Roman roads and settlements 84 ADPlan showing annexes and "Great Camp"First fort defencesPlan; red lines show early defences
Trimontium was a Roman fort complex[1] located at Newstead, near Melrose, in the Scottish Borders, in view of the three Eildon Hills which probably gave its name (Latin: trium montium, three hills).
It was occupied intermittently from about 79 to 184 AD and was the largest of the "outpost" forts after the construction of Hadrian's Wall in the 120s AD.[2] It was located 60 miles north of the wall on the extension of Dere Street the main Roman route to the north, initially in seemingly "hostile" territory. Trimontium was about three times larger than any fort on Hadrian's Wall and by 180 became the most northerly settlement of the whole Roman Empire.
Trimontium is also considered of international importance as the site of one of the largest caches of Roman military objects in Britain, found in 117 pits.[3]
The fort sits on the banks of the River Tweed, with the Eildon Hills and the Iron Age hillfort atop Eildon North, a visible reminder of both the local population and imposing landscape of the Scottish Borders. The location benefitted from the rivers Tweed and Leader providing routes for the movement of goods and people and from the Roman road that became Dere Street passing alongside the fort.[5]
It took the Romans almost four decades, from the invasion of 43 AD and subsequent conquest of southern & eastern Britain, followed by expansion into northern England and Wales, for them to be closing in on southern Scotland[1] when the fort was first constructed.
In 79 AD Roman general Agricola moved against the Brigantes of northern England and the Selgovae along the southern coast of Scotland, using overwhelming military power to establish Roman control.[6] He built a network of military roads and forts, including Trimontium, to secure the Roman occupation. Existing forts were strengthened and new ones planted in northeastern Scotland along the Highland Line, consolidating control of the glens that provided access to and from the Scottish Highlands. The line of military communication and supply across southeastern Scotland and northeastern England was Dere Street (on which Trimontium was located) which was well-fortified.
After Agricola was recalled from Britain in 84 AD the Romans retired from northerm Scotland to a more defensible line along the Forth–Clyde isthmus.
Around 105 there appears to have been a serious setback at the hands of the tribes of the Picts: several Roman forts were destroyed by fire, with human remains and damaged armour at Trimontium indicating hostilities. Trimontium was abandoned and in the 120s Hadrian established the frontier further south by building his wall.[7]
The fort's fortunes mirrored that of the later Roman expansion and retreat in the area, as its role swung from frontier post beyond Hadrian's Wall to supply and logistical waypoint for the Antonine Wall after 136, and back to frontier outpost from 164.
From its first construction phase in c.80 AD through to the last occupation and retreat shortly after 180[8] the fort would have been a focal point and centre of activity for both Romans and locals alike. The local Iron Age population, living in family farmsteads across the region, and gathering at times within the network of hillforts across the landscape would have had to develop a range of strategies to exist within or alongside the Roman presence. These could vary from alliance and trade to dispute and warfare.[1]
The fort was constructed in multiple phases. Dr Simon Clarke of Bradford University has produced a logical sequence of building and destruction for the fort and its annexes.[citation needed] This was managed by combining evidence from the first excavations of James Curle[9] and Sir Ian Richmond[citation needed] with aerial photographs and modern search and rescue excavations of Bradford University (1987–1997)[10]
Phase 1 (c.79-87 AD): The earliest occupation of the site identified by aerial photographs since the 1940s have revealed at least three and possibly as many as five camps in this area.[11][12] The enormous "Great Camp" identified by Curle was on the highest point of the ridge at the centre of the whole enclosure, commanding a view over the road from the Cheviots, and across the Leader valley to control the crossing of the river.[13] It had an area of 49 acres and each of its 4 gates had a titulus, a long straight ditch for defence, dug in front of it. Its size means it must have been constructed for a large, probably legionary, force and its occupation must have been of short duration. In Scotland the only excavated camp that compares with it in size is the legionary fort at Inchtuthil of 56 acres. In Wales, Caerleon of 50 acres occupied by the Second Legion, corresponds closely in area.
The later smaller Agricolan fort was built to the west of the Great Camp about 80 AD by the Legio XX Valeria Victrix mentioned on many of the inscriptions. It had a turf rampart on a cobble foundation with two ditches in front of it, overlapping each entrance. On the west side was an annexe which was also defended by a similar rampart and ditches arrangement.[14]
Phase 2 (c.90-105 AD): After a possible short abandonment of the fort, the Romans were back, and building in strength. Old ditches were filled in and new defences constructed. This resulted in a colossal strengthening of the fort. The new turf rampart was built on a cobble base which measured 13.5 m across and around 8.4 m high. In front of this was a single ditch between 5 & 7 m wide and 2 to 4 m deep. New, well defended annexes appear on the south, east and probably north sides of the fort, inhabited by civilians and camp followers.[14]
Phase 3 (c.105-137 AD): Trimontium was deserted as the Roman occupiers retreated south of Hadrian's Wall.
