Bellie is a locality in Moray, Scotland. Little survives of the old

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

at Bellie, located 2 miles north of

Fochabers Fochabers (; gd, Fachabair or Fothabair) is a village in the Parish of Bellie, in Moray, Scotland, east of the cathedral city of Elgin and located on the east bank of the River Spey. 1,728 people live in the village, which enjoys a rich musi ...

, although its

graveyard A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

is preserved. There is a

Bellie Kirk Bellie Kirk is a Georgian church of neoclassical design in Fochabers, Scotland, built in 1798 for the 4th Duke of Gordon. It has been in continuous use as a place of worship within the Church of Scotland, and is designated as a Category A list ...

in Fochabers, which replaced the old church in 1798. There are up to two possible Roman camps at Bellie. Either of these sites, if accepted as a Roman camp, would constitute the most northerly example known, being 10 miles north-west of the known camps at Auchinhove and Muiryfold.

Possible Roman sites

The first site is known as Romancamp Gate, and lies 100 metres to the north-east of the old church of Bellie, with a cliff to the north-west that lies on the east bank of the

River Spey The River Spey (Scottish Gaelic: Uisge Spè) is a river in the northeast of Scotland. At it is the eighth longest river in the United Kingdom, as well as the second longest and fastest-flowing river in Scotland. It is important for salmon fishi ...

. The site was recorded by the antiquarian George Chalmers in 1799 as "the remains of the Roman encampment overlooking the low ground by the river ... on plan nearly a rectangular parallelogram of 888' by 333', but the W and most of the N sides have been destroyed." In the mid 20th century

O. G. S. Crawford Osbert Guy Stanhope Crawford (28 October 1886 – 28 November 1957) was a British archaeologist who specialised in the archaeology of prehistoric Britain and Sudan. A keen proponent of aerial archaeology, he spent most of his career as th ...

noted that the enclosure's size would make it considerably smaller than any other known Roman camp in Scotland and felt that the lack of identified gates counted against it being Roman, but also acknowledged that it was difficult to assign it to any other period. Air investigation in 1943 revealed

cropmark 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 a ...

s of ditches, including a rounded corner at the south-west, but the site was extensively damaged during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

by the construction of a military camp including emergency stone shelters. In 1964 two pieces of silver long and dated to AD51 were found at the rear of the site. Excavation along the south-west side in 1971 revealed a ditch deep and wide, but found no evidence to prove that it was Roman. Approximately south of the site at Romancamp gate, a second site was excavated in 1967 by Kenneth St Joseph, who traced a V-shaped ditch running for on a north-south alignment, measuring wide and deep where best preserved. St Joseph identified the position and profile of the ditch as strongly suggesting it was Roman, in which case he felt it would probably form part of a camp from the Flavian period measuring up to by and occupying around .

Aerial photography Aerial photography (or airborne imagery) is the taking of photographs from an aircraft or other airborne platforms. When taking motion pictures, it is also known as aerial videography. Platforms for aerial photography include fixed-wing airc ...

in 1984 recorded another linear cropmark on the site with a well-rounded northern corner, that was excavated in 1986 and revealed the shallow remains of a ditch about wide. Study of other aerial photographs taken on the 1970s and 1980s by the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

suggests cropmarks provisionally showing the characteristics of a Roman camp lying to the east of Bellie old church and partially covered by an adjacent plantation.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{Authority control Archaeological sites in Moray Kirkyards in Scotland Roman fortified camps in Scotland