A passionate letter in yesterday's Courier about Roman remains in Perthshire from Professor JJ Robertson, best known for his work on the Gask Ridge:
My students have always been impressed by the wealth of Roman material which lies around us. Within a 30-mile radius of Dundee, there are at least 30 Roman sites ranging from legionary fortresses through a spectrum of fort camps to small signal stations...
It is now imperative that steps be taken immediately to give as much publicity as possible to the archaeology and history of the Romans in Perthshire and Tayside, especially since the Antonine Wall has been scheduled as a World Heritage Site.
Much Roman material still lies hidden in our museums. There should be permanent, or changing, displays in museums such as Perth, Abernethy, Meigle, Dundee and Forfar.
Full letter here. His note was in answer to a long op-ed piece in the same paper earlier in the week which has a good list of the Roman remains in Perthshire:
► Ardunie — the site of a Roman watch tower, one of a series running between Ardoch and the Tay, along the Gask Ridge, and dating to the first century.
► Bertha — another of the Gask Ridge forts. Remains are still visible in Perth.
► Blackhill Woods — to the north of Ardoch Fort. The site features parts of the defences of two Roman marching camps, probably dating to the early third century.
► Cardean — a fort.
► Carpow — situated near Newburgh on the Tay Estuary, this was home to a 30-acre Roman fort big enough to hold half a legion (a legion was around 5000 men). It had a quay to allow supplies to be brought to what was then Caledonia by sea.
► Fendoch — a fort at the mouth of the Sma' Glen. It featured a watchtower to give early warning of attack from the glens.
► Inchtuthil — the huge legionary fortress was the Romans' largest ever base in Scotland and overlooked the north bank of the River Tay, southwest of Blairgowrie. The fort formed a strategic focal point of the Gask Ridge complex and was built to house an entire Roman legion. It was designed as a springboard for future expansion into the Highlands but was never fully completed as forces were withdrawn from Britain to help protect the Danube frontier.
► Muir o' Fauld — the site of a first century Roman watch tower from the Gask Ridge Complex was initially in dense forest. Now cleared, the site has survived remarkably well.
► Strageath — a Gask Ridge fort and temporary camp.
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