Phase 4 (c.137-139 AD): Clarke suggests that evidence points to the possibility that the fort was reoccupied a few years prior to the 140 AD advances into Caledonia by Emperor Antoninus Pius. If this is the case, the fort would have been a formidable outpost beyond Hadrian's Wall, with a civilian population within the annexes. Excavations and modern archaeology show the main entrance is now positioned through the southern annexe.[14]
Phase 5 (c.140-158 AD): As the Roman presence pressed northwards and work began on the Antonine Wall (from 142 AD), the role of Trimontium changed. It was reduced in size with the building of a 2 m thick masonry wall through the main fort, though at the same time stone was used in the rebuilding. Manufacturing was becoming an important role for this newly purposed supply and logistics centre. Now behind the front line, it is believed that the civilian population attached to the fort may have numbered some 2–3,000.[15]
Phase 6 (c.160 AD): Around this time the previous construction of the subdividing wall was removed as Trimontium's role changed from supply and manufacture to a front line fort due in part to the abandonment of the Antonine Wall. Within the fort a long, narrow barrack block was constructed and evidence points to a large decrease in the civilian population surrounding the fort.[15]
Phase 7 (c.160-184 AD): As the civilian population surrounding and supporting the fort diminished further, the land that housed the annexes returned to a more natural state. The military presence reduced further, with the barrack block now housing the remaining soldiers and their families. The evidence points to the fort being deserted some time around 180 AD. It is unclear whether the remaining civilian population left at this time or remained, outside or even inside the fort. Evidence does point to the potential use of early 3rd and late 4th century coins in the area (coins have been found to the south and to the west of Newstead village). The local population may still have engaged in a Romanised trade and economic pattern of behaviour.[15]
Evidence from the site indicate the presence of a considerable cavalry contingent at Trimontium. The list of such archaeological finds is extensive and includes horse skeletons, multiple parts of horse tack or harnesses, outstanding decorated cavalry parade helmets and face masks[5] that can be seen at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, and intriguingly the prospect of a gyrus, or training ring.[5]
During these phases of occupation, the population of the fort varied considerably, the permanent garrison level was probably around 1000 but this number would be complemented by the trades, manufacturers, craftsmen and families associated with the camp during the different phases of occupation. It has been estimated that the number could have risen to anywhere between 2000–5000.[5]
Site archaeology
The earliest modern reference to the archaeological significance of Trimontium stems from finds uncovered during mid-Victorian railway cutting works as part of the Waverley Line construction in 1846. As land to the east of the village of Newstead was worked, finds from pits full of Roman artefacts were uncovered.[16]
Excavations by James Curle between February 1905 and September 1910 began the first exploration of the site, making many findings.[17] These include foundations of successive forts described earlier, which throw much light on the character of this site, an unparalleled collection of Roman armour, including ornate cavalry parade (or 'sports') helmets,[18] horse fittings including bronze saddleplates and studded leather chamfrons, numerous artefacts associated with trade and manufacture, building and construction, and daily life on the Roman frontier. In 1911 Curle published his archaeological findings in 'A Roman Frontier Post and its People'. This volume quickly became a standard reference work, ahead of its time and still the most decisive work published in Scotland covering this period of Roman occupation, expansion and retreat.[16]
Sir Ian Richmond undertook small scale excavations and some re-interpretations of Curle's work in 1947. At this time, with the advent and development of aerial photography as a tool in modern archaeological research, Dr Kenneth St Joseph’s work at Trimontium revealed up to nine temporary encampments, evidenced through cropmarkings.[16]
In 1989 The Newstead Project began, a 5-year archaeological investigation undertaken by the Department of Archaeological Sciences of Bradford University. Initially under the direction of Dr. Rick Jones, and thereafter Dr. Simon Clarke, the project employed the most modern archaeological techniques to the Trimontium site for the first time. Clarke uncovered forty major archaeological features in his 1994 'rescue excavation', including six deep pits containing a wealth of organic material. In 1996 he returned to the site to examine the suspected amphitheatre and suspected north annexe, and in 1997 the Bradford University team completed the geophysics survey of the Trimontium site.[17]
Museums
The Ormiston, Melrose - home of the Trimontium Trust Roman Museum has been redeveloped and reopened August 2021.
