Rough Castle Fort is a Roman

fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

on 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 ...

roughly 2 kilometres south east of

Bonnybridge Bonnybridge (; ) is a village in the Falkirk (council area), Falkirk council area of Scotland. It is west of Falkirk, north-east of Cumbernauld and south-southwest of Stirling. The village is situated near the Bonny Water which runs through t ...

near Tamfourhill in the

Falkirk council area Falkirk ( ; ; ) is one of 32 unitary authority council areas of Scotland. It was formed on 1 April 1996 by way of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 from the exact boundaries of Falkirk District, one of three parts of the Central r ...

, Scotland. It is owned by the

National Trust for Scotland The National Trust for Scotland () is a Scottish Building preservation and conservation trusts in the UK, conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organisation in Scotland and describes itself as "the charity that cares for, sha ...

Context

The Antonine Wall dates from about 143 AD. The ends of the wall were uncertain for many years. In the east Carriden near

Bo'ness Borrowstounness, commonly known as Bo'ness ( ), is a town and former burgh and seaport on the south bank of the Firth of Forth in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Counties of Scotland, Historically part of the county of West Lothian (historic), ...

on the Forth was a likely endpoint. In the west is Old Kilpatrick on the Clyde, although there were also forts beyond that at Bishopton and Barochan Hill. The fort is one of the best-preserved of the forts constructed along the Wall. Built against the southern rear face of the Wall, the fort was defended by 6 metre thick

turf Sod is the upper layer of turf that is harvested for transplanting. Turf consists of a variable thickness of a soil medium that supports a community of turfgrasses. In British and Australian English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', ...

ramparts and surrounded by defensive ditches. Gateways were provided through the main wall to the north, and also through the walls on the other three sides of the fort.

Causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet T ...

s were then constructed across the main Antonine and secondary defensive ditches, affording easy access to and from the fort. The fort was the second smallest on the Wall and had an area of about 4,000 square metres. The fort contained several buildings, made of stone from a time when this was a less common construction material. The traces of the

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

's house, the

barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

, the

headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

, the bath house and a

granary A granary, also known as a grain house and historically as a granarium in Latin, is a post-harvest storage building primarily for grains or seeds. Granaries are typically built above the ground to prevent spoilage and protect the stored grains o ...

have been discovered. Although the original buildings have not survived, these buildings' foundations were discovered during excavations in 1902-03, 1932 and 1957-61. A video reconstruction of the site has been produced.

Finds

Inscriptions found on recovered artefacts indicate that the fort based 480 men of the Cohors VI Nerviorum of

Nervii The Nervii or Nervians were one of the most powerful Belgae, Belgic tribes of northern Gaul at the time of its conquest by Rome. Their territory corresponds to the central part of modern Belgium, including Brussels, and stretched southwards to C ...

, foot soldiers drawn from a north-eastern Gallic tribe. The military road on the south side of the Wall, which enabled transport between all forts, is still well defined and there is also a fine length of rampart and ditch still intact to the west. An altar to

Victory The term victory (from ) originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes a strategic vi ...

was found in 1843 to the south of the fort. Other finds include a bangle, some glass from a window and leather shoes. A series of pits were discovered during the excavations lying to the north west of the causeway across the Antonine ditch. These pits, known as lilia, would originally have contained sharpened stakes at the bottom. They were positioned to help defend the vulnerable northern gateway through the wall. Near the fort were a turf platform (beacon platform or signalling platform) and gravel pits for building of the military road. The bath house was built on an annexe. The fort was defended by

, and Flavius Betto was a commanding officer. file:Romanwallinscotl00macduoft raw 0329 II.png, RIB 2144. Altar dedicated to

. George MacDonald calls it no. 34 in the 2nd edition of his book ''The Roman Wall in Scotland''. It has been scanned and a video produced. File:Romanwallinscotl00macduoft raw 0313.png, Tablet from Rough Castle’s ‘Principia’ (headquarters). RIB 2145, dedicated to the emperor

Antoninus Pius Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius (; ; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161) was Roman emperor from AD 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors from the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. Born into a senatorial family, Antoninus held var ...

. George MacDonald calls it no. 29 in the 2nd edition of his book ''The Roman Wall in Scotland''. It has been scanned and a video produced. Romanwallinscotl00macduoft raw 0109.png, The

Granary A granary, also known as a grain house and historically as a granarium in Latin, is a post-harvest storage building primarily for grains or seeds. Granaries are typically built above the ground to prevent spoilage and protect the stored grains o ...

at Rough Castle Roman Fort, with its tell-tale buttresses at left, from ''The Roman Wall in Scotland'' file:Antonine Wall near Rough Castle Fort.jpg, A section of the

just to the west of Rough Castle fort. file:Rough Castle Fort.jpg, The lilia (defensive pits) north west of the fort (recently re-excavated) file:Lilia at Rough Castle.jpg, Lilia from the air file:Romanwallinscotl00macduoft raw 0305 01.png, Plan of Rough Castle Fort interior. George MacDonald shows other drawings in the 2nd edition of his book ''The Roman Wall in Scotland''. file:Rough.Castle.Antonine.Wall.jpg, Rough Castle on the Antonine Wall, drawn by William Roy in 1755 One of the best overviews of the site is the video of the Bridgeness Slab by Falkirk Council, presented by Geoff Bailey, Keeper of Archeology and Local History at Falkirk Museum, from about 10 minutes. For early discoveries see Sir George Macdonald's writings. Antonine

Events

A sound and light show was organised at Rough Castle in November 2018 to promote tourism.

References

External links

*
Antonine Wall: Rough Castle
at Historic Environment Scotland website

Falkirk Local History Society
{{commons category Forts of the Antonine Wall Archaeological sites in Falkirk (council area) Roman auxiliary forts in Scotland Scheduled monuments in Falkirk Historic Environment Scotland properties in Falkirk

Context

Finds

Events

See also

References

External links