Battlefields›Caledonian Night Attack on the Ninth Legion's Camp, 83 AD
Roman Period

Caledonian Night Attack on the Ninth Legion's Camp, 83 AD

83
Scotland
Era
Roman Period
Battle Type
Skirmish
Location
Scotland
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Caledonian confederacy
VS
Victor
Rome (Agricola)
Outcome
The Caledonians launched a surprise night attack on the camp of Legio IX Hispana, deliberately chosen as 'the weakest' of Agricola's three divided columns, killing sentries and breaking into the camp amid the confusion of sleep. Agricola, learning of the enemy's line of march from scouts, sent cavalry and fast-moving infantry to strike the attackers' rear, catching them between two Roman forces; the Ninth Legion rallied and the Caledonians were driven off, with survivors escaping into woods and marshes.
The Battle

History & Significance

Caledonian Night Attack on the Ninth Legion's Camp, 83 AD was a Roman skirmish, fought in Scotland in 83. Rome (Agricola) prevailed over Caledonian confederacy. The Caledonians launched a surprise night attack on the camp of Legio IX Hispana, deliberately chosen as 'the weakest' of Agricola's three divided columns, killing sentries and breaking into the camp amid the confusion of sleep. Agricola, learning of the enemy's line of march from scouts, sent cavalry and fast-moving infantry to strike the attackers' rear, catching them between two Roman forces; the Ninth Legion rallied and the Caledonians were driven off, with survivors escaping into woods and marshes.

The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Caledonian Night Attack on the Ninth Legion's Camp, 83 AD lies on Clackmannan Group, bedrock that formed in the Westphalian. The rock here is sedimentary rock cycles, clackmannan group type.

Casualties & Losses
  • According to Tacitus, 'There were ten thousand enemy dead: on our side three hundred and sixty fell, among them Aulus Atticus, a battalion commander.' (Tacitus's Roman casualty and especially the enemy death toll are traditionally treated by historians as rhetorically inflated/propagandistic rather than a precise count.)
Questions & Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Caledonian Night Attack on the Ninth Legion's Camp, 83 AD

This page covers Caledonian Night Attack on the Ninth Legion's Camp, 83 AD. A full Aubrey report for the area pulls together this battle alongside scheduled monuments and everything else the record holds within a few miles:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Stat Accounts
The parish Statistical Accounts of the 1790s and 1830s, describing life, work and population here.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
First month just £4.99, then £9.99 a month. Unlimited locations, cancel anytime.

Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

Start your Caledonian Night Attack on the Ninth Legion's Camp, 83 AD report
Or see a real report first
Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Caledonian Night Attack on the Ninth Legion's Camp, 83 AD

Lochore Castle
Lochore Castle
Scheduled monument · ~0.4 mi

Lochore Castle is a 14th-century fortified residence located in Fife, Scotland, situated on a promontory overlooking Loch Ore. The castle comprises the substantial remains of a rectangular stone tower house with associated outbuildings, representing a typical defensive structure of its period. Th…

Clune Craig, hut-circles and enclosures
Clune Craig, hut-circles and enclosures
Scheduled monument · Post-Medieval · ~0.5 mi

Clune Craig is a post-medieval settlement comprising hut-circles and enclosures situated in Fife, Scotland. The site occupies bedrock composed of a Carboniferous to Permian igneous intrusion of mafic composition, formed during the Permian period. This geological foundation of dark igneous rock wo…

Cumbrae House, ring-ditches 200m NNE of
Cumbrae House, ring-ditches 200m NNE of
Scheduled monument · ~1.6 mi

Cumbrae House ring-ditches, located 200 metres north-north-east of Cumbrae House in Kinross-shire, is a prehistoric monument comprising two concentric circular ditches. The site lies on bedrock composed of dolerite and tholeiitic basalt from an igneous intrusion of Carboniferous to Permian age, g…

Benarty Hill, fort
Benarty Hill, fort
Scheduled monument · Iron Age · ~1.6 mi

Benarty Hill fort is an Iron Age hillfort located in Kinross-shire, commanding views across the Firth of Forth region. The monument occupies a naturally defensive position atop a prominent hill formed from Carboniferous to Permian igneous rock, a dolerite and tholeiitic basalt intrusion that prov…

Lumphinnans,henge 600m WNW of Newton
Lumphinnans,henge 600m WNW of Newton
Scheduled monument · Bronze Age · ~2.2 mi

Lumphinnans henge is a Bronze Age ceremonial monument situated 600 metres west-north-west of Newton in Fife, Scotland. The site occupies ground underlain by bedrock of the Clackmannan Group, sedimentary rocks formed during the Westphalian period. This geological foundation of alternating bands of…

Blacknowes, barrow 170m S of
Blacknowes, barrow 170m S of
Scheduled monument · ~2.6 mi

Blacknowes barrow is a Bronze Age burial mound situated in Kinross-shire, approximately 170 metres south of the village of Blacknowes. The monument lies upon bedrock of the Stratheden Group, Late Devonian sandstone and conglomerate deposits that would have provided a firm foundation for its const…

Mary Colliery winding gear head frame, 775m NW of Lochore Castle
Scheduled monument · Medieval · ~0.3 miles
St Serf's Priory
Scheduled monument · ~2.6 miles
More from this era

Other Roman Period Battles

Siege of Maiden Castle
43
Dorset, England
Vespasian's Campaign against the Durotriges
43
Dorset, England
Roman Assault on Maiden Castle (East Gate)
43
England
Roman Assault on Maiden Castle 43 AD
43
Dorset, England
In the same landscape

Battles near Caledonian Night Attack on the Ninth Legion's Camp, 83 AD

English naval landing and burning of Leith, 1544
1544
~13.7 miles away
Siege of Leith
1560
~13.8 miles away
First Bishops' War: Defence and Fortification of Leith, 1639
1639
~13.8 miles away
Gogar
~14.8 miles away
Aubrey Research

Explore the landscape around this battlefield

Aubrey generates in-depth historical research for any location in the UK — drawing on Domesday records, scheduled monuments, Victorian OS maps, geological data and archaeological archives to tell the full story of a place.

Research a location near this battlefieldView a sample report
All Battlefields