Roman BritainOld Kilpatrick
Roman Fort · Military

Old Kilpatrick

Roman Britain
Pleiades ID: 89259
Site type
Fort
Category
Military
Latitude
55.9240
Longitude
-4.4567
Overview

History & context

ROMAN FORT (R) (site of) . For adjoining length of Antonine Wall, see .00. Until 1913 the site of the west terminal fort of the Antonine Wall was thought to have been at or near Chapel Hill , although in 1790 (J M Morrison MS note, late 18th century) discoveries were made during the construction of the Forth-Clyde Canal of what is now known to be the bath-house of the actual fort. First proved by excavation in 1913 (G Macdonald 1915), the site of the fort was more fully excavated in 1923-4 (S N Miller 1928) before the greater part of it was buried by a housing scheme. Further excavations in 1931 confirmed the outline of the fort, its defences, and their relationship to the Antonine Wall. The fort measured internally 408ft E-W by 442ft N-S, and covered an area of 4 1/2 acres. The bath-house had been situated in an annexe to the south. Full excavation reports and plans given by Miller (1928) and Macdonald (1932). J Bruce 1893; G Macdonald 1934 The site of the fort is now completely built over and there are no extant remains. Visited by OS (WMJ) 27 March 1951, (JLD) 30 November 1956 and (DS) 16 January 1957. No change. Visited by OS (JRL) 18 January 1980. A zone N of Dumbarton Road, formerly occupied by a garage, has been redeveloped for housing. Limited excavation in 1988 with the aid of a machine established the edges of the two outer ditches which lay in the expected position (L J F Keppie 1988). The inner of the two was 2.5m wide, the outer 4-4.5m. S S Frere 1989. NS 460 731. During August 1994, GUARD carried out excavations at the site of a proposed extension to a bus-wash facility at the Gavinburn Bus Depot, Old Kilpatrick. The site was known to overlay the Roman fort. It was anticipated that the extension might impinge on the ditches and possible road line outside the SW corner of the fort. The areas excavated were to be sites of concrete foundations and associated drainage works. A total of fifteen small trenches were opened within an overall area of 16m by 7m. Of the areas investigated, five revealed archaeological remains and none of the features recorded in any one trench appeared to relate to those in any of the other trenches. No evidence for the fort ditches was uncovered, placing the excavations between a break in the defences. Various discrete features, mostly structural in form were recorded along with two substantial rough stone spreads aligned E-W. One trench revealed the remains of a probable road surface.

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

About this site

Questions & answers

What is Old Kilpatrick?

ROMAN FORT (R) (site of) . 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 Old Kilpatrick?

Old Kilpatrick 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 Old Kilpatrick?

Several Roman sites lie within a short distance, including Duntocher (2.9 km), Cleddans (4.3 km), Whitemoss Roman auxiliary fort (4.8 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 Old Kilpatrick?

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Everything a full report reveals about Old Kilpatrick

This page covers the Roman site at Old Kilpatrick. 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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