Roman BritainBochastle
Roman Fort · Military

Bochastle

Roman Britain
Pleiades ID: 89118
Site type
Fort
Category
Military
Latitude
56.2441
Longitude
-4.2162
Overview

History & context

centred 6142 0790. Roman Fort (R) (remains of) OS 1:10,000 map, (1979) Early writers have referred to a 'Roman Camp' at Bochastle and in 1949 excavations began on the site. The earthwork was found to be an original quadrate Roman fort (occupying an area of about 3 ha) with a rampart built on a turf base, with a single ditch outside it and normal entrances in the centre of each side. At some period (whether during occupation or not is uncertain) destruction or damage led to the reconstruction of the NE corner, together with part of the E rampart and the N part of the W rampart. The internal arrangements of the fort have not yet been discovered, nor has the principia been located. Pottery and other finds, although few, indicate a 1st century date and undoubted Agricolan origin. W A Anderson, C Taylor and A Sommerville 1956. NN 6142 0790. The best-preserved feature of this fort is the W rampart, turf-covered, in places 2.7m high, with a well-defined entrance. The road shown on the plan by Authy 2 at the E of the entrance is defined by a low, spread mound, 0.7m high in places, which probably extended round the S side of the fort to a point opposite the W entrance where it turns sharply to join the W rampart. Several of the finds from the site are in the Hunterian Museum, Glasgow. Surveyed at 1:2500. Visited by OS (E G C) 24 October 1968. Crop-marks reveal two ditches defining some 500ft of the E side of the fort, interrupted at the E gate where they curve inwards. The rounded SE angle lies wholly N of the railway to Callander, and the S side would appear to converge very gradually with the railway embankment. The NE angle of the fort and perhaps all the N defences have been destroyed by river erosion. J K St Joseph 1969. Photographed by the RCAHMS. Visible on RCAHMS air photographs (see archive). The Roman fort at Bochastle lies just to the N of the dismantled railway, about 200m NE of Bochastle farm. Part of the W side of the fort is upstanding but the evidence for the rest consists of cropmark remains. The internal dimensions of the fort are about 170m N-S by 140m E-W. Some internal features are visible. Transcription prepared by RCAHMS (RHM, MMB & GSM) 22 February 1996. Information from RCAHMS (RHM) 17 September 1996. NN 614 079 Resistance and magnetic surveys were conducted over the entire fort and its surroundings. The results contradict various unusual features described in the report on the excavations in the 1950s (1). The survey confirmed aerial evidence of a double ditch circuit with 'parrot beak' gate breaks.

Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →

About this site

Questions & answers

What is Bochastle?

centred 6142 0790. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a fort site from the Roman period in Britain.

What type of Roman site is Bochastle?

Bochastle 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.

What other Roman sites are near Bochastle?

Several Roman sites lie within a short distance, including Malling (10 km), Doune (12 km), Bannatia? (19.5 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.

How can I research the history of the area around Bochastle?

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Everything a full report reveals about Bochastle

This page covers the Roman site at Bochastle. A full Aubrey report for the area pulls together this site 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.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
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.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
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.
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