Roman BritainNormandykes
Roman Military Camp · Military

Normandykes

Roman Britain
Pleiades ID: 48616465
Site type
Military Camp
Category
Military
Latitude
57.0854
Longitude
-2.2829
Overview

History & context

Normandykes (Grid Reference: NO 830994) is the site of a Roman marching camp 1 mile (1.6 km) to the southwest of Peterculter, City of Aberdeen, Scotland. The near-rectangular site, measuring approximately 860 by 510 metres (940 by 560 yd), covers about 106 acres (43 ha) of the summit and eastern slopes of a hill overlooking the River Dee and the B9077 road further south. Aerial photographs for Normandykes have been archived between 1947 and 1976. The camp is about 6 miles (10 km), or less than half a day's march, north of the Raedykes camp. It is possible that the actual route taken would have entailed one day's march, over a route likely chosen to avoid the Red Moss, a virtually uncrossable bog near the present day village of Netherley.

Normandykes was first mentioned as Norman's Dyke and interpreted as a Danish Camp in 1795, but then corrected in the New Statistical Account of 1845 as Roman.

The camp was first excavated in the year 1935 by Richmond and MacIntyre; construction is thought to date to the Antonine or Severan periods.

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

About this site

Questions & answers

What is Normandykes?

Normandykes (Grid Reference: NO 830994) is the site of a Roman marching camp 1 mile (1.6 km) to the southwest of Peterculter, City of Aberdeen, Scotland. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a military camp site from the Roman period in Britain.

What type of Roman site is Normandykes?

Normandykes is classified as a Roman military camp — 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 Normandykes?

Several Roman sites lie within a short distance, including Raedykes camp (9.3 km), Logie Durno camp (28.5 km), Stracathro (39.8 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 Normandykes?

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Everything a full report reveals about Normandykes

This page covers the Roman site at Normandykes. 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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