Rough Castle Fort is a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

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'' ...

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 ...

roughly 2 kilometres south east of

Bonnybridge Bonnybridge ( gd, Drochaid a'Bhuinne; sco, Bonniebrig) is a village in the Falkirk council area of Scotland. It is west of Falkirk, north-east of Cumbernauld and south-southwest of Stirling. The village is situated near the Bonny Water which ...

near

Tamfourhill Tamfourhill is a working-class residential suburb of Falkirk within the Falkirk (council area), Scotland. It is located approximately 1.5 miles (2.5 kilometres) west of the city centre. The Falkirk Wheel is located just to the northwest of the v ...

in the

Falkirk council area Falkirk (; sco, Fawkirk; gd, An Eaglais Bhreac) is one of 32 unitary authority council areas of Scotland. It was formed on 1 April 1996 by way of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 from the exact boundaries of Falkirk District, one ...

, Scotland. It is owned by the

National Trust for Scotland The National Trust for Scotland for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, commonly known as the National Trust for Scotland ( gd, Urras Nàiseanta na h-Alba), is a Scottish conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organ ...

Context

The Antonine Wall dates from about 143 AD. The ends of the wall were uncertain for many years. In the east

Carriden Borrowstounness (commonly known as Bo'ness ( )) is a town and former burgh and seaport on the south bank of the Firth of Forth in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Historically part of the county of West Lothian, it is a place within the Falki ...

near

Bo'ness Borrowstounness (commonly known as Bo'ness ( )) is a town and former burgh and seaport on the south bank of the Firth of Forth in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Historically part of the county of West Lothian, it is a place within the Falki ...

on the

Forth Forth or FORTH may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''forth'' magazine, an Internet magazine * ''Forth'' (album), by The Verve, 2008 * ''Forth'', a 2011 album by Proto-Kaw * Radio Forth, a group of independent local radio stations in Scotla ...

was a likely endpoint. In the west is

Old Kilpatrick Old Kilpatrick ( sco, Auld Kilpaitrick, gd, Cille Phàdraig meaning "Patrick's church"), is a village in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It has an estimated population of 4,820. It belonged to the parish of Old Kilpatrick which itself was only a f ...

on the

Clyde Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South Wales Canada * Clyde, Alberta * Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...

, although there were also forts beyond that at Bishopton and Barochan Hill. The fort is one of the best-preserved of the forts constructed along the Wall. Built against the southern rear face of the Wall, the fort was defended by 6 metre thick

turf Sod, also known as turf, is the upper layer of soil with the grass growing on it that is often harvested into rolls. In Australian and British English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', and the word "sod" is limited mainly to agricultu ...

ramparts and surrounded by defensive

ditches A ditch is a small to moderate divot created to channel water. A ditch can be used for drainage, to drain water from low-lying areas, alongside roadways or fields, or to channel water from a more distant source for plant irrigation. Ditches ar ...

. Gateways were provided through the main wall to the north, and also through the walls on the other three sides of the fort.

Causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet Tra ...

s were then constructed across the main Antonine and secondary defensive ditches, affording easy access to and from the fort. The fort was the second smallest on the Wall and had an area of about 4,000 square metres. The fort contained several buildings, made of stone from a time when this was a less common construction material. The traces of the

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

's house, the

barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...

, the

headquarters Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...

, the

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 A granary is a storehouse or room in a barn for threshed grain or animal feed. Ancient or primitive granaries are most often made of pottery. Granaries are often built above the ground to keep the stored food away from mice and other animal ...

have been discovered. Although the original buildings have not survived, these buildings' foundations were discovered during excavations in 1902-03, 1932 and 1957-61. A video reconstruction of the site has been produced.

Finds

Inscriptions found on recovered artefacts indicate that the fort based 480 men of the Cohors VI Nerviorum of

Nervii The Nervii were one of the most powerful Belgic tribes of northern Gaul at the time of its conquest by Rome. Their territory corresponds to the central part of modern Belgium, including Brussels, and stretched southwards into French Hainault. D ...

, foot soldiers drawn from a north-eastern Gallic tribe. The

military road {{Use dmy dates, date=November 2019 The following is a list of military roads worldwide. Australia * Part of the A8 (Sydney) between Neutral Bay and Mosman * Military Road, part of Route 39, Melbourne * Military Road, off Wanneroo Road just north ...

on the south side of the Wall, which enabled transport between all forts, is still well defined and there is also a fine length of rampart and ditch still intact to the west. An altar to

Victory The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal Duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitu ...

was found in 1843 to the south of the fort. Other finds include a bangle, some glass from a window and leather shoes. A series of pits were discovered during the excavations lying to the north west of the causeway across the Antonine ditch. These pits, known as

lilia Lilia (Latin plural, meaning "lilies" in English; singular, ''lilium'') are pit traps arranged in a quincunx A quincunx () is a geometric pattern consisting of five points arranged in a cross, with four of them forming a square or rectangle a ...

, would originally have contained sharpened stakes at the bottom. They were positioned to help defend the vulnerable northern gateway through the wall. Near the fort were a turf platform (beacon platform or signalling platform) and gravel pits for building of the military road. The bath house was built on an annexe. The fort was defended by

, and Flavius Betto was a commanding officer. file:Romanwallinscotl00macduoft raw 0329 II.png, RIB 2144. Altar dedicated to

. George MacDonald calls in no. 34 in the 2nd edition of his book ''The Roman Wall in Scotland''. It has been scanned and a video produced. File:Romanwallinscotl00macduoft raw 0313.png, Tablet from Rough Castle Principia. RIB 2145, dedicated to the 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 ...

. George MacDonald calls in no. 29 in the 2nd edition of his book ''The Roman Wall in Scotland''. It has been scanned a video produced. Romanwallinscotl00macduoft raw 0109.png, The

Granary A granary is a storehouse or room in a barn for threshed grain or animal feed. Ancient or primitive granaries are most often made of pottery. Granaries are often built above the ground to keep the stored food away from mice and other animal ...

at Rough Castle Roman Fort, with its tell-tale buttresses at left, from ''The Roman Wall in Scotland'' file:Antonine Wall near Rough Castle Fort.jpg, A section of the

just to the west of the fort. file:Rough Castle Fort.jpg, The

(defensive pits) north west of the fort file:Lilia at Rough Castle.jpg, Lilia from the air file:Romanwallinscotl00macduoft raw 0305 01.png, Plan of Rough Castle Fort interior. George MacDonald shows other drawings in the 2nd edition of his book ''The Roman Wall in Scotland''. file:Rough.Castle.Antonine.Wall.jpg, Rough Castle on the Antonine Wall, drawn by

William Roy Major-General William Roy (4 May 17261 July 1790) was a Scottish military engineer, surveyor, and antiquarian. He was an innovator who applied new scientific discoveries and newly emerging technologies to the accurate geodetic mapping of Gr ...

in 1755 One of the best overviews of the site is the video of the Bridgeness Slab by Falkirk Council, presented by Geoff Bailey, Keeper of Archeology and Local History at Falkirk Museum, from about 10 minutes. For early discoveries see Sir George Macdonald's writings. Antonine

Events

A sound and light show was organised at Rough Castle in November 2018 to promote tourism.

References

External links

*
Antonine Wall: Rough Castle
at Historic Environment Scotland website

Falkirk Local History Society
{{commons category Forts of the Antonine Wall Archaeological sites in Falkirk (council area) Roman auxiliary forts in Scotland Scheduled Ancient Monuments in Falkirk

Context

Finds

Events

See also

References

External links