The Trimiontium Trust run a museum local to the Trimontium site in the nearby town of Melrose. The museum's £1.4 million redevelopment was part of a project supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund to enhance and extend the galleries, displays and interpretation of Trimontium's history. The trust carry out guided walks to the Trimontium site, run a lecture and talk series, undertake activities linked to local community events, and present school and family workshops.
Many of the original and later finds from Trimontium are of such quality and importance that they are displayed at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. Items such as the cavalry helmets and decorative face mask, horse chamfron, leather work and much else besides can be seen as well as other Roman finds.
The Trimontium Trust museum redevelopment project has seen key finds return to the vicinity of the original fort site & archaeological excavations. They are housed within this contemporary museum setting which extends, redesigns, reinterprets and re-displays objects telling the story of Trimontium and its relationship with the local population.
Roman Britain was the territory that became the Roman province of Britannia after the Roman conquest of Britain, consisting of a large part of the island of Great Britain. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410.
Vindolanda was a Roman auxiliary fort (castrum) just south of Hadrian's Wall in northern England, which it pre-dated. Archaeological excavations of the site show it was under Roman occupation from roughly 85 AD to 370 AD. Located near the modern village of Bardon Mill in Northumberland, it guarded the Stanegate, the Roman road from the River Tyne to the Solway Firth. It is noted for the Vindolanda tablets, a set of wooden leaf-tablets that were, at the time of their discovery, the oldest surviving handwritten documents in Britain.
The Roman conquest of Britain was the Roman Empire's conquest of most of the island of Britain, which was inhabited by the Celtic Britons. It began in earnest in AD 43 under Emperor Claudius, and was largely completed in the southern half of Britain by AD 87, when the Stanegate was established. The conquered territory became the Roman province of Britannia. Attempts to conquer northern Britain (Caledonia) in the following centuries were not successful.
There are many Roman sites in Great Britain that are open to the public. There are also many sites that do not require special access, including Roman roads, and sites that have not been uncovered.
Melrose is a town and civil parish in the Scottish Borders, historically in Roxburghshire. It lies within the Eildon committee area of Scottish Borders Council.
Eildon Hill lies just south of Melrose, Scotland in the Scottish Borders, overlooking the town. The name is usually pluralised into "the Eildons" or "Eildon Hills", because of its triple peak. The 422 metres (1,385 ft) high eminence overlooks Teviotdale to the South. The north hilltop is surrounded by over 5 km (3.1 mi) of ramparts, enclosing an area of about 16 ha (40 acres) in which at least 300 level platforms have been cut into the rock to provide bases for turf or timber-walled houses, forming one of the largest hill forts known in Scotland. A Roman army signalling station was later constructed on the same site as this hill fort.
The Gask Ridge is the modern name given to an early series of fortifications, built by the Romans in Scotland, close to the Highland Line. Modern excavation and interpretation has been pioneered by the Roman Gask Project, with Birgitta Hoffmann and David Woolliscroft. The ridge fortifications: forts, fortlets and watchtowers were only in operation for a few years, probably fewer than ten.
The Selgovae were a Celtic tribe of the late 2nd century AD who lived in what is now Kirkcudbrightshire and Dumfriesshire, on the southern coast of Scotland. They are mentioned briefly in Ptolemy's Geography, and there is no other historical record of them. Their cultural and ethnic affinity is commonly assumed to have been Brittonic.
The Novantae were a people of the late 2nd century who lived in what is now Galloway and Carrick, in southwesternmost Scotland. They are mentioned briefly in Ptolemy's Geography, and there is no other historical record of them. Excavations at Rispain Camp, near Whithorn, show that it was a large fortified farmstead occupied between 100 BC and 200 AD, indicating that the people living in the area at that time were engaged in agriculture.
Bremenium is an ancient Roman fort (castrum) located at Rochester, Northumberland, England. The fort is part of the defensive system built along the extension of Dere Street, a Roman road running from York to Corbridge and onwards to Melrose. Significantly the fort is a long way north of Hadrian's Wall. It was one of the last forts north of Hadrian's wall to remain occupied until the 270s.
Newstead is a village in the Scottish Borders, about 1+1⁄4 miles east of Melrose. It has a population of approximately 260, according to the 2001 census.
