Castle Greg is an exceptionally well-preserved Roman fortlet in West Lothian, situated on rough moorland in the parish of West Calder. Roughly square in plan (about 55 by 50 metres internally), it is defended by a substantial rampart and two broad ditches, with a single entrance on the east side. It most likely belongs to the Flavian/Antonine occupation of southern Scotland, functioning either as an outpost linked to the Antonine Wall system or as a road-watch station on a route between Castledykes (Clydesdale) and Cramond on the Forth.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
The fortlet helped police the upland country between the Clyde and the Forth, plausibly guarding a lateral road connecting the western and eastern forts of the central belt. Its survival as upstanding earthworks — never ploughed out, never overbuilt — makes it one of the best-preserved Roman fortlets in Scotland and a Scheduled Monument of national importance.
The site was partially investigated by Daniel Wilson in the 1850s, who recorded the defences and the entrance but found little in the way of internal structures or dating finds; modern survey (including RCAHMS work) has confirmed the plan but no significant modern excavation has been published. Consequently the precise date and garrison remain undetermined, and interpretation rests largely on analogy with comparable fortlets such as Durisdeer and Redshaw Burn.
Castle Greg is an exceptionally well-preserved Roman fortlet in West Lothian, situated on rough moorland in the parish of West Calder. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a fortlet site from the Roman period in Britain.
Castle Greg is classified as a Roman fortlet — 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 Tocherknowe (11.3 km), Cat Stane (18 km), Corda? (19.3 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
Aubrey Research generates detailed historical reports for any location in Britain, incorporating Roman heritage, Domesday Book records, scheduled monument data, archaeological finds and much more. Enter a nearby address to begin.
Aubrey generates in-depth historical research for any address in Britain — drawing on Roman heritage, Domesday records, scheduled monument data, archaeological finds and medieval history to reveal the complete story of a landscape.
Research the area around Castle Greg