Roman BritainCadder
Roman Fort · Military

Cadder

Roman Britain
Pleiades ID: 89130
Site type
Fort
Category
Military
Latitude
55.9214
Longitude
-4.2135
Overview

History & context

See also . Roman Fort (R) (site of) OS 6" map, (1971) The Roman fort at Cadder was first noticed by Horsley (1732); a trial excavation was carried out in 1913, and the fort was examined in detail by Glasgow Archaeol Soc in 1929. By 1945, the last trace of Roman structures had been removed by sand- and gravel-quarrying. The fort, which commanded a wide view to the N, was protected by moderately steep slopes on all sides except the E, where level ground gave easy access. Almost square on plan it measured 120m by 113m over the rampart, an area of approximately 1.4m ha (3.5 acres). The northern defence was formed by the Antonine Wall and its Ditch, the latter being interrupted by a causeway opposite the N gate. Excavation suggested that the fort was built at the same time as, or very shortly after, the adjacent stretch of the Wall. The rampart was of turf laid on a stone foundation 4.7m wide, and, except on the N, it was thought to have been revetted at the back by an earthen bank. There were two ditches on the S and E fronts, the outer ditch originally terminating in an external clavicula on the left-hand side of each of the entrances. Clarke (1933) suggested that the claviculae might have belonged to an earlier Flavian ditch-system, which was re-used in the Antonine period, but although this interpretation is possible, claviculae are no longer thought to be exclusiveley Flavian in date; thus the ditch-system to which they belong could also have been dug in the Antonine period, although probably in a very early phase. An irregular depression encountered immediately outside the outer ditch on the E may have been the remains of a third ditch, which was begun but not completed. The inner ditch was continuous along the W front, but the outer terminated at the SW corner. The principal internal buildings were of stone, but only the foundation trenches survived, packed with clay and cobbles. They comprised the principia (1), which exhibited two structural periods; a number of post-holes which were overlain by the principia evidently belonged to an occupation earlier than the Antonine fort, but their precise date is uncertain. Granaries (2, 3) lay immediately to the N and S. The praetorium (5), had originally been built of stone, but was almost totally demolished at the end of the first period and then replaced by a timber building, which itself exhibited two periods of construction.

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

About this site

Questions & answers

What is Cadder?

See also . 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 Cadder?

Cadder 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 Cadder?

Several Roman sites lie within a short distance, including Wilderness Plantation Roman fortlet (2 km), Balmuildy Roman Fort (3.7 km), Antonine Wall (4.2 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 Cadder?

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Everything a full report reveals about Cadder

This page covers the Roman site at Cadder. 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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