Cleddans
Cleddans Farm from the air[1]
Founded during the reign ofAntoninus Pius
Attested byTrial trenching
Place in the Roman world
ProvinceBritannia
Stationed military units
— Legions —
20th
6th
Location
Coordinates55°55′12.7″N 4°23′19.3″W / 55.920194°N 4.388694°W / 55.920194; -4.388694
TownGlasgow
CountryUnited Kingdom
Site notes
ConditionPloughed over
Excavation dates1980 (Trial trenching)

Cleddans is the site of a Roman fortlet on the Antonine Wall in Scotland.[2] Its postulated existence was confirmed by trial trenching in 1979. Evidence of building work on Cleddans and on the Wall by units of both the sixth and the twentieth legions has been found in the area.

Discovery

Hutcheson Hill from the air

Cleddans Roman fortlet was located by trial trenching in 1980[3] south of the main road between Duntocher and Bearsden.[4] Hutcheson Hill being halfway between the known Roman forts of Duntocher to the west and Castlehill to the east and having a line of sight between them it was surmised that it may hold the site of an intermediate fort.[5] This fortlet's discovery at Cleddans seemed to strengthen the proposal that the Antonine Wall was designed with fortlets around every mile as measured by the Romans.[6] The fort discovered measures internally 18 metres (59 ft) east-west by 17.6 metres (58 ft) north-south within a rampart set on a 3.6 metres (12 ft) wide stone base.[7]

Occupation

View to Glasgow from Cleddans Road

Cleddans was constructed between 142 and 154 AD at the order of Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius.[8] Quintus Lollius Urbicus, governor of Roman Britain at the time, initially supervised the effort. It was one of a string of forts and fortlets built to support the Antonine Wall; troop movement was facilitated by a road linking all the sites known as the Military Way. Antoninus Pius never visited Britain, whereas his predecessor Hadrian did. Pressure from the Caledonians may have led Antoninus to send the empire's troops further north. The wall, and Cleddans, was abandoned only eight years after completion, and the garrison relocated back to Hadrian's Wall. In 208 Emperor Septimius Severus re-established legions at the wall and ordered repairs; this has led to the wall being referred to as the Severan Wall. The occupation ended a few years later, and the wall was not occupied again.[9]

Most Roman fortlets along the wall held garrisons of around 500 men.[10] Larger forts like Castlecary and Birrens had a nominal garrison of a cohort of 1,000 men[11] but there is evidence that they sheltered women and children[12] as well, although the troops were not allowed to marry.[13] It is likely that there were communities of civilians around the site.[14]

Finds

Finds from the site include three or four Roman tablets.[15] One shows a running boar, the emblem of the 20th legion. It was discovered in 1695 at Cochno House.[16] The Hunterian Museum in Glasgow holds it as part of its collection.[17]

A subsequent find was a panelled tablet discovered at Braidfield Farm in 1812, just west of Cleddans Farm.[18] It shows two winged Victories, each standing on a globe, holding up a rectangular inscription. On the left is an armed Mars and, on the right, Virtus is depicted with a sheathed sword and a military standard. There are two decorative pelta shields, one on either side of the slab. The inscription contains the words "Opus Valli": apparently the Romans' name for their wall. The slab also resides in the Hunterian Museum.[19]

The last tablet found showed a palm tree and another running boar, the symbol of the 20th legion. It was discovered just south of the Antonine Wall on Hutcheson Hill in 1865. It was lost in a fire at Chicago in 1871.[20] The Hunterian has a plaster cast made from the original.[21] On either side of the tablet is a naked Cupid, each with a sickle in its inner hand and a bunch of grapes in its outer. Symmetry suggests the lower right rosette is missing. It is similar to another slab, often associated with Old Kilpatrick, which had its lower right rosette found on a separate fragment.

The three slabs hold building inscriptions from the Twentieth (two) and Sixth (one) Legions dedicated to the emperor Antoninus Pius. They have been dated to 139–161 AD.[22] No coins have been found at the site.[23]

A well-preserved fourth tablet (RIB 3507) was found on the west of Hutcheson Hill[24] in March 1969 at Cleddans Farm.[25][26] It is sometimes attributed to Castlehill.[27] It has been scanned and a video produced.[28] Photos are available for educational and research use.[29] Its depiction of subdued natives is similar to the slabs at Bridgeness and Westerwood. Other symbols like the jumping boar require more knowledge.[30] Who the female figure depicts is uncertain; Victoria, Britannia, and Faustina the Elder have been proposed.[31]

Sir George Macdonald wrote about the site in the 1911 first edition and 1934 second edition of The Roman wall in Scotland.[32]

map of Antonine wall with forts
Forts and Fortlets associated with the Antonine Wall from west to east: Bishopton, Old Kilpatrick, Duntocher, Cleddans, Castlehill, Bearsden, Summerston, Balmuildy, Wilderness Plantation, Cadder, Glasgow Bridge, Kirkintilloch, Auchendavy, Bar Hill, Croy Hill, Westerwood, Castlecary, Seabegs, Rough Castle, Camelon, Watling Lodge, Falkirk, Mumrills, Inveravon, Kinneil, Carriden

