Ancient Roman fort found hidden in ‘unassuming’ field near Scottish elementary school
In the middle of the second century, Roman emperor Antoninus Pius oversaw the empire’s reinvasion of Scotland and initiated the construction of the Antonine Wall.
The wall — which was built by the Romans and cut through central Scotland — was manned by anywhere between 6,000 to 7,000 men and was accompanied by numerous forts and fortlets, according to the landmark’s website.
For decades, archaeologists in Scotland have worked to excavate and better understand the remains along the wall, including up to 41 fortlets that served as outposts along the wall for small groups of soldiers, the Historic Environment Scotland said in an April 18 news release.
Despite efforts in the 1970s and 1980s to find more ruins, experts had only excavated nine such fortlets, the organization said. That is until recently though, when new technology guided archaeologists to an “unassuming” field near a Scottish primary school.
The field is actually home to a nearly 2,000-year-old Roman fortlet that was “thought lost to time,” according to the release. Using a new surveying technique known as gradiometry, archaeologists identified the stone foundation of the fortlet.
Although experts have known about the fortlet’s existence for a few hundred years, the new technique allowed them to pinpoint its exact location for the first time, they said.
“It is great to see how our knowledge of history is growing as new methods give us fresh insights in the past,” Riona McMorrow, deputy head of world heritage at HES, said in the group’s news release. “Archaeology is often partly detective work, and the discovery at Carleith is a nice example of how an observation made 300 years ago and new technology can come together to add to our understanding.”
Life in the ancient fortlet
Experts said the fortlet likely would have been occupied by 10 to 12 soldiers at any given time. These smaller groups would have been stationed at a larger nearby fort and sent to the fortlet for about a week at a time.
The fortlet was probably composed of two small wood buildings that served as housing for the groups of soldiers, archaeologists said. The station is thought to have been used between the years 142 until 162 — the 20 years that the Romans manned the Antonine Wall.
During those 20 years, thousands of soldiers served at the wall, according to the landmark’s website. Soldiers and their families came from all over the world, including countries as far as Syria, Algeria and Spain.
The fortlet was found about 10 miles northwest of Glasgow.
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