Roman Military Deployment in the Scottish Lowlands

Subduing Scotland has always proved an un-enviable task for most of its attackers throughout history. From the campaigns of Cerialis and Agricola in the 2nd century AD in ancient Caledonia up to the Wars of Scottish Independence in the 13th and 14th centuries, the final nail in the conquered coffin of Scotland was never fully hammered in. In antiquity, the country of 'Scotland' didn't exist and in the times of the Roman Empire, it was just a series of tribal identities given the name of 'Caledonia'.The Romans launched 3 invasions of this province and whilst achieving a degree of success, they never established total control - eventually to withdraw completely by AD213. What I would like to explore in this essay is the military history of the region, the relationship between the native population with the Roman Empire and the extent with which the region conformed/varied with other parts of Britain under Roman occupation.

To look at the Scottish Lowland's history under Roman occupation, we need to look at the state that the lowland Caledonian peoples were in before the Invasion. Settlement types in lower Caledonia were akin to those throughout Britannia before the Roman invasion. In modern day Borders and Lothian territory, the native Votadini commonly lived in 'scooped enclosures' - stone huts enclosed by a series of earth walls dug into a hill-slope (Cunliffe, 1974: 215-6). Hill-forts were still a common occurrence throughout Iron Age Caledonia, but during the 1st c.AD, it is probable that many smaller hill-forts were abandoned in favour of defended enclosures, yet the larger hill-forts remained occupied, such as 'Traprain Law' (a tribal centre of the Votadini) in East Lothian (Cunliffe, 1974: 215-6).

Brochs (multi-purpose towers) were also still in use (Cunliffe, 1974: 215-6, 219). The Votadini and their neighbours to the west (in modern day South Clyde Valley and North Dumfriesshire), the Selgovae, began to nucleate and communities grew larger at a handful of sites (Cunliffe, 1974: 216).Their neighbours, the Novantae and Damnonii (in West Dumfriesshire & Galloway, Ayrshire and the North Clyde Valley) had only 4 hill forts in excess of 2. 5 hectares, unlike their neighbours to the east, who had 13 of greater size (Cunliffe, 1974: 215-6).

The Vacomagi and Venicones to the north east (modern day North East Scotland, Tayside, Fife and East Central) were similar in settlement composition with hill-forts, brochs, defended settlements and sou-terrains existed (despite the lack of archaeological knowledge for them - Cunliffe, 1974: 218).These types of settlement existed throughout the Iron Age in Caledonia. In the summer of AD71, Quintus P. Cerialis may have launched an invasion of Lowland Caledonia (Mattingly, 2006: 115). If we are to believe Moffat, the Votadini succumbed to Roman pressure very easily when Roman forces marched through their territory in order to secure the banks of the Firth of Forth (Moffat, 2005: 230-1).

The Selgovae were suppressed by the 20th legion (Moffat, 2005: 247) in quick order.Cerialis' vigil in Scotland was brief, but he was succeeded Gaius J. Agricola (AD78) who extended further operations in Caledonia. In AD79, Caledonia was invaded by Agricola and with astonishing speed (Tacitus, Agricola, xxii), subdued the Selgovae.

In AD80, the Roman advance was carried towards the Tay - if the Votadini had already been subdued from the prior campaign of Cerialis or had sued for term with Rome, this would explain the quick advance to the Tay against the Venicones.Conquered territory was secured by the construction and garrisoning of forts in the winter (Frere, 1987: 90; Maxwell, 1998: 27; Tacitus, Agricola, xxiii). In 80-81AD, the peoples of South West Caledonia, the Novantae and Damnonii, were subdued by Agricola's forces and in AD82, a line of forts was established between the Firths of Clyde and Forth (Frere, 1987: 91). He also established a large fort at Newstead (Cunliffe, 1974: 230).

Under new instructions, Agricola marched north in AD83.Evidently, he split his force into three groups to cover all advance routes along the east cost of Caledonia, establishing a series of marching camps along the way (Frere, 1987: 93-4; Mattingly, 2006: 117), most of which were of the 'Stracathro' type (enabling us to identify these camps as Flavian (Maxwell, 1990: 16) and exclusively Scottish (Maxwell, 1998: 20)). At some point during the campaign in this year, Agricola's rear was compromised by a series of attacks on the forts of the Forth-Clyde line and above (Frere, 1987: 94); the infamous attack on the 9th legion being one such example (Mattingly, 2006: 117).With Caledonian aggression mounting because of Roman raids (Frere, 1987: 94), Agricola decided to seek an engagement to end resistance.

At an unconfirmed location in North East Scotland (possible sites ranging from anywhere near Inverness in the North and Perth and Dundee towards the South), the Battle of Mons Graupius was fought where a Roman force of around 20-25,000 defeated the assembled 30,000 Caledonians under Calgacus, effectively securing the province (Tacitus, Agricola, xl, 3).After Agricola's recall to Rome that year, what should have been a complete wrapping up of the Caledonian campaign was stalled. Advance turned into fortification; 'glen-blocking' forts were built along perimeter of the Glens near Stirling (Mattingly, 2006: 115); a legionary base was also being built at Inchtuthil. However, in AD87, events necessitated that occupation in Caledonia had to be scaled down. Forts that had been established during the campaign (such as Inchtuthil and the forts at the Gask ridge) were abandoned and even dismantled (Moffat, 2005: 245).By the end of the 1st century AD, Roman forces had withdrawn to the Tyne-Solway line (Hanson, 2003: 195).

The next outbreak of conflict occurs in AD 139 when Antoninus Pius reversed the containment policy of his 'father', Hadrian (Historia Augusta, Antoninus Pius, 5). He appointed Q. Lollius Urbicus as Governor of Britain (Frere, 1987: 126), and soon Urbicus began the re-conquest of Lowland Caledonia. Urbicus' campaign took the Roman army up to the line between the Firths of Forth and Clyde.

It was decided that in AD140, a new wall of turf would be built between the two Firths and it was subsequently dubbed the 'Antonine Wall' (Frere, 1987: 127). Further reinforcement was added to the wall by the rebuilding and reoccupation of Flavian forts at Newstead, Crawford, Castledykes, Glenlochar and Loundon Hill (Frere, 1987: 127; Mattingly, 2006: 152). New forts were built at places like Inveresk and Cramond; whilst smaller fort-lets were built at previously occupied sites like Lyne and new areas like Castle Greg (Frere, 1987: 127).The wall was completed by the Legionaries 8 years later in AD148; however, it was only to be another 4 years before the wall and its forts were abandoned (Breeze, 2006: 167) and Roman forces withdrawn back to Hadrian's Wall over a period of several years(Mattingly, 2006: 121, 152).

Forward bases were still maintained in Scotland despite the withdrawal, however (Hanson, 2003: 197-8). From the abandonment of the Antonine Wall to the end of the 2nd century, it is clear that hostilities between the Romans and Caledonians are fierce.Emperor Marcus Aurelius sends the Samartian cavalry to the borders to reinforce the garrisons there (Mattingly, 2006: 122). His successor Commodus had to reinforce the frontier garrison yet again after the Caladonii and a tribe called the Maeatae joined forces to invade southern Caledonia and inflict great casualties at Hadrian's Wall (Mattingly, 2006: 122). The new governor Ulpius Marcellus scores major victories against the ravaging tribes in AD184 onwards.The defense of the borders would not have been particularly helped by the outbreak of Civil War across the Roman Empire and especially not Clodius Albinus' attempt to claim the title of Emperor as he was backed by a number of British Legionaries (Frere, 1987: 154).

The eventual successor was Septimus Severus and his choice of Governor to Britain was Virius Lupus; his notable action being to bribe the Maeatae into ceasing hostilities (Mattingly, 2006: 123) in AD197. In AD207, the situation was dire enough to require the command of the Emperor himself.Severus' campaign drew in huge amounts of reinforcements, including the Praetorian Guard (Mattingly, 2006: 123). It was a hard fought campaign, but the presence of marching camps (e. g. , Deer's Den and Ythan Wells) up to near the Moray Firth indicate a serious advance, as does the 11 hectare vexillation fortress at Carpow and the renewed activity at Cramond fort (Mattingly, 2006: 124, 152).

