Balmuildy is the site of a
Roman fort
In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, the Latin word ''castrum'', plural ''castra'', was a military-related term.
In Latin usage, the singular form ''castrum'' meant 'fort', while the plural form ''castra'' meant 'camp'. The singular and ...
on the
Antonine Wall
The Antonine Wall, known to the Romans as ''Vallum Antonini'', was a turf fortification on stone foundations, built by the Romans across what is now the Central Belt of Scotland, between the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth. Built some twe ...
in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. It is one of only two forts on the Antonine Wall to have been found with stone ramparts; the other is
Castlecary
Castlecary () is a small historic village in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, directly adjacent to the border with Falkirk. It has long been associated with infrastructure, being adjacent to a bridged river, a Roman fort and roads, a nationwide can ...
. A digital reconstruction of the fort has been created.
Location
![Balmuildy Bridge from the air (geograph 2988005)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/Balmuildy_Bridge_from_the_air_%28geograph_2988005%29.jpg)
The fort is located in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, west of
Bishopbriggs
Bishopbriggs ( sco, The Briggs; gd, Achadh an Easbaig) is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It lies on the northern fringe of Greater Glasgow, approximately from the Glasgow city centre, city centre. Shires of Scotland, Historically in ...
and east of
Bearsden
Bearsden () is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the northwestern fringe of Greater Glasgow. Approximately from Glasgow city centre, Glasgow City Centre, the town is effectively a suburb, and its housing development coincided with t ...
, south of the
River Kelvin
The River Kelvin (Scottish Gaelic: ''Abhainn Cheilbhinn'') is a tributary of the River Clyde in northern and northeastern Glasgow, Scotland. It rises on the moor south east of the village of Banton, east of Kilsyth. At almost long, it init ...
and north of the
Forth and Clyde Canal
The Forth and Clyde Canal is a canal opened in 1790, crossing central Scotland; it provided a route for the seagoing vessels of the day between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde at the narrowest part of the Scottish Lowlands. This allo ...
. The fort was just south of the River Kelvin and north-west of Easter Balmuildy Farm which locates it within Glasgow City Council's borders, close to
East Dunbartonshire
East Dunbartonshire ( sco, Aest Dunbartanshire; gd, Siorrachd Dhùn Bhreatainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the north of Glasgow and contains many of the affluent areas to the north of the city, including Bear ...
to the east. Its neighbouring forts are Bearsden to the west and
Cadder
Cadder (Scottish Gaelic: ''Coille Dobhair'') is a district of the town of Bishopbriggs, East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It is located 7 km north of Glasgow city centre, 0.5 km south of the River Kelvin, and approximately 1.5 km nort ...
to the east although there are intermediate
fortlets at
Summerston
Summerston is a residential area of Glasgow, Scotland. With most of the housing constructed in the 1970s, it is situated in the far north of the city and is considered to be part of the larger Maryhill district, but has a different postcode; oth ...
to the west and
Wilderness Plantation
Wilderness Plantation was the site of a Roman fortlet on the Antonine Wall in Scotland.
The line of the Antonine Wall runs roughly parallel between the River Kelvin to the north and the Forth and Clyde Canal to the south.
The site, like sev ...
to the east. See map below for details.
Context
![Antonine](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Antonine.Wall.Roman.forts.jpg)
Balmuildy ''Castro'' was constructed between 142 and 154AD at the order of
Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius
Antoninus Pius (Latin: ''Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius''; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161) was Roman emperor from 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors from the Nerva–Antonine dynasty.
Born into a senatoria ...
.
Quintus Lollius Urbicus
Quintus Lollius Urbicus was a Numidian Berber governor of Roman Britain between the years 139 and 142, during the reign of the Emperor Antoninus Pius. He is named in the ''Historia Augusta'', although it is not entirely historical, and his name ...
, governor of
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the period in classical antiquity when large parts of the island of Great Britain were under occupation by the Roman Empire. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. During that time, the territory conquered was ...
at the time, initially supervised the effort. It was one of sixteen forts built to support the
Antonine Wall
The Antonine Wall, known to the Romans as ''Vallum Antonini'', was a turf fortification on stone foundations, built by the Romans across what is now the Central Belt of Scotland, between the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth. Built some twe ...
, with small fortlets between them; troop movement was facilitated by a road linking all the sites known as the Military Way. Antoninus Pius never visited Britain, whereas his predecessor
Hadrian
Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania B ...
did. Pressure from the
Caledonians
The Caledonians (; la, Caledones or '; grc-gre, Καληδῶνες, ''Kalēdōnes'') or the Caledonian Confederacy were a Brittonic-speaking (Celtic) tribal confederacy in what is now Scotland during the Iron Age and Roman eras.
The Gree ...
may have led Antoninus to send the empire's troops further north. The wall, and Balmuildy, was abandoned only eight years after completion, and the garrisons relocated back to Hadrian's Wall. In 208 Emperor
Septimius Severus
Lucius Septimius Severus (; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa (Roman province), Africa. As a young man he advanced thro ...
re-established legions at the wall and ordered repairs; this has led to the wall being referred to as the
Severan Wall. The occupation ended a few years later, and the wall was not occupied again.
Most Roman forts along the wall held garrisons of around 500 men. Larger forts like
Castlecary
Castlecary () is a small historic village in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, directly adjacent to the border with Falkirk. It has long been associated with infrastructure, being adjacent to a bridged river, a Roman fort and roads, a nationwide can ...
and
Birrens had a nominal cohort of 1,000 men but probably sheltered women and children as well, although the troops were not allowed to marry. It is likely that there were large communities of civilians around the site.
Descriptions and finds
![Romanwallinscotl00macduoft raw 0421Lollius](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Romanwallinscotl00macduoft_raw_0421Lollius.png)
The site was excavated by Steuart Napier Miller who wrote about it in his 1922 volume: ''The Roman fort at Balmuildy (Summerston, near Glasgow) on the Antonine Wall''.
Sir George Macdonald also described the site in the 1934 in ''The Roman wall in Scotland''. The related site of Summerston was written about by J. M. Davidson in 1937.
An altar to
Fortuna
Fortuna ( la, Fortūna, equivalent to the Greek goddess Tyche) is the goddess of fortune and the personification of luck in Roman religion who, largely thanks to the Late Antique author Boethius, remained popular through the Middle Ages until at ...
was found in one of the fort's bath houses similar to the one found at Castlecary. There was also an altar dedicated to Mars found along with some statues. A dedication to a building by the
Second Legion was found although the stone had been repurposed by farmers. Fragments of another stone by the same legion were also discovered. Part has been scanned and a video produced. All of these finds are now in the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow. Other discoveries include: a door hinge plate, a terracotta bath house drainpipe, a holdfast to stick tiles to the bath house wall, a perfume pot, an unguent pot, a Samian ware platter, and a clay cheese press. An oil lamp and a surgical probe
have also been scanned to video.
File:Romanfortatbalmu00mill orig 0147.png, Samian ware
File:Romanfortatbalmu00mill orig 0177.png, unglazed ware
File:Romanfortatbalmu00mill orig 0221.png, wee objects
File:Romanfortatbalmu00mill orig 0233.png, stone objects
File:Romanfortatbalmu00mill orig 0239.png, leather footwear
References
{{coord missing, Glasgow
Forts of the Antonine Wall
Areas of Glasgow