Description

This monument is a section of the Antonine Wall which runs from Bar Hill to the eastern boundary of Strone Plantation. It includes the surviving remains of one of the Antonine Wall forts. A later prehistoric hillfort (Castle Hill) is also included in the scheduled area.

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.

The Antonine Wall at this location consists of the rampart, the ditch, the berm (area between rampart and ditch), the upcast mound, and the Military Way. The Wall is particularly well preserved in this section, and all these features can be clearly seen, particularly in the 200m section looking uphill towards Castle Hill from the E. The fort is unusual among the Antonine Wall forts as it is not joined to the Wall, but lies up to 25m to the south of the rampart. A branch of the Roman road, the Military Way, runs between the fort and the rampart. The fort was excavated in the early years of the twentieth century, and plans of various buildings were recovered, including the headquarters building, bathhouse, workshop and barrack blocks. Many important finds were made, as the well in the courtyard of the headquarters building and various waterlogged rubbish pits were excavated. The preservation of organic materials was good because of the waterlogging, and the finds included many leather shoes, fragments of leather tents, a wooden bucket and winding gear, and a wooden wagon wheel. To the NW of the Roman fort the Antonine Wall bends to run around the north side of the prehistoric hillfort, Castle Hill, and continues downhill to the boundary of the plantation. The Military Way has a junction immediately E of the fort's E gate, where the northerly branch bypassing the fort joins the road from the E gate. The road then runs to the south of Castle Hill, and runs NW to converge again with the Wall line beyond the edge of the plantation.

The area to be scheduled includes the Antonine Wall rampart, berm, ditch and upcast mound, the Roman fort and its associated ditches, the Military Way, the later prehistoric fort of Castle Hill, and an area to the N and S where traces of activities associated with the construction and use of the monument may survive. The area is very irregular on plan, as shown in red on the accompanying map extract. The top 50cm of the track which runs through the scheduled area, and the top 50cm of the area of hard standing at the W end of the area are excluded from the scheduling to enable the top surface to be maintained.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography
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Historic Environment Scotland Properties
Antonine Wall - Bar Hill
https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/antonine-wall-bar-hill-fort
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Source: Historic Environment Scotland