References

  1. ↑ "Cleddans". OpenStreetMap. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  2. ↑ "Cleddans". CANMORE. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  3. ↑ White, Kevan (7 February 2016). "CLEDDANS". roman-britain.co.uk. Archived from the original on 15 April 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  4. ↑ "Map of Cleddans". CANMORE. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  5. ↑ "Cleddans". Frontiers of the Roman Empire. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  6. ↑ "CLEDDANS: FORTLET" (PDF). Frontiers of the Roman Empire. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  7. ↑ "Cleddans | Canmore". canmore.org.uk. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  8. ↑ Robertson, Anne S. (1960) The Antonine Wall. Glasgow Archaeological Society. ISBN 9780902018143 p. 7.
  9. ↑ Breeze, David John (2006). The Antonine Wall. Historic Scotland. Edinburgh: John Donald. ISBN 9780859766555. OCLC 65469031.
  10. ↑ "Soldier". Frontiers of the Roman Empire. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  11. ↑ Miller, S. N. (1952). The Roman Occupation Of South Western Scotland Being Reports Of Excavations And Surveys Carried Out Under The Auspices Of The Glasgow Archaeological Society By John Clarke, J. M. Davidson, Anne S. Robertson, J. K. St. Joseph, Edited For The Society With An Historical Survey By S. N. Miller. Glasgow: Robert Maclehose & Company Limited. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  12. ↑ "Children". Frontiers of the Roman Empire. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  13. ↑ "Roman child's leather shoe". A History of the World. BBC. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  14. ↑ Rohl, Darrell, Jesse. "More than a Roman Monument: A Place-centred Approach to the Long-term History and Archaeology of the Antonine Wall" (PDF). Durham Theses. Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online ref: 9458. Retrieved 14 October 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ↑ "Cleddans Antonine Wall Fortlet". Roman Britain. Archived from the original on 12 August 2016. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  16. ↑ "OS 25 inch map 1892-1949, with Bing opacity slider". National Library of Scotland. Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  17. ↑ "distance slab of the Twentieth Legion, recording the completion of ? feet". Hunterian Museum & Art Gallery Collections: GLAHM F.11. University of Glasgow. Archived from the original on 15 November 2017. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  18. ↑ Macdonald, Sir George (1934). The Roman wall in Scotland, by Sir George Macdonald (2d ed., rev., enl., and in great part rewritten ed.). Oxford: The Clarendon press. p. 384. OCLC 457788157. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  19. ↑ "RIB 2200. Distance Slab of the Sixth Legion". Roman Inscriptions of Britain. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  20. ↑ "RIB 2198. Distance Slab of the Twentieth Legion". Roman Inscriptions of Britain. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  21. ↑ "distance slab of the Twentieth Legion, recording the completion of 3000 feet (plaster cast only; original lost)". Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery Collections. University of Glasgow. Archived from the original on 15 November 2017. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  22. ↑ White, Kevan (7 February 2016). "CLEDDANS". roman-britain.co.uk. Archived from the original on 15 April 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  23. ↑ White, Kevan (7 February 2016). "CLEDDANS". roman-britain.co.uk. Archived from the original on 15 April 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  24. ↑ "Hutcheson Hill". Roman Inscriptions of Britain. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  25. ↑ Steer, K. A.; Cormack, E. A. (1968). "A New Roman Distance-slab from the Antonine Wall" (PDF). Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. 101: 122–126. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  26. ↑ "Hutcheson Hill". Canmore. Historic Environment Scotland. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  27. ↑ "Castle Hill Antonine Wall Fort". Roman Britain. Archived from the original on 24 May 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  28. ↑ "Distance slab of the Twentieth Legion, Castlehill". Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  29. ↑ "Antonine Wall Distance Slab, Legion Xx (Image 3404)". Imago. The Roman Society Centenary Image Bank. Archived from the original on 6 May 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  30. ↑ "Roman slab of the Twentieth Legion". A History of the World. BBC. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  31. ↑ Flatman, Joe (6 December 2018). "Excavating the CA archive: cover photos from the first 100 issues". No. 346. Current Archaeology. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  32. ↑ Macdonald, Sir George (1934). The Roman wall in Scotland, by Sir George Macdonald (2d ed., rev., enl., and in great part rewritten ed.). Oxford: The Clarendon press. pp. 172–174. OCLC 457788157. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  33. ↑ "RIB 2206. Distance Slab of the Twentieth Legion". Roman Inscriptions of Britain. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  34. ↑ Macdonald, Sir George (1934). The Roman wall in Scotland, by Sir George Macdonald (2d ed., rev., enl., and in great part rewritten ed.). Oxford: The Clarendon press. p. 390. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  35. ↑ "RIB 2198. Distance Slab of the Twentieth Legion Valeria Victrix". Roman Inscriptions of Britain. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  36. ↑ Macdonald, Sir George (1934). The Roman wall in Scotland, by Sir George Macdonald (2d ed., rev., enl., and in great part rewritten ed.). Oxford: The Clarendon press. pp. 383–384. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  37. ↑ "RIB 2199. Distance Slab of the Sixth Legion". Roman Inscriptions of Britain. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  38. ↑ Macdonald, Sir George (1934). The Roman wall in Scotland, by Sir George Macdonald (2d ed., rev., enl., and in great part rewritten ed.). Oxford: The Clarendon press. p. 387. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  39. ↑ "Distance slab of the 20th Legion, Cochno Estate, Duntocher". Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  40. ↑ "RIB 2200. Distance Slab of the Sixth Legion". Roman Inscriptions of Britain. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  41. ↑ Macdonald, Sir George (1934). The Roman wall in Scotland, by Sir George Macdonald (2d ed., rev., enl., and in great part rewritten ed.). Oxford: The Clarendon press. pp. 384–386. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  42. ↑ "OS 25 inch map 1892-1949, with Bing opacity slider". National Library of Scotland. Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  43. ↑ "Distance Slab of the Sixth Legion, Duntocher". Retrieved 14 November 2017.
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