Auchendavy was a Roman fort on the Antonine Wall in central Scotland, occupied during the wall's brief lifespan c. AD 142–162. It was a relatively small fort, sited between Bar Hill to the west and Kirkintilloch to the east, and is thought to have housed a detachment of around 500 men, possibly including legionaries from Legio II Augusta based on epigraphic evidence.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
Auchendavy is particularly notable for a remarkable cluster of altars recovered from a single pit near the fort, dedicated by the centurion Marcus Cocceius Firmus of Legio II Augusta to a range of deities including Mars, Minerva, Diana, Apollo, Hercules, Victory, and the genius of the land of Britain. These dedications make it one of the most religiously informative sites on the Wall and provide rare insight into the personal devotions of a named Roman officer.
The fort itself has seen limited modern excavation; its outline is known largely from aerial photography, antiquarian observation, and limited trenching, indicating a turf rampart on stone foundations enclosing roughly 1.3 hectares. The principal finds remain the Cocceius Firmus altars discovered in 1771, now held by the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow, while traces of an annexe and the Military Way passing the fort have also been identified.
Auchendavy was a Roman fort on the Antonine Wall in central Scotland, occupied during the wall's brief lifespan c. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a fort site from the Roman period in Britain.
Auchendavy is classified as a Roman fort — a military site in the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer. Roman Britain's archaeology encompasses thousands of sites ranging from legionary fortresses and marching camps to villas, temples and towns.
Several Roman sites lie within a short distance, including Antonine Wall (2.4 km), Kirkintilloch (2.4 km), Bar Hill Fort Bathhouse (3.1 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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