Roman BritainMalling
Roman Fort · Military

Malling

Roman Britain
Pleiades ID: 89241
Site type
Fort
Category
Military
Latitude
56.1775
Longitude
-4.3243
Overview

History & context

centred NN (Centred NN 5640 0006) A Roman fort was discovered in 1968 on a level platform some 20' above the W end of the Lake of Menteith. Crop marks reveal two ditches defining the whole of the NW side, 693' in length, and some 580' of the SW side, together with the rounded W and N angles. There is a central NW gate, on either side of which the ditches curve inwards. Two ditches, which continue from the N angle across sloping ground to the edge of the lake, presumably define an annexe. A section across the defences on the NW front, showed the ditches to be V-shaped and with a level space 5' wide between them. The outer is 12' wide and 5' deep, the inner 10' by 4', but the surface may have been lowered by ploughing. The area within the ditches seems to be a minimum of 9 acres, so the size of the fort may be close to that of the larger fort at Dalginross. J K St Joseph 1969. Further air reconnaissance in 1969-72 has revealed the two ditches forming the SE defences of the fort and two short ditches that swing out from the E angle to delimit the annexe. At the central SE gate, the ditches curve inwards and join, matching the NW gate. On the NE side, no ditches seem to have existed but the position of the rampart can be inferred from the kink in the ditches at the N and E angles. The space within the ditches, correcting previous measurements, is about 600' SW-NE by 490', an area of nearly seven acres. The only extant features visible in 1972 in unploug

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

About this site

Questions & answers

What is Malling?

centred NN (Centred NN 5640 0006) A Roman fort was discovered in 1968 on a level platform some 20' above the W end of the Lake of Menteith. 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 Malling?

Malling 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 Malling?

Several Roman sites lie within a short distance, including Bochastle (10 km), Lindon? (15 km), Doune (16.9 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 Malling?

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Everything a full report reveals about Malling

This page covers the Roman site at Malling. 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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