Roman BritainDuntocher
Roman Fort · Military

Duntocher

Roman Britain
Pleiades ID: 89171
Site type
Fort
Category
Military
Latitude
55.9235
Longitude
-4.4099
Overview

History & context

See also .00. Roman Fort (site of) Roman fort - Golden Hill, Duntocher. Exploratory trenches cut in 1933 by Mr John Clarke revealed that the ramparts of the fort were probably of turf and not stone. G Macdonald 1934 The fort was re-located by trenching in 1948 and further excavations between 1949-51 revealed its entire Antonine plan and the course of the Antonine Wall across Golden Hill Park. The earliest structure was a fortlet 60ft square internally defended by a turf rampart set on a 12ft wide stone foundation and a surrounding ditch. Later, an irregularly shaped fort of only circa 1/2 acre internal area was added to the east side, the fortlet then serving as a small military enclosure. The fort was also defended by turf rampart set on a stone foundation, and by 3 ditches on the east, and south sides. An annexe with an internal area of almost twice that of the fort, adjoined it on the west. A central stone building of more than one period and two sets of barrack block post holes were found within the fort and building post holes were found in the fortlet. The finds, all 2nd century, are with the Hunterian Museum, Glasgow. A full excavation report and early biblographic history are given by Robertson. A S Robertson 1957 The site of the fort is now occupied by a park and football pitch and the surface has been so disturbed as to make it impossible to identify any features. Visited by OS (DS) 17 January 1957 Air photographs show Golden Hill and vague vegetation mark detail of the fort and fortlet. In 1977-8 the stone base of the fortlet was exposed on behalf of Clydebank District Council, and in 1979 the Council created a "Roman Garden" north west of the fort. A S Robertson 1979 No change to report of OS (DS). The recent exposures of the fortlet wall have been back filled, but a surrounding protection fence remains. There are no known plans for Clydebank District Council to permanently display or mark the site (information from D Breeze, Historic Scotland, December 1980). The "Roman Garden" is an ornamental flower bed at NS 4958 7274. Sites of Fortlet and Fort re-surveyed at 1:1250. Visited by OS (JRL) 19 December 1980 Possible pottery kiln. D J Breeze 1987 A study of utilitarian pottery from the Antonine Wall has distinguished small numbers of locally made vessels with North African affinities at nine or 10 forts. Similar vessels at Chester and others made by Legio XX at the Holt works depot, one with a potter's graffito in neo-Punic, suggest the presence of North Africans.

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

About this site

Questions & answers

What is Duntocher?

See also .00. 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 Duntocher?

Duntocher 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 Duntocher?

Several Roman sites lie within a short distance, including Cleddans (1.4 km), Old Kilpatrick (2.9 km), Castlehill (2.9 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 Duntocher?

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Everything a full report reveals about Duntocher

This page covers the Roman site at Duntocher. 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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