Seabegs Wood was the site of a Roman fortlet on the Antonine Wall in Scotland.
At Seabegs, the outline of Antonine's Wall, has lasted. Archaeologists from previous generations recorded this and stated that the ditch was deep and waterlogged.
There is an underpass under the Forth and Clyde Canal nearby known locally as the Pend.
In the 1890s, the Antonine Wall Committee of Glasgow Archaeological Society's cut several trenches across the Roman rampart. These uncovered its stone base. Subsequent excavations in 1977 found a Roman fortlet attached to the south of the Rampart. In 1981, a mound was examined but little has been discovered. Seabegs Wood was a portion of the ancient Barony of Seabegs. Seabegs Wood is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site representing the best preserved portion of the ancient Roman Antonine Wall. The Seabegs Collection of Ancient Roman Coinage was donated to Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada to commemorate this connection and consists of gold, silver and bronze portrait coinage depicting the majority of the ancient Roman emperors.
The forts to this fortlet are Castlecary in the west and Rough Castle in the east. Sir George Macdonald and others theorized that because these neighbouring forts were relatively widespread another structure was likely in the Seabegs area.
No coinage has been recovered nor any inscriptions. There are two marching camps nearby at Dalnair and Milnquarter.
Many Roman forts along the wall held garrisons of around 500 men. Larger forts like Castlecary and Birrens had a nominal cohort of 1000 men but probably sheltered women and children as well although the troops were not allowed to marry. There is likely too to have been large communities of civilians around the site.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
Seabegs Wood was the site of a Roman fortlet on the Antonine Wall in Scotland. At Seabegs, the outline of Antonine's Wall, has lasted. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a fortlet site from the Roman period in Britain.
Seabegs Wood is classified as a Roman fortlet — 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Several Roman sites lie within a short distance, including Withdrawn (duplicate): Seabegs Wood (0.5 km), Castlecary (2.8 km), Rough Castle (2.8 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
Aubrey Research generates detailed historical reports for any location in Britain, incorporating Roman heritage, Domesday Book records, scheduled monument data, archaeological finds and much more. Enter a nearby address to begin.
This page covers the Roman site at Seabegs Wood. A full Aubrey report for the area pulls together this site alongside scheduled monuments and everything else the record holds within a few miles:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Aubrey generates in-depth historical research for any address in Britain, drawing on Roman heritage, Domesday records, scheduled monument data and medieval history to reveal the complete story of a landscape.
Research the area around Seabegs Wood