Description

The monument comprises the buried remains, identified through aerial photography and excavation, of a Roman settlement including the remains of a possible Mithraeum, a temple dedicated to the Roman god Mithras, together with associated field systems.  It forms an element of a much larger complex of remains focused around the mid-2nd century AD Roman fort and associated civilian settlement.

The monument comprises the buried remains of a Roman settlement, including a possible Mithraeum, and associated field systems, numerous pits and what may be part of a Roman aqueduct connected to the bath-house at Inveresk fort. None of these features has any surviving surface traces but instead they survive as buried remains visible as cropmarks on aerial photographs. These photographs reveal a series of interconnected square and rectangular fields curving around the crest of a slope. The layout of the fields closely resembles other known Roman settlements and field systems and they relate to the civil settlement attached to the Roman fort at Inveresk. Trial excavations in the 1960s and 1990s located traces of ditches and banks and confirmed the Roman period date. The survival of these remains after intensive cultivation is particularly remarkable and indicates high archaeological potential for the rest of the field system.

The scheduled area is irregular on plan, to include the remains described and an area around them within which related material may be expected to be found, as shown in red on the accompanying map. The scheduling specifically excludes the above-ground elements of the cricket pavilion, all fences, stone and brick walls and domestic gas tanks to allow for their maintenance. The upper 300mm of all paths, tennis courts, paved areas and driveways are similarly excluded to allow for maintenance. The site was first scheduled in 1975, but an inadequate area was included to protect all of the archaeological remains: the present rescheduling rectifies this.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is nationally important because it has an inherent potential to contribute to our understanding of the past, in particular the extent of civil settlements attached to Roman forts and Roman cultivation techniques. The monument can add to our understanding of the relationship of the field system with the settlement and the impact of the Roman occupation on the agricultural landscape and native Iron-Age communities. There is potential for the recovery of dateable remains and environmental samples from the fills of field boundary ditches and any surviving settlement. Material of this type can enhance our understanding of the character of the local landscape, providing information about the impact of the Roman occupation on the local economy. The remains of field system represents an important survival in an area that has been regularly cultivated for centuries. The possibility of a surviving Mithraeum, presents a unique opportunity to study the spread of cult religious practice in the Empire, on Roman frontiers and specifically Scotland. The loss of the monument would impede our ability to understand the significance of Roman Inveresk and the Roman occupation of Scotland in the second century AD.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

Historic Environment Scotland http://www.canmore.org.uk CANMORE ID 53714, 53853, 304470, 236599, 312220, 53922, 53872 (accessed on 22/02/2016).

East Lothian Local Authority HER/SMR Reference: MEL102, http://www.johngraycentre.org/collections/getrecord/ELHER_MEL102/ (accessed on 22/02/2016).

Archaeological Services Durham University, 2010, Sedgefield Community Research Project East Park, Sedgefield CO Durham: geophysical surveys 2005-2009: report 2331.

Bishop, M C (ed) 2002, Roman Inveresk: Past, Present and Future, Duns: Armatura Press.

Breeze, D J 2006, The Antonine Wall, London: John Donald.

CFA 1993, 'Eskgrove, Inveresk (Inveresk parish): Inveresk civilian settlement and field systems', Discovery Excav Scot 56.

CFA 1994, 'Eskgrove, Inveresk (Inveresk parish): segmented ditch and pits', Discovery Excav Scot 45.

Neighbour, T 2002, Excavations on the 'amphitheatre' and other areas east of Inveresk fort, in Bishop, M C (ed) Roman Inveresk: Past, Present and Future, Duns: Armatura Press.

Sommer, C.S., 2006. Military vici in Roman Britain revisited'. ROMANITAS: Essays on Roman Archaeology in Honour of Sheppard Frere on the Occasion of his Ninetieth Birthday. Oxbow: Oxford, pp.95-146.

Speed, L 1999, 'Eskgrove Gatehouse, Inveresk (Inveresk parish), watching brief', Discovery Excav Scot 29.

Tomlin, R.S.O., 2011, III. Inscriptions. Britannia, 42, pp 441-444

Aerial Photographs used in assessment: ML 3225, ML 3439, ML 3440, ML 3543, ML 3435, ML 3436, ML 3437, ML 4188, ML 4189, ML 4190, A 30377, A 30378, A 30379, A 30380, A 40454, A 40455, A 40456, A 40457, A 40458, A 40459, A 40460, A 40965 PO, B 21265, B 21266, B 21267, B 24510, B 24511, B 24512, ML 2733 PO, ML 2734 PO, ML 2746 PO, ML 2747 PO, ML 4186, ML 4187, ML 4191, ML 4791, ML 4792, ML 4793, ML 4794, ML 4795, ML 4826, ML 4827, ML 4828, ML 4829, C 46379, C 46380, C 46381, D 14036, D 14037, D 14038, D 14039, ML 3963 CS, ML 3964 CS.

Canmore

https://canmore.org.uk/site/53872/
https://canmore.org.uk/site/53714/
https://canmore.org.uk/site/312220/

Source: Historic Environment Scotland