The Maeatae were a confederation of tribes that probably lived beyond the

Antonine Wall The Antonine Wall () 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 ...

Roman Britain 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. Julius Caes ...

. The historical sources are vague as to the exact region they inhabited, but an association is thought to be indicated in the names of two hills with fortifications. Near the summit of Dumyat hill in the Ochils, overlooking

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

, there are remains of a fort and the name of the hill (in Gaelic ''Dùn Mhèad'') is believed to derive from name meaning the hill of the Maeatae. The prominent

hill fort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

may have marked their northern boundary. The first excavations of Dumyat were led by Dr Murray Cook, who recovered a radiocarbon date from a newly discovered external ditch dating to the 5th to 7th centuries AD. Myot Hill, near Fankerton, plausibly marks their southern limits. A discussion of two views of the importance of Dumyat and Myot Hill is given in Wainwright. There are three other potential Maeatae placenames in Scotland, potentially giving them a territory from Balfron to West Lothian and potentially St Andrews. ''Dunmanyn'', Dalmeny, West Lothian (James 2013, :‘P-Celtic in Southern Scotland and Cumrbria: a review of the place-name evidence for possible Pictish phonology’, ''Journal of Scottish Names Studies'' 7: 29-78.), ''Cremannan'', Balfron, Stirlingshire (Taylor, S, Clancy, T O, McNiven, P & Williamson, E 2020 ''The Place-Names of Clackmannanshire.'' Shaun Tyas: Donnington) and ''Rummond'' (''Rodmanand''), St Andrews, Fife (Taylor, S 2009 ''The Placenames of Fife, Vol. 3 St Andrews and the East Neuk''. Donnington: Shaun Tyas).

Cassius Dio Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history of ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

describes them in detail in his ''Roman History'' (Book LXXVII), and is later quoted by

Joseph Ritson Joseph Ritson (2 October 1752 – 23 September 1803) was an English Antiquarian, antiquary known for editing the first scholarly collection of Robin Hood ballads (1795). After a visit to France in 1791, he became a staunch supporter of the idea ...

and others. John Rhys seems convinced that they occupied the land between the

Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is a firth in Scotland, an inlet of the North Sea that separates Fife to its north and Lothian to its south. Further inland, it becomes the estuary of the River Forth and several other rivers. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate ...

and the

Firth of Tay The Firth of Tay (; ) is a firth on the east coast of Scotland, into which empties the River Tay (Scotland's largest river in terms of flow). The firth is surrounded by four council areas: Fife, Perth and Kinross, Dundee City, and Angus. ...

or parts of what is now

Clackmannanshire Clackmannanshire (; ; ), or the County of Clackmannan, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, Council areas of Scotland, council area, registration counties, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland ...

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

and

Stirlingshire Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling ( ) is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county of Scotland. Its county town is Stirling.Registers of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties. It borders Perthshir ...

. He also suggests that the

Isle of May An isle is an island, land surrounded by water. The term is very common in British English. However, there is no clear agreement on what makes an island an isle or its difference, so they are considered synonyms. Isle may refer to: Geography * Is ...

might derive its name from the tribe. Dio mentions the Maeatae were between the wall and the Caledonians but there is some dispute over whether he is referring to Antonine's Wall or

Hadrian's Wall Hadrian's Wall (, also known as the ''Roman Wall'', Picts' Wall, or ''Vallum Aelium'' in Latin) is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Roman Britain, Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. Ru ...

Alexander del Mar Alexander del Mar (aka Alexander Del Mar and Alexander Delmar; August 9, 1836 – July 1, 1926) was an American political economist, historian, numismatist A numismatist is a specialist, researcher, and/or well-informed collector of numismat ...

says no-one really knows the identity of the Maeatae but he mentions that some authorities think they may have had a Norse origin. They appear to have come together as a result of treaties struck between the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

and the various frontier tribes in the 180s AD under the governorship of Ulpius Marcellus. Virius Lupus is recorded as being obliged to buy peace from the Maeatae at the end of the second century. In 210 AD, they began a serious revolt against the Roman Empire, which was reportedly a very bloody affair on both sides. Another revolt took place the following year. In 213 AD, Joseph Ritson records them receiving money from the Romans to keep the peace. The Miathi, mentioned in

Adomnán Adomnán or Adamnán of Iona (; , ''Adomnanus''; 624 – 704), also known as Eunan ( ; from ), was an abbot of Iona Abbey ( 679–704), hagiographer, statesman, canon jurist, and Christian saint, saint. He was the author of the ''Life ...

's ''Life of Columba'', probably to be identified with the Southern

Picts The Picts were a group of peoples in what is now Scotland north of the Firth of Forth, in the Scotland in the early Middle Ages, Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and details of their culture can be gleaned from early medieval texts and Pic ...

, have been posited as the same group, their identity seemingly surviving in some form as late as the 6th or 7th centuries AD.

References

{{Reflist Historical Celtic peoples Scotland in the Roman era Picts Antonine Wall