Magnis or Magna was a Roman fort near Hadrian's Wall in northern Britain. Its ruins are now known as Carvoran Roman Fort and are located near Carvoran, Northumberland, in northern England. It was built on the Stanegate frontier and Roman road, linking Coria (Corbridge) in the east to Luguvalium (Carlisle) in the west, before the building of Hadrian's Wall.
Coria was a fort and town 2.5 miles (4.0 km) south of Hadrian's Wall, in the Roman province of Britannia. It was strategically located on the junction of a major Roman north–south road with the River Tyne and the Roman Stanegate road, which was also the first frontier line which ran east–west between Coria and Luguvalium. Corbridge Roman Site is in the village of Corbridge in the county of Northumberland.
Alauna was a castrum or fort in the Roman province of Britannia. It occupied a coastal site just north of the town of Maryport in the English county of Cumbria.
Scotland during the Roman Empire refers to the protohistorical period during which the Roman Empire interacted within the area of modern Scotland. Despite sporadic attempts at conquest and government between the first and fourth centuries AD, most of modern Scotland, inhabited by the Caledonians and the Maeatae, was not incorporated into the Roman Empire with Roman control over the area fluctuating.
The Newstead Helmet is an iron Roman cavalry helmet dating to 80–100 AD that was discovered at the site of a Roman fort in Newstead, near Melrose in Roxburghshire, Scotland in 1905. It is now part of the Newstead Collection at the National Museum in Edinburgh. The helmet would have been worn by auxiliary cavalrymen in cavalry displays known as hippika gymnasia. Its discoverer, Sir James Curle (1862–1944), described the helmet as "one of the most beautiful things that the receding tide of Roman conquest has left behind".
The architecture of Scotland in the Roman era includes all building within the modern borders of Scotland, from the arrival of the Romans in northern Britain in the first century BCE, until their departure in the fifth century CE. Ptolemy indicated that there were 19 "towns" in Caledonia, north of the Roman province of Britannia, but no clear evidence of urban settlements has been found and these were probably hillforts. There is evidence of over 1,000 such forts, most south of the Clyde-Forth line, but the majority seem to have been abandoned in the Roman period. There is also evidence of distinctive stone wheelhouses and small underground souterrains.
Torwoodlee Broch is the remains of an iron-age broch located near the town of Galashiels in the Scottish Borders.
Roman Cumbria was an area that lay on the north-west frontier of Roman Britain, and, indeed, of the Roman Empire itself.. Interest in the Roman occupation of the region lies in this frontier aspect: why did the Romans choose to occupy the north-west of England; why build a solid barrier in the north of the region ; why was the region so heavily militarised; to what extent were the native inhabitants "Romanised" compared to their compatriots in southern England?
Oakwood Roman Fort and Camp is a British archaeological site, a Roman fort and nearby Roman camp, about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) south-west of Selkirk in the Scottish Borders. The site is a scheduled monument.
References
1 2 3 Chief. "The Fort". Trimontium Museum. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
↑ Clarke and Jones, S and R. (1994) 'Melrose By-Pass Phase III, Archaeological Report 3, Stage 2. Excavation. Preliminary report prepared for the Borders Regional Council'. University of Bradford
↑ Curle, J., 1911, A Roman Frontier Post and its People: The Fort of Newstead in the Parish of Melrose. Glasgow: James Maclehose and Sons. p 16
1 2 3 The Trimontium Trust (1994). The Trimontium Story. Scotland: The Trimontium Trust. p.5.
1 2 3 The Trimontium Trust (1994). The Trimontium Story. Scotland: The Trimontium Trust. p.6.
1 2 3 The Trimontium Trust (1994). The Trimontium Story. Scotland: The Trimontium Trust. p.14.
FRASER HUNTER and LAWRENCE KEPPIE (edd.), A Roman Frontier Post and its People: Newstead 1911-2011 (NMS Enterprises Ltd. on behalf of Trimontium Trust; National Museums Scotland 2012). ISBN 978-1-905267-75-0
Curle, J., 1911, A Roman Frontier Post and its People: The Fort of Newstead in the Parish of Melrose. Glasgow: James Maclehose and Sons.
Elliot, W., 1994, The Trimontium Story. Selkirk: The Trimiontium Trust[citation needed]
Curle, James (2023). Revealing Trimontium: the correspondence of James Curle of Melrose, excavator of Newstead Roman fort. Oxford: Archaeopress Archaeology. ISBN9781803275154.
Tacitus, Publius Cornelius (1897) [98], The Germany and the Agricola of Tacitus (revised translation, with notes), C. M. Barnes Company
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