#A2ZChallenge E is for Elginhaugh

E is for Elginhaugh

Theme: Ancient Roman Scotland during the Flavian era 

Strategic, or not?

That’s a question that can be asked of any Ancient Roman installation that was erected during the Agricolan #Caledonian campaigns, and the answer is that many were for varying individual reasons.

Some were placed strategically to supply the forces in the campaign area, like the supply fort at Corbridge. Other installations were probably sited to monitor a particular region, perhaps because the risk of rebellion was greater in that part. Forts like Elginhaugh may have been strategically sited for no other reason than that they lay near an important route or Roman road.

At 1.4 ha, Elginhaugh was most likely a small auxiliary fort for probably 10 units (turmae) of mounted forces – around 350 officers, men and horses – which had one period of use in the Flavian era and was carefully dismantled before being abandoned. This amount of cavalry is distinctive since the smallest unit of 1 turma tended to be of 32 horsemen, but the next grouping (ala), ideally, was of 16 turmae comprising of around 512 horsemen.

The amount stationed at Elginhaugh gives credence to the fact that Agricola was dealing with numbers of men which didn't fit normal patterns but he was likely glad to cobble together as many as he could during his #Caledonian campaigns. But since we have no exact details it may have been the case that the 'other' 6 units of that ala were stationed elsewhere in Caledonia and were supporting infantry units.

Elginhaugh isn’t as large as some of the Agricolan defences but it’s one of the most important in the archaeological record since it lays claim to being the most thoroughly excavated timber built fort in the Roman Empire.

c. Nancy Jardine

Excavated in 1986/87, after being noticed in aerial surveys of 1976, the finds were important in that they clarify that Roman fort plans were never exactly alike. Though many forts, fortlets and camps, do share similarities, each was constructed according to who was likely to be housed in it. In the fort at Elginhaugh, the interior barrack accommodations were designed with larger ‘rooms’ since it’s currently thought that a Roman soldier and his horse were barracked together in one room, rather than horses housed in a separate stable area. The ground plan of Elginhaugh leads to the numbers of cavalry above who were stationed at Elginhaugh.

Another import factor is that it lies near a ford across the River North Esk, along the main route north from Eboracum, via Corbridge, to the Bodotria estuary (current Firth of Forth). It was probably also important in that it may have been close to the ‘border’ between the Votadini tribe and the Selgovae.
(I’m using the tribal names as given by the mapmaker Ptolemaeus- see previous #A2ZChallenge 2019 posts or use the Search box on this blog to read older posts about ‘Ptolemy’)

Traprain Law Silver-Wikimedia Commons

The Votadini tribe may have been more amenable to having Roman association, or even domination, than some other southern 'Scotland' tribes. They may have been more receptive to absorbing some Roman culture since it’s interesting to note that there aren’t nearly as many forts and fortlets in Votadini territory as there are in that of the Selgovae and Novantae of southern ‘Scotland’. This could, or may not, have been due to successful forays made by previous Governors of Britannia (Bolanus; Cerialis; Frontinus).

N.B. A fabulous silver hoard, the largest ‘hack silver’ collection found ‘outