Ardoch Roman Fort is an archaeological site just outside the village of Braco in

Perthshire Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, about south of

Crieff Crieff (; , meaning "tree") is a Scottish market town in Perth and Kinross on the A85 road between Perth, Scotland, Perth and Crianlarich, and the A822 road, A822 between Greenloaning and Aberfeldy, Scotland, Aberfeldy. The A822 road, A822 joins ...

. At Ardoch are the remains of a

Roman fort ''Castra'' () is a Latin term used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire for a military 'camp', and ''castrum'' () for a 'fort'. Either could refer to a building or plot of land, used as a fortified military base.. Included is a discuss ...

and several marching camps which included a signal tower. Part of the Roman

Gask Ridge The Gask Ridge is the modern name given to an early series of Castra, fortifications, built by the Roman Empire, Romans in Scotland, close to the Highland Boundary Fault, Highland Line. Modern excavation and interpretation has been pioneered by ...

, it is said to be one of the most complete Roman camps in Britain, and is one of the best-preserved series of Roman military earthworks in the whole Empire. It is protected as a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

Description

The remains consist of grass-covered earthworks, and are considered among the best preserved Roman earthworks in Britain.David John Breeze, (2002), ''Roman Forts in Britain'', page 60. The site, which has a complex history, comprises two intersecting forts. The earliest fort is believed to be associated with the campaigns of

Agricola Agricola, the Latin word for farmer, may also refer to: People Cognomen or given name :''In chronological order'' * Gnaeus Julius Agricola (40–93), Roman governor of Britannia (AD 77–85) * Sextus Calpurnius Agricola, Roman governor of the m ...

(1st century). The later fort was apparently reconstructed within two outer ditches so that this later fort was protected by five ditches on both the east and north sides. The field to the north is the remnant of a large annexe.David E. Johnston, (2002), ''Discovering Roman Britain'', page 144. Osprey. Archaeology has demonstrated the existence of a watch-tower (or signal tower) and at least six overlapping marching camps to the north and northeast. Ardoch was one of a chain of camps separated by one-day marches in a generally north–south direction. Other Roman camps in this chain include Strageath,

Inchtuthil Inchtuthil is the site of a Roman legionary fortress situated on a natural platform overlooking the north bank of the River Tay southwest of Blairgowrie, Perth and Kinross, Scotland (Roman Caledonia). It was built in AD 82 or 83 as the adva ...

Battledykes Battledykes is a Roman camp slightly to the north of Forfar, Scotland. According to Hector Boece, Pictish chiefs met at a castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the ...

Stracathro Stracathro () is a small place in Angus, Scotland. It was the site of a Roman camp, Roman marching camp as their forces invaded to the north. Location Stracathro is located southeast of Edzell in north-east Angus. It lies to the north-east of ...

Raedykes Raedykes is the site of a Roman marching camp located just over northwest of Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. National Grid Reference NO 842902. It is designated as a scheduled monument. A marching camp was a temporary camp used mainly fo ...

and thence taking the

Elsick Mounth The Elsick Mounth is an ancient trackway crossing the Grampian Mountains in the vicinity of Netherley, Scotland. This trackway was one of the few means of traversing the Grampian Mounth area in prehistoric and medieval times. The highest pass o ...

trackway to

Normandykes Normandykes (Grid Reference: NO 830994) is the site of a Roman marching camp to the southwest of Peterculter, City of Aberdeen, Scotland. The near-rectangular site, measuring approximately , covers about of the summit and eastern slopes of a ...

Name

The fort has sometimes been identified with the "Alauna" mentioned in Ptolemy's ''Geography''. Ptolemy placed Alauna in the area occupied by the Damnonii tribe, and the name may be associated with the

River Allan The Allan Water () is a river in central Scotland. Rising in the Ochil Hills, it runs through Strathallan to Dunblane and Bridge of Allan before joining the River Forth. It is liable to cause floods in lower Bridge of Allan. It shares its n ...

which flows about to the south of the fort. However the identification of Ardoch with Alauna is considered tentative.Michael Grant, (1986), ''A Guide to the Ancient World: A Dictionary of Classical Place Names'', page 19. H.W. Wilson.

Later history

The site was reused in the medieval period when a

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

was built near the centre of the fort.L. J. F. Keppie (2004), ''The legacy of Rome: Scotland's Roman remains'', page 163. John Donald. The remains of the graveyard enclosure and the site of the chapel are the only archaeological remains which are visible within the fort. A

hoard A hoard or "wealth deposit" is an archaeological term for a collection of valuable objects or artifacts, sometimes purposely buried in the ground, in which case it is sometimes also known as a cache. This would usually be with the intention of ...

of Roman

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

coins was found north of Ardoch in 1671. At that time, Lord Drummond wrote that the ditches were deep enough to hide a man on horseback. Other trenches to the northeast had been damaged by cultivation against his grandfather's orders. In 1726 Alexander Gordon claimed that at Ardoch Roman Fort a subterranean passage was said to run from the fort, under the River Tay to the fort or 'Keir' on Grinnin Hill. This tunnel was said to contain a great deal of treasure. Ardoch was visited by

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

and

Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: *Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria *Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Alb ...

in 1842, although only Albert investigated the earthworks, Victoria preferred to remain in their carriage.

Ownership and access

Ardoch Roman Fort is part of the Ardoch estate, and is in private ownership, although access is allowed at reasonable times. To the north, the earthwork remains of two Roman marching camps, known as Black Hill Roman Camps, are in the care of

Historic Environment Scotland Historic Environment Scotland (HES) () is an executive non-departmental public body responsible for investigating, caring for and promoting Scotland's historic environment. HES was formed in 2015 from the merger of government agency Historic Sc ...

References

External links