Drumquhassle was 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 ...

associated with 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 ...

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 was found from aerial photography in the late 1970s. The name selected for the fort deliberately made it hard for English born readers to pronounce. The fort was from the

Flavian Flavian may refer to: * A member of the Flavian dynasty of Roman emperors, during the late 1st century AD, or their works * Flavian Zeija, a Ugandan lawyer, academic and judge. Principal Judge of Uganda, since December 2019. * A person named Flavian ...

period; it was built and briefly occupied by during the administration of

Sallustius Lucullus Sallustius Lucullus (possibly died 89 or 93 AD) was a governor of Roman Britain during the late 1st century AD, holding office after Gnaeus Julius Agricola, although it is unclear whether he was the immediate successor or if there was another unkno ...

. It is known as a "Glen-blocker" fort and is located within sight of

Loch Lomond Loch Lomond (; gd, Loch Laomainn - 'Lake of the Elms'Richens, R. J. (1984) ''Elm'', Cambridge University Press.) is a freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault, often considered the boundary between the lowlands of Ce ...

Location

The fort is located in

Stirlingshire Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling, gd, Siorrachd Sruighlea) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration countyRegisters of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties. of Scotland. Its county town is Stirli ...

, east of

Drymen Drymen (; from gd, Druiminn ) is a village in the Stirling district of central Scotland. Once a popular stopping place for cattle drovers, it is now popular with visiting tourists given its location near Loch Lomond. The village is centred arou ...

. It is associated with the road running from Loudoun Hill past Barochan towards Malling, Bochastle and Dalginross. This road was therefore on the Highland Boundary Fault Frontier. It may have been on more than one Roman road. It has been suggested that Drumquhassle might be connected to

Doune Doune (; from Scottish Gaelic: ''An Dùn'', meaning 'the fort') is a burgh within Perthshire. The town is administered by Stirling Council. Doune is assigned Falkirk postcodes starting "FK". The village lies within the parish of Kilmadock and mai ...

via the Fords of Frew. The glenblocker forts ran from Drumquhassle to Stracathro. The fort is about 50 m west of a reliable spring which was presumably the soldiers' main water source.

Finds

An enamelled brooch was found as well as some sling bullets. Pottery from Gaul known as Terra Nigra was also recovered. Several coins were also found.

References

{{coord, 56.0561, -4.43557, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Gask Ridge installations