The Roman

Fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

of Carpow was situated at the confluence of the rivers

Tay Tay may refer to: People and languages * Tay (name), including lists of people with the given name, surname and nickname * Tay people, an ethnic group of Vietnam ** Tày language *Atayal language, an Austronesian language spoken in Taiwan (ISO 639 ...

and Earn in what is now

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 ...

.The site record for the Carpow fort at RCAHMS
/ref> It was a large fortress with an area of thirty acres occupied by two legions at different times,

Legio II Augusta Legio II Augusta ( Second Legion "Augustus'") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army that was founded during the late Roman republic. Its emblems were the Capricornus, Pegasus, and Mars. It may have taken the name "''Augusta''" from a victory or ...

and

Legio VI Victrix Legio VI Victrix ("Victorious Sixth Legion") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army founded in 41 BC by the general Octavian (who, as Augustus, later became Rome's first emperor). It was the twin legion of VI ''Ferrata'' and perhaps held vete ...

, and thus of solid, permanent construction using stone, brick and tiles. The fort was occupied from the late second century AD until the early third century AD. The site of the fort has not been comprehensively excavated but it is believed to have served as a naval supply depot for Roman forces in the

central lowlands The Central Lowlands, sometimes called the Midland Valley or Central Valley, is a geologically defined area of relatively low-lying land in southern Scotland. It consists of a rift valley between the Highland Boundary Fault to the north and t ...

. Its occupation also coincided with the campaigns of

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 ...

in the area. However, its site on the southern side of the Tay estuary is incompatible with its use as a base for Severan offensive operations to the north and, along with other evidence, it is more likely that the fortress was built under

Commodus Commodus (; 31 August 161 – 31 December 192) was a Roman emperor who ruled from 177 to 192. He served jointly with his father Marcus Aurelius from 176 until the latter's death in 180, and thereafter he reigned alone until his assassination. ...

in 185 to support his campaigns. It has been suggested that the Carpow fort was the place named as "Horrea Classis" or "Poreo Classis" in the ''

Ravenna Cosmography The ''Ravenna Cosmography'' ( la, Ravennatis Anonymi Cosmographia, "The Cosmography of the Unknown Ravennese") is a list of place-names covering the world from India to Ireland, compiled by an anonymous cleric in Ravenna around 700 AD. Text ...

''.A summary of the excavation of 1961-1962. (Society of Antquaries of Scotland)
/ref>

Location

The Carpow fort was situated on a coastal plain on the southern bank of the river Tay approximately one kilometre east of the Tay's confluence with the River Earn. The Firth of Tay lay eastward of the fort and provided access to the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

. Prior to the era of the fort's occupation, the

Gask Ridge The Gask Ridge is the modern name given to an early series of fortifications, built by the Romans in Scotland, close to the Highland Line. Modern excavation and interpretation has been pioneered by the Roman Gask Project, with Birgitta Hoffmann ...

system of

limes Limes may refer to: * the plural form of lime (disambiguation) * the Latin word for ''limit'' which refers to: ** Limes (Roman Empire) (Latin, singular; plural: ) is a modern term used primarily for the Germanic border defence or delimiting ...

lay to the north and west. During the era of the fort's occupation, 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 ...

lay to the south and the vicinity was inhabited by the people referred to in Roman sources as either

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 ...

or Caledones. In subsequent decades the Romans would refer to the local people as

Picts The Picts were a group of peoples who lived in what is now northern and eastern Scotland (north of the Firth of Forth) during Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and what their culture was like can be inferred from ea ...

. The significant Pictish site of Clatchard Craig lay to the immediate east of the Carpow fort.

Description of the Modern Site

Modern

Carpow Carpow () is a diffuse hamlet (place), hamlet in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It is situated immediately to the east of the confluence of the River Tay and River Earn, 2 km north east of Abernethy, Perth and Kinross, Abernethy. Etymology ...

is a rural hamlet, consisting of several residences, immediately eastward of the mouth of the river Earn. The fort is partially obscured by these buildings and its only visible remnant is its northern rampart. This survives as a ridge of approximately 1.6m height. Other structures can be discerned by

crop marks Cropmarks or crop marks are a means through which sub-surface archaeological, natural and recent features may be visible from the air or a vantage point on higher ground or a temporary platform. Such marks, along with parch marks, soil marks ...

. They include the full quadrilateral outline of the fort's ramparts and the remains of a building which seems to have been a typical Roman military headquarters known as a "principia".

Archeological Excavations

Archeological excavations were conducted at the site of the Carpow fort between 1964 and 1979. These excavations discovered

numismatic Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals and related objects. Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also includ ...

evidence which suggested that the fort was occupied between the late second century AD and the early third century AD. The earliest coin found was heavily worn and dated to the rule of

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 ...

. The latest coin found was in mint condition and dated to the reign of

Caracalla Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, 4 April 188 – 8 April 217), better known by his nickname "Caracalla" () was Roman emperor from 198 to 217. He was a member of the Severan dynasty, the elder son of Emperor S ...

. The excavations also identified a Principia, a

Praetorium The Latin term (also and ) originally identified the tent of a general within a Roman castrum (encampment), and derived from the title praetor, which identified a Roman magistrate.Smith, William. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, 2 ed., ...

, a

bath house Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other cr ...

and a granary. Inscriptions of the

and the

were found on fragments of masonry and on a rooftile, respectively.The date of the award of the Britannica cognomen to Legio VI Victrix, 2006, Peter Warry https://www.academia.edu/38754312

Identification with Horrea Classis

The ''

'', a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

geographical text compiled in

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the cap ...

during the eighth century AD, names a site called either "Horrea Classis" or "Poreo Classis", which seems to have been located in the east lowlands of Scotland. "Poreo Classis" makes no obvious sense and so seems to represent a scribal error, although it might have been a latinised version of a pre-existing Britonnic place name which might better explain the modern name element "Pow". "Horrea Classis", however, may be translated from Latin as "Naval Storehouses". Several commentators have postulated that the Carpow fort, with its maritime setting and large granary, was "Horrea Classis".

References

{{Reflist, 2 Former buildings and structures in Scotland Archaeological sites in Perth and Kinross 2nd century in Scotland 3rd century in Scotland Roman legionary fortresses in Scotland Scheduled monuments in Scotland