The dating of 52 hectare forts from the 3rd century indicate the size of Severus' force (St Joseph, 1969: 114-9; 1973: 230-3; Maxwell, 1998: 24).Severus' death on the eve of another campaign against the rebellious Maeatae and allied Caledonii in 210/11 meant that Caracalla could call a temporary truce so as to secure his position in Rome, yet coins from 211 show victory in Britain, which indicates that campaigns were still ongoing against the Maeatae (Mattingly, 2006: 124). However, by AD213, Britannia was split into 2 provinces with London receiving 2 Legions and York receiving 1 Legion (Mattingly, 2006: 126).Over the course of the 3rd century, a new power in Caledonia arrives with the appearance of the Picts, who were less hostile than their predecessors, but still engaged in small raids over the Roman frontier up to and indeed after the Roman retreat (Moffat, 2005: 284, 299). The Legions did still engage in campaigns against the Picts, with small successes - like Stilicho's campaign in AD395, but they were ultimately futile in the wake of the withdrawal of the Legions in AD410 (Moffat, 2005: 297-301).

Now that we have a brief overview of the history between the Caledonian people and the Roman invaders, what can we deduce from the archaeology about the relationship between the two? It is likely that in the aftermath of Agricola's invasion, the conquered territory behind the front-line had to be carefully watched. Regular patrols of locally stationed troops would have reminded the natives as to who was really in charge; and as time passed, the possibility of rebellion weakened (Maxwell, 1998: 27-8).The added benefit of troop withdrawal from assumingly pacified areas was that the strain on the local economy was alleviated (Maxwell, 1998: 27). The removal of garrisons from pacified areas was certainly unique to Scotland (Mattingly, 2006: 150). Substantial garrisons were placed in control of major roads heading north and where they could watch over the locals, like the fort in the Tweed Valley which watched over the Selgovae (Mattingly, 2006: 150).

The so-called 'Glen-blocker; forts were built after the victory at Mons Graupius (Mattingly, 2006: 151) and they were not only built to watch over the entrances to the Highlands, but also to protect the farmland of the Venicones in modern day Fife, as this farmland was used to feed the garrisons to the north along the east coast, therefore it was in the interests of the Romans to look after those subjugated peoples who happened to supply them (Mattingly, 2006: 151-2, 434). It certain parts of Caledonia, it was prudent to safeguard strategically important places with at least a semi-permanent garrison.In South-Western Caledonia, this had the added benefit of protecting the relatively pacified Dunmonii, so there may well have been a feeling of mutual harmony between the occupiers and natives (Maxwell, 1983a). The presence of a Legionary fortress on the front line was not seen in Britain before (Woolliscroft, 2000: 120).

The majority of the Antonine fort at Balmuildy was built in stone, indicating that it was intended to be a permanent feature (Leslie et al, 2007: 144-5). It is also worth noting how Iron Age Caledonian settlements reacted to the Roman occupation.The way Iron Age Settlements in the Caledonian Lowlands nucleated towards a small amount of sites reflects the situation in Southern Britannia (Cunliffe, 1974: 215-6). Despite this, the brief Roman occupation of the Lowlands seems to have had little impact upon native society (Mattingly, 2006: 426).

The small number of forts in the territory of the Votadini may indicate that the Romans treated these people less harshly than those of other tribes (Mattingly, 2006: 153; Cunliffe, 1974: 215-6, 230).The lack of garrisons in East Lothian and the constant Roman activity at Traprain's Law also subscribes to this view of leniency towards the Votadini (Mattingly, 2006: 424; Haselgrove, 2009: 230). It is possible that the Votadini adopted a pro Roman policy (Maxwell, 1998: 18). In immediate contrast, the chain of forts in the Tweed Valley was there to watch over the 'hostile' Selgovae (Mattingly, 2006: 426; Cunliffe, 1974: 229). Can we read any more into this supposed friendliness with the natives of the Votadini tribe?Why were they so comparatively happy with Roman occupation? A striking fact is that the majority of coin hoards found in Scotland are from the East and Lowlands Scotland (Mattingly, 2006: 437) and that most of these date from the Flavian and Antonine periods, where silver denarii were 'gifted' to natives to keep them quiet (Mattingly, 2006: 438; Cunliffe, 1974: 229).

