Part of the Mapping the Past trail
One of Roy’s most important achievements was his survey of the Military Antiquities of the Romans in North Britain. Roy recorded many of the Roman remains of northern Britain for this first time. While archaeology has advanced our knowledge of this period, Roy’s surveys continue to provide us with important information, as many sites have been destroyed or damaged since the 18th century.
Indeed, it has even been suggested that Roy’s surveys have “never been entirely superseded”. Roy’s survey of the Roman Camp at Cleghorn, seen below, remains one of the best records we have of this important Roman site. The camp, a Scheduled Ancient Monument, dates to the middle of the 2nd century AD. It is an irregular parallelogram in plan and encloses an area of 18.9 Ha, or around 12 football pitches. It would have been able to accommodate two marching legions of around of 12,000 men.
The camp occupies a defensive position overlooking the Roman road where it crosses the Mouse Water, and has extensive views to the south and west. The Roman road leads to Castledykes Roman Fort two kilometers to the South-West and the Antonine Wall to the North. The monument is best preserved in Forestry Commission Scotland’s Camp Wood, where traces of the ditch and rampart can still be seen.
William Roy's survey of Cleghorn Roman Camp.
This listing was created as part of the Mapping the Past project, managed by Northlight Heritage and delivered by CAVLP Heritage. Explore the site as part of the Mapping the Past trail (see right).