Description

The monument comprises a section of the Antonine Wall and part of a fort situated at the rear of the Gavinburn bus depot off Dumbarton Road in Old Kilpatrick. This proposal forms part of a programme which is intended to update the scheduling of the Antonine Wall, and extends the protected area along this part of the line of the Wall.

This has long been known to be the site of the western terminal of the Antonine Wall, and excavations in 1922-3 found well-preserved remains of the stone base of the Wall and of the fort's ramparts, as well as buildings within the fort, including the headquarters building, barrack blocks and a granary.

There were indications from coins, pottery and building remains below the fort that there had been earlier Roman occupation on the site, possibly during Agricola's campaigns in the late first century AD. The fort is of particular importance as the only known terminal fort of the Antonine Wall (the eastern terminal is not precisely located). The fort probably also had considerable naval significance because of its position on the Clyde estuary.

The discovery of a Roman bath-house during the construction of the Forth and Clyde Canal indicates the near-certain presence of an annexe attached to the fort on the southern side. The area to be scheduled includes the south-west corner of the fort and the adjoining section of Antonine Wall running SW.

In the 1920s the area was arable farmland, but was then built over for housing and the bus depot. The site was never scheduled, as it was presumed to have been badly damaged by the buildings. However, more recent excavations beside the bus wash, sponsored by Kelvin Central Buses in 1994, showed that Roman remains still survived in the area to the rear of the main building.

At the time of the construction of the bus depot a sub-base of rubble, soil and gravel about 0.4m thick had been laid over the original field surface, protecting archaeological features from gross disturbance. The open area at the rear is now being scheduled because archaeological features are now known to be present.

The area to be scheduled includes the Antonine Wall rampart, berm, ditch and upcast mound, the SW corner of the fort, and an area to the W where traces of activities associated with the construction and use of the monument may survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map extract. The scheduled area, which excludes the existing bus wash structure, measures a maximum of 80m N-S by 120m E-W.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance as a major Roman frontier system, which has the potential to increase considerably our understanding of Roman frontier policy and military organisation. The Antonine Wall is also the most substantial and important Roman monument in Scotland. The fort is one of at least 18 Roman forts on the Antonine Wall military frontier, and the only known terminal fort, as the eastern end of the Wall is still not precisely located.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the monument as NS 47 SE 8.

Reference:

Miller, S. N. (1928) The Roman fort at Old Kilpatrick: being an account of the excavations conducted on behalf of the Glasgow Archaeological Society, Glasgow.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland