Tocherknowe is a small Roman fortlet in the Southern Uplands of Scotland, identified through aerial photography as a cropmark site. Like other fortlets in this region, it most likely belongs to the Antonine period (c. AD 142–160s), functioning as a small outpost manned by a detachment of perhaps 30–80 auxiliaries, although a Flavian (late 1st century) origin cannot be ruled out without excavation.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
Its position in the uplands of southern Scotland suggests a role in policing and signalling along one of the Roman road or communication corridors linking the Antonine Wall with outposts in the Tweed and Clyde basins. Fortlets of this type formed the connective tissue of Roman military control beyond the wall, monitoring local movement rather than projecting heavy force.
Knowledge of Tocherknowe rests almost entirely on aerial reconnaissance, which has revealed the rectilinear ditched enclosure characteristic of a fortlet; no significant excavation has been published, and internal structures, dating evidence, and finds remain unrecorded.
Tocherknowe is a small Roman fortlet in the Southern Uplands of Scotland, identified through aerial photography as a cropmark site. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a fortlet site from the Roman period in Britain.
Tocherknowe 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 Castle Greg (11.3 km), Lyne (12.9 km), Easter Happrew Roman Fort (13.6 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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