Carpow lies on the south bank of the Tay near its confluence with the Earn, in Perthshire, and represents the northernmost substantial Roman base in Britain. The principal monument is a Severan legionary fortress of c. AD 208–211, covering roughly 27 hectares and built to support Septimius Severus's campaigns against the Maeatae and Caledonians; it is unusual in being a vexillation fortress probably garrisoned by detachments of legio VI Victrix and legio II Augusta. Earlier Flavian-period temporary marching camps on the same site reflect the area's strategic importance from the Agricolan campaigns onward.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
Carpow was a forward operational base for the Severan invasion of Caledonia, paired with the supply base at Cramond on the Forth, and served as a launching point for campaigns into the territories beyond the Tay. Its abandonment shortly after Severus's death in AD 211 marks the definitive end of Roman ambitions to hold ground in northern Scotland.
Excavations by Birley, Dore and Wilkes in the 1960s–70s revealed substantial stone-and-timber buildings including a principia, parts of a praetorium, granaries, and a monumental inscribed gateway slab naming legio II Augusta. Tile stamps of both legions, coinage closing in the reign of Caracalla, and aerial photography defining the ramparts and internal layout confirm a brief
Carpow lies on the south bank of the Tay near its confluence with the Earn, in Perthshire, and represents the northernmost substantial Roman base in Britain. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a fort site from the Roman period in Britain.
Carpow 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 Bertha (14.1 km), Dunning camp (18.5 km), Cargill (19.9 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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