Mumrills was the site of the largest

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 ...

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 possible that Mumrills could exchange signals with

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 ...

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 ...

forts. Some believe Mumrills may have been the site of Wallace's defeat at the

Battle of Falkirk The Battle of Falkirk (''Blàr na h-Eaglaise Brice'' in Gaelic), on 22 July 1298, was one of the major battles in the First War of Scottish Independence. Led by King Edward I of England, the English army defeated the Scots, led by William Wal ...

. The farm at Mumrills was also used as an early site for the Falkirk

Relief Church The Relief Church (or Presbytery of Relief) was a Scottish Presbyterian denomination founded in 1761. In 1847 it united with the United Secession Church to form the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland. In relation to the history of the Church ...

Excavations

Excavations, which took place in the years 1923-1928 and 1958-1960, established its outline. Photographs of the excavations can be found online.

Inscribed Stones

An altar to

Hercules Magusanus Hercules Magusanus is a Romano-Germanic deity or hero worshipped during the early first millennium AD in the Lower Rhine region among the Batavi, Marsaci, Ubii, Cugerni, Baetasii, and probably among the Tungri. Name Attestations The name i ...

was found in 1841 "near the Bridge at

Brightons Brightons is a village in the east of the Falkirk council area of Scotland. It is south-east of Falkirk, south of Grangemouth and east of Linlithgow. It is surrounded by the villages of Polmont, Wallacestone and Rumford. It is central wit ...

" about a mile south-east of this fort. It is now in the National Museums Scotland. A second altar to the

Matres The Matres (Latin for "mothers") and Matronae (Latin for "matrons") were female deities venerated in Northwestern Europe, of whom relics are found dating from the first to the fifth century AD. They are depicted on votive offerings and altars th ...

(mother goddesses) was found at Mumrills. The altar was dedicated by Cassius, a

signifer A ''signifer'' () was a standard bearer of the Roman legions. He carried a ''signum'' (standard) for a cohort or century. Each century had a ''signifer'' so there were 59 in a legion. Within each cohort, the first century's ''signifer'' would b ...

serving at the fort. The historian

Alfred von Domaszewski Alfred von Domaszewski (October 30, 1856 – March 25, 1927) was an Austrian historian born in Timișoara in the Habsburg monarchy. He received his education in Vienna, and following graduation remained in Vienna as a secondary school teacher. ...

had suggested that the "Matres" mentioned in the altar were actually the Campestres, another term for the Silvanae. It was carved between 140 and 165 AD. A third inscribed stone has been described as a "Funerary inscription for Nectovelius". George Macdonald says the translation is: "To the Divine Manes. Nectovelius, son of Vindex. Aged thirty. A Brigantian by birth, he served for nine years in the Second Cohort of Thracians." The

Brigantes The Brigantes were Ancient Britons who in pre-Roman times controlled the largest section of what would become Northern England. Their territory, often referred to as Brigantia, was centred in what was later known as Yorkshire. The Greek geogr ...

were a

Celtic tribe Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...

who controlled the largest section of what would become

Northern England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...

. This shows local recruitment of native Britons.

Other Finds and Videos of Scans

A stone carving of

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

was found in a back garden in the village of

Laurieston, Falkirk Laurieston is a village in the Falkirk council area in Central Scotland. It is east Falkirk, south-west of Grangemouth and west of Polmont. Laurieston is located on the A803 road between Falkirk and Polmont. At the time of the 2001 census, ...

in 1987. Other finds include a section of a palmate funerary monument, a heavy, iron chisel, a set of wrought iron tongs, a box flue tile, a cooking pot of back burnished ware, and a large piece of Roman concrete made out of crushed tile. Many 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 1000 men but probably sheltered women and children as well although the troops were not allowed to marry. There is likely too to have been large communities of civilians around the site. Something of the soldiers' diet may be inferred from the variety of animal bones and shells found at the fort. Other buildings have been found which might have supported smelly industries like tanning or smithing. A hearth was found which could have been used to support troops.

References

{{coord, 55, 59, 44, N, 3, 44, 07, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Forts of the Antonine Wall Archaeological sites in Falkirk (council area)