Auchendavy
Antonine Wall Fort and Fort
The Auchendavy Antonine Fort
The outline of the Antonine fort at Auchendavy is not fully traced. It was detached from the Wall and situated a little to the south of the earthworks on a northward jutting promontory overlooking the River Kelvin. The fort is located just north of the Harestanes area of Kirkintilloch, and is still visible even now as a raised earthwork south of the B8023 secondary road, sandwiched between the Forth and Clyde Canal and the road itself. The ditches of the fort were visible in the fields as “canals” up until about 1825, when the landowner levelled the ground and removed almost all traces of the defences. The fort measured about 370 ft. by 330 ft. (c.113 x 101 m) thus enclosing an occupation area of about 2¾ acres (c.1.1 ha).
A single coin has been reported at Auchendavy, a gold solidus of Trajan dated to 101/2AD which was “rediscovered” by staff at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh; its provenance is uncertain. A rubbish-pit uncovered by workmen constructing the Forth and Clyde Canal in May 1771 containd four (and a half) altarstones and ‘two huge iron mallets’. Also reported among the finds recovered over the years are a number of pyramidal piles of rounded stones, around fifty in number, probably ammunition for onagri taken from the site of the fort’s armamentarium. There are ten inscriptions on stone from Auchendavy recorded in the R.I.B., comprising five altarstones to various deities, four tombstones, and a building inscription, most of which are reproduced and translated on this page and discussed separately below.
The Roman Military Garrison at Auchendavy
RIB2180 - Building Inscription of the Second Legion
LEG II
[...]G
The Gods of Roman Auchendavy
RIB2174 - Altar dedicated to Diana and Apollo
APOLLINI
M COCCE[...]
FIRMVS
𐆛 LEG II AVG
RIB2175 - Altar dedicated to the Genius of the land of Britain
TERRAE
BRITA
NNICAE
M COCCEI
FIRMVS
𐆛 LEG II AVG
RIB2176 - Altar dedicated to Jupiter and Victorious Victory
VICTORIAE
VICTRICI PRO SALV
TE IMP N ET SVA
SVORVM
M COCCEI
FIRMVS
𐆛 LEG II AVG
RIB2177 - Altar dedicated to Mars, Minerva, the Goddesses of the Parade-ground, Hercules, Epona, and Victory
MINERVAE
CAMPESTRI
BVS HERCL
EPONAE
VICTORIAE
M ▸ COCCEI
FIRMVS
𐆛 LEG II AVG
Roman Tombstones from Auchendavy
Perhaps the most revealing of latin texts recovered from Roman sites are those inscribed upon tombstones, and they remain a very good indication of social life, ironically. There are four Roman tombstones from Auchendavy, all are shown below.
RIB2179 - Funerary inscription for Marcus Al[...] Victor
MART M AL[...]
VICTO[...] MIL L[...]
AVG TALAEEX [...]
VLERNIS
RIB2181 - Funerary inscription for Flavius Lucianus
FLA ❦ LVCIA
NVS ▸ MILES
LEG II ▸ AVG ▸
RIB2182 - Funerary inscription for Salmanes
SALMANES
VIXIT ▸ AN ▸ XV
SALMANES
POSVIT
RIB2183 - Funerary inscription for Verecunda
VEREC
VNDAE
References for Auchendavy
- The Roman Wall in Scotland by Sir George MacDonald (Oxford, 2nd Ed. 1934) pp.285-9;
- The Roman Inscriptions of Britain by R.G. Collingwood and R.P. Wright (Oxford 1965);
- The Romans in Britain – An Anthology of Inscriptions by A.R. Burn (Blackwell, Oxford, 1969);
- Roman Britain – A Sourcebook by S. Ireland (Routlege, New York, 1986);
- A Survey of the Coin Finds from the Antonine Wall by Richard Abdy in Britannia xxxiii (2002) pp.189-217;
Roman Roads near Auchendavy
Antonine Wall: E (2) to Bar Hill (Strathclyde) Antonine Wall: W (1.75) to Kirkintilloch (Strathclyde)