Fort (R) (site of) OS 6" map, (1967) Discoveries of Roman building stones, a quern stone, a clay jar and Roman coins have long ago been recorded from the neighbourhood of the Peel of Kirkintilloch (); they pointed to the existence of a fort nearby. In 1914, Sir George Macdonald cut trenches in the park W of the Peel and discovered some hearths, along with tiles and roman pottery. In the years between 1953 and 1961 trenches cut under the auspices of the Hunterian Museum revealed the stone base of the Antonine Wall and the Antonine Ditch, while inside the park there were found to the S of the Antonine Wall remains of streets, gutters and several rows of postholes, belonging to narrow wooden buildings, besides a great quantity of Antonine Pottery. These remains indicate the presence of a fort, or a fort-annexe, and their disturbed condition at the same time suggests that much of the fort has been destroyed by the construction of the medieval peel and its associated structures, and by the laying out and terracing of the Park in more recent times. A S Robertson 1973; G Macdonald 1918; 1925; 1934. No surface indications of this fort now exist. Visited by OS (J L D) 11 January 1957. During the cutting of foundation trenches for a housing development at 50 Union Street , to the SW of the Peel Park, the lip of a ditch was observed in section, and dark silty soil like ditch-fill was noted at several points, sufficient to suggest a roughly NW-SE alignment. Green-glazed ware was recovered from above the silt. If of Roman rather than medieval date, the ditch could mark the W limit of Kirkintilloch fort or of an annexe. L J F Keppie 1975. Excavations in the car park to the S of Peel Park during 1978-9 exposed parts of two ditches which met at right angles and presumably formed the corner of an enclosure. They measured approximately 3.0 m wide, 1.5 m deep, and had a V-shaped profile. They were partly cut into deposits containing Antonine pottery and they contained plentiful deposits of similar pottery as well as Roman leather sandals, a pilum head and worked sandstone blocks. It is not clear what the ditches enclosed but it is unlikely that they belonged to a fort or annexe; however, perhaps they were part of a civil settlement. R D Stevenson 1980. Excavations by SUAT in 1988 on the site of 12 Regent Street , E of the site of the 1978-9 trenches, uncovered a Roman ditch running parallel to the alignment of that uncovered in 1978-9, but seperated from it by 30m. Trenches were extended 20m towards Union Street but no other Roman features were encountered.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
Fort (R) (site of) OS 6" map, (1967) Discoveries of Roman building stones, a quern stone, a clay jar and Roman coins have long ago been recorded from the neighbourhood of the Peel of Kirkintilloch (); they pointed to the existence of a fort nearby. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a fort site from the Roman period in Britain.
Kirkintilloch 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 Antonine Wall (0 km), Auchendavy (2.4 km), Cadder (4.2 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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