In the times of Septimus Severus, bribes were frequently handed out to control the Caledonians tribes (Keillar, 2005: 77, citing Luttwak, 1976).The people of Birnie were certainly assumed to be kept in line via bribery (Keillar, 2005: 103). From what seems to be a native people quite at ease with the Roman occupation is turned dramatically on its head by the time of the 3rd century where the natives were actually exploiting the Romans (Keillar, 2005: 104)! It would appear that the inhabitants and occupiers viewed each other with deep suspicion. A number of forts on the landscape were designed to have a psychologically detrimental effect upon the locals (Goldsworthy, 1998: 113).

Excavations at Kintore in Aberdeenshire have revealed that there was no native settlement anywhere near the Roman fort at Kintore until after the 7th century (Cook & Dunbar, 2008: 354). At other sites, sometimes the native settlements were cleared, like the case of Kinneil fort-let (Bailey & Cannel, 1996: 337). However, if the Romans wanted to collect tax, it wouldn't have been a good idea to completely decimate the region of inhabitants (Cook ; Dunbar, 2008: 354-5).Even after the Roman garrison had long abandoned the fort at Kintore, the indigenous people were still reluctant to settle near it (Cook ; Dunbar, 2008: 355). The possibility also remains that native settlement near the fort was forbidden due to a peace treaty (Campbell, 2002). At the time the fort was built, the aim would have been for the soldiers and citizens to come back and settle the area, as was done south in Britannia (Cook ; Dunbar, 2008: 355-6).

There are more examples of the strained relationship between the occupiers and the natives at the fort.Metalwork found in the ovens located at the fort indicate that it was hidden/buried in the rubble to prevent it falling into the hands of the locals, and there is evidence for the same occurrence at Inchtuthil and Elginhaugh (Cook ; Dunbar, 2008: 349; Pitts ; St Joseph, 1985: 112; Hanson, 2002b: 834). Other forts weren't quite so reticent to involve the local populace. There is evidence to suggest that at the fort at Elginhaugh, broken glass was being collected for recycling, but it is not clear whether this was done by the soldiers themselves or by the indigenous population after the Romans had moved away (Hanson, 2007: 114).In terms of food, the soldiers would have obtained local supplies wherever possible (Hanson, 2007: 140).

At Elginhaugh, there are strong indications to believe that the supply of grain and meat was fulfilled by local farmers (Hanson, 2007: 141-2) and in turn helped to stimulate the local economy. The Flavian fort of Drumquhassle also imported wares of local origin (Masser et al. , 2002: 152-3). The Roman fort at Cramond might also have imported and used native pottery during the Severan period (McCarthy, 2002: 176).While there was plenty of impetus for the local populations in Caledonia to co-operate and co-exist with the Romans, there were some things that were out of their hands which possibly helped to hinder the annexation of Caledonia into the Roman Empire. Whenever Rome conquered a province, it simply usurped the local administrative and legal institutions and manipulated them for her own means, which often left the local elites still in power, but crucially, working inside the Empire, not against it (Woolliscroft, 2000: 114-5).

This sort of centralisation had begun to form in the south of Britannia at the time of conquest but there were no signs of this developing in Scotland (Millett, 1990: ch. 2-4). Therefore the Romans may very well have found Caledonia too difficult to govern as there was no political system for it to take over. Even worse, the system of taxation would have been an alien concept to the Caledonian people, and even harder for them to accept (Woolliscroft, 2000: 116). The region would require a huge amount of manpower to keep under control and to gather taxes.That and there was no local system of governance who could be persuaded to demilitarise (Woolliscroft, 2000: 121).

The long drawn out campaigns of Caledonia were a constant source of frustration for the Romans as despite the numerous invasions of the province, it was never able to bring Caledonia under control. The truth is that it is very difficult to make general statements connecting Caledonia with the rest of Britannia purely because the military occupation was for such a limited period; the Romans were unable to secure a lasting achievement in Caledonia and little changed for the natives (Mattingly, 2006: 426).In terms of garrison patterns, we can say that in the Flavian campaign on the late 1st century AD, many forts were of 'Stracathro' type and were considered marching camps, located a day's walk away from the next. There were also circumstances where garrisons were re-occupied when Roman forces returned to the area. The Severan campaign was notable for the construction of huge 50 plus hectare plots in order to house the 50,000 strong force brought to Caledonia. It is worth re-iterating though that the brief and frenzied Roman occupation of Caledonia makes it hard to make many generalisations at all.