Castlecary (NAT) Roman Fort (R) (remains of) OS 1:10,000 map, (1976). The Roman fort at Castlecary occupies a rounded knoll at the W end of a low ridge, and is protected by the valley of the Bonny Water on the N, the ravine of the Red Burn on the W, also by a tract of low-lying land, which was formerly marshy, along nearly the whole of the S front. Periodically raided for building materials from at least as early as the 15th century, the fort was mutilated in 1841 when the line of the Edinburgh and Glasgow railway was carried diagonally across it, and further damage was no doubt done when the modern road was laid along the N front. At the present time the portion of the site that lies to the N of the railway is in permanent pasture, while the portion S of the railway is cultivated. Excavations in 1902 (D Christison 1903), showed that the fort was oblong on plan and enclosed an area of 3 1/2 acres, the internal dimensions being 455ft from N to S by 350ft transversely. The main defence consisted of a stone wall which was carried round all four sides of the fort, the Rampart of the Antonine Wall abutting the NW and NE corners. The fort wall was built of stones quarried from the outcrop of rock immediately to the W of the site: it was 6ft 6ins thick and was set on a massive foundation-course which in turn rested on a bottoming of clay and cobbles. The N wall, however, differed from the others in that it was thickened at either end to bring it more nearly into conformity with the thickness of the Antonine Rampart, while it may have had a rampart bank against the inner face. The Ditch of the Antonine Wall formed the outer defence of the fort on the N side, although to the W of the causeway opposite the N gate it was reduced to about half its normal width. The other three sides each had two ditches, both 14ft wide and 7ft deep, except for about half the length of the E side where there were three. The four gates were of uniform design, and their arrangement shows that the fort faced N: each had only a single passageway, for a distance of 7ft 6ins on either side of the entrance. An internal tower, 15ft square, was found at the SW corner, and it may be assumed that a similar tower was provided at the SE corner. The lay-out of the fort was only partially recovered; the headquarters building, a granary, the commandant's house and the internal bath-house, the latter discovered in 1769 and planned by Roy, (W Roy 1793), were located.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
Castlecary (NAT) Roman Fort (R) (remains of) OS 1:10,000 map, (1976). It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a fort site from the Roman period in Britain.
Castlecary 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 Withdrawn (duplicate): Seabegs Wood (2.3 km), Seabegs Wood (2.8 km), Westerwood (3.4 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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