Ethnography Collections: GLAHM F.6. University of Glasgow. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  28. "Hinge plate for door, Balmuildy". 28 May 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  29. "Teracotta Drainpipe, Balmuildy". 28 May 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  30. "T-shaped holdfast, Balmuildy". 28 May 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  31. "Perfume pot, Balmuildy". 7 September 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  32. "Unguent Pot, Balmuildy". 31 August 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  33. "Samian ware platter, Balmuildy". 10 August 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  34. "Cheese Press, Balmuildy". 3 August 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  35. "Oil Lamp, Balmuildy". 11 May 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  36. "Surgical Probe, Balmuildy". 11 May 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  37. "RIB 2189. Altar dedicated to Fortuna". Roman Inscriptions of Britain. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  38. "RIB 2190. Altar dedicated to Mars". Roman Inscriptions of Britain. Retrieved 26 May 2018.