Normandykes is a Roman temporary marching camp on a ridge above the south bank of the River Dee, west of Aberdeen, enclosing approximately 43 hectares (106 acres). Its size places it within the series of large camps in north-east Scotland traditionally associated with the Flavian campaigns of Agricola (c. AD 83–84) or, more probably on present consensus, the Severan campaigns of AD 208–211 into Caledonia.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
As one of a chain of similarly sized camps stretching from Strathmore north-east toward the Moray Firth (including Raedykes, Kintore, and Ythan Wells), Normandykes represents an overnight halting place for a substantial Roman army column operating well beyond the permanent frontier, evidence for the deep northward reach of Roman military force into the territory of the Caledonian and later Maeatae peoples.
The camp is known primarily from aerial photography and earthwork survey, which have traced its rampart, ditch, and several titulus-defended gateways on a polygonal circuit adapted to the terrain. There has been little excavation on the site itself, and dating therefore rests on morphological comparison with the wider series of large Scottish camps rather than on stratified finds.
Normandykes is a Roman temporary marching camp on a ridge above the south bank of the River Dee, west of Aberdeen, enclosing approximately 43 hectares (106 acres). It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a military camp site from the Roman period in Britain.
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.
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.
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