Description

The monument comprises a Roman temporary camp and an unenclosed settlement of prehistoric date, visible as cropmarks on oblique aerial photographs and, in the case of the Roman camp, as upstanding earthworks in woodland. The monument is being rescheduled to encompass the prehistoric features within the camp.

The monument lies in arable farmland and woodland close to the E bank of the Tay. It comprises a Roman temporary camp measuring some 760m N-S by 670m transversely, and defined by a single ditch with six entrances. Upstanding sections of the rampart and ditch can be seen near the NW and NE corners of the camp, represented by a bank up to 6m wide by 0.6m in height above the bottom of the ditch which is itself about 3m wide. The camp belongs to a series thought to date to the campaigns of the Roman Emperor Severus in AD 208-211.

Within the southern half of the camp are a series of cropmarks representing an unenclosed settlement of prehistoric date. These include at least two ring-ditch houses and associated souterrains (semi-subterranean storage buildings) and, to the NE of these, two crescent-shaped cropmarks, one within a circular palisaded enclosure, which appear to represent the remains of further roundhouses. Close to the E ditch of the camp lie a second series of cropmarks, again containing elements characteristic of later prehistoric settlement.

The area proposed for scheduling comprises the remains described and an area around them within which associated deposits may be expected to be found. It is irregular in shape with maximum dimensions of 810m E-W by 900m, as marked in red on the accompanying map extract. Above-ground components of modern field boundaries are excluded from the scheduling, as is the area around the modern farmhouse at Sherrifton; the latter exclusion is as marked on the accompanying map extract.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance because of its potential to contribute to our understanding of the Roman military campaigns in Scotland, and to our understanding of prehistoric settlement and economy.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as NO 12 NW 8 and 42.

Aerial photographs used:

Dewar, J (1975) PT/6815 NO12NW42.

RCAHMS (1990) PT/6815/TR NO12NW42.

RCAHMS (1990) B38450 NO12NW42.

RCAHMS (1990) B38454 NO12NW42.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland