Cramond Roman Fort is a Roman-Era archaeological site at Cramond, Edinburgh, Scotland. The settlement may be the "Rumabo" listed in the 7th-century Ravenna Cosmography.
The fort was established around 140 AD and occupied until around 170 AD, with a further period of occupation from around 208 to 214 AD. Among the many archaeological finds, one of the most famous is a sculpture known as the Cramond Lioness.
The fort at Cramond was located on the River Almond at the point where it flows into the Forth. In Roman times, there was probably a natural harbour here. One suggested interpretation is that Cramond formed a chain of Lothian forts along with Carriden and Inveresk.
The fort was established around 140 AD during the building of the Antonine Wall, and remained in use until around 170 AD when the Romans retreated south to Hadrian's Wall.
When the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus began the last major Roman incursion into Scotland from 205 to 214 AD, the fort was reoccupied and enlarged. Throughout these periods of occupation a civilian settlement seems to have existed outside the fort, and some native occupation of the fort seems to have taken place after the time of Severus into the 5th century
Several Roman inscriptions have been found around Cramond and during the early Sub-Roman period.
During the late 1970s and 1980s excavations were undertaken of the Roman road leading into the fort. It was found that it underwent four phases of construction/mortification during the Antonine and Severan periods.
Finds of medieval and post-medieval material from the road surface suggests that the road was used until the 17th or 18th century, when the area was incorporated into the designed landscape of Cramond House.
A stone altar, which was dug up a few hundred years ago in the grounds of Cramond House, was originally erected by a cohort of Tungrians (either first or second) and was dedicated to "the Alatervan Mothers and the Mothers of the Parade-ground" (Latin: Matres Alatervae et Matres Campestres). Early antiquarians interpreted this as referring to the place where the stone was found, and drew from it the conclusion that the Roman name of Cramond was "Alaterva". This idea is no longer accepted among scholars, and "Alatervae" is now believed to be an epithet attached to the Matronae, following a practice found elsewhere in the empire. It is thought that Cramond may be the "Rumabo" listed in the 7th-century Ravenna Cosmography – the original form of the name perhaps being "Carumabo".
Other stones found at the fort include a centurial stone of Legio II Augusta, and an altar "To Jupiter Optimus Maximus" erected by the fifth cohort of Gauls.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
Cramond Roman Fort is a Roman-Era archaeological site at Cramond, Edinburgh, Scotland. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a fort site from the Roman period in Britain.
Cramond 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 Cat Stane (4.7 km), Inveresk (15.9 km), Elginhaugh Roman fort (16.3 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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