Description

The monument comprises the remains of a Roman fortlet and Roman road, dating probably to the mid 2nd century AD. It is situated on high ground above the town of Greenock on the northern edge of Lurg Moor. The fortlet is visible as the earthwork remains of the bank and ditch and contains internal mounds indicating buried features. To the south of the fortlet is a long linear mound, representing the raised camber of a Roman road. The combined elements of the monument and their particularly good survival make it an excellent example of Roman military infrastructure during the Antonine era. The monument was last scheduled in 1993, but the area is being revised to protect the archaeological remains more accurately.

The monument is visible as a rectangular enclosure defined by a substantial V-shaped ditch and inner turf rampart. The monument is situated in moorland and the site is generally overgrown with grass and patches of heather. In certain places, the ditch is currently waterlogged. The fortlet measures around 52m E-W by 44m transversely, within a rampart some 10m wide that stands to around 1m in height. The rampart is best preserved on the eastern side of the fortlet where it has an external height of 1.6m and an internal height of 0.8m. The ditch, rock-cut in places, is 3m wide and is particularly well preserved on the east. Extending from the fortlet's gate, a 180m stretch of Roman road is clearly visible running approximately southwards across moorland, ascending a low ridge overlooking the fortlet. Crossing the fortlet ditch on a causeway, the road is 5m wide and appears as a cambered turf-covered mound, overgrown in places with heather. A combination of hard-packed gravel, small stones and naturally occurring rock outcrops form the road surface. Both the fortlet and road were part of a larger frontier system which dates to the mid-second century and was related to the Antonine occupation of southern Scotland.

The area proposed for scheduling is irregular on plan, to include the remains described above and an area around them within which evidence relating to the monument's construction, use and abandonment may survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map. The scheduling specifically excludes the above-ground elements of all post-and-wire fences in the area to allow for their maintenance.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

Cultural Significance

The monument's cultural significance can be expressed as follows:

Intrinsic characteristics

One of the best-preserved fortlets in Scotland, the significance of this example is greatly enhanced by the fact that the site does not appear to have been excavated. The fortlet's construction is typical, with a turf rampart standing on a stone foundation and a broad outer V-shaped ditch. Internally, there is a prominent rectangular mound down the western side of the interior, representing the remains of the timber-framed barrack block. No structure is visible on the eastern side of the fortlet, suggesting this may have been an open courtyard.

A limited excavation of the road took place in 1991 and the results indicated that it is well preserved. An excavation trench measuring 10m by 2m was cut across the road about 50m south of the fortlet to allow for the construction of a pipeline that now crosses the road. This stretch of visible road is almost certainly a spur from an otherwise unknown route that ran through the region. This would have connected the forts and fortlets in the area to the major route through SW Scotland. Like most Roman roads, this stretch is flanked by a pair of ditches.

Both the fortlet ditch and the ditches flanking the road are waterlogged in places, offering excellent potential for the preservation of organic remains. The fortlet has high potential to inform our understanding of the Roman occupation in this part of Scotland, the extent of Roman and native interaction, and to offer an insight into the everyday lives of the soldiers who garrisoned this outpost. In addition, the fortlet can significantly contribute to our appreciation of fortlet design and construction, especially as this site does not appear to have been excavated in the past. The excavated Roman fortlet at Outerwards in Ayrshire is slightly smaller in area but contained two entrances, and the ditch surrounding it was rounded rather than rectangular. Outerwards had two distinct phases of construction with a hiatus between the two occupations. Both phases produced finds of Antonine date and it is currently not possible to be specific about the length of hiatus between the two phases. Lurg Moor, as a fortlet on the same road system, has the potential greatly to illuminate our understanding of this network of roads and fortlets and possibly to refine the current chronological issues highlighted by Outerwards.

Contextual characteristics

Although the Antonine Wall formed a major part of the military occupation of Scotland in the mid-2nd century AD, a network of forts, fortlets and roads lay to the north and south of the frontier. This Roman fortlet probably forms part of a network of roads, fortlets and forts designed to protect the coastline and hinterland of the Antonine Wall. A likely model for this would be the series of forts and milecastles (analogous to fortlets) running along the Cumbrian Coast, west of Bowness-on-Solway, at the western end of Hadrian's Wall.

A standard fortlet probably housed around 30 soldiers, drawn from a nearby fort and housed in one or two timber-framed barrack blocks. It is likely that a wooden breastwork topped the turf rampart and wooden towers probably stood over the entrances. This provided a vantage point for observation and signalling. Fortlets are usually found in close proximity to Roman roads, making them an important aspect of the Roman infrastructure and frontier system. Around 30 fortlets are known south of the Antonine Wall with a marked concentration in Dumfries and Galloway. Upstanding remains of such sites are generally found in areas that have not been subjected to intensive cultivation or development.

The soldiers who occupied this fortlet were auxiliaries, men recruited from the native peoples who lived within and on the edges of the Roman Empire. Among the rewards for 25 years military service was an official grant of Roman citizenship, a significant social and legal status that also applied to a soldier's children.

The fortlet occupies a prominent place in the landscape, high on a ridge above the town of Port Glasgow, and it enjoys commanding views across the River Clyde to the north.

National Importance

The monument is of national importance because it has an inherent potential to make a significant addition to our understanding of the past, in particular the mid 2nd century AD Roman occupation of Scotland. The excellent level of preservation, the waterlogged conditions within the fortlet ditch and the lack of previous excavation significantly enhance the potential of this monument. The loss of the monument would significantly impede our ability to understand the Roman period in this part of Scotland and Roman fortlets more generally.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS record the monument as NS27SE 21; WoSAS as 5917 (copies of their short reports are appended).

References

Hanson, W and Maxwell, G 1983, Rome's north west frontier: The Antonine Wall, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

Newall, F 1976, 'The Roman signal fortlet at Outerwards, Ayrshire', Glasgow Archaeol Jour 4, 111-23.

Pollard, T and Oliver, N 1991 Report (no. 24) on excavation of the Roman road on Lurg Moor in advance of a British Gas pipeline. Glasgow University Archaeological Research Division

St Joseph, J K S 1976, 'Air reconnaissance of Roman Scotland, 1939-75', Glasgow Archaeol Jour 4, 2

Clarke, J, Davidson, J, Robertson, A, Joseph, J and Miller, S 1952, The Roman occupation of south-western Scotland: being reports of excavations and surveys carried out under the auspices of the Glasgow Archaeological Society, Glasgow: Glasgow University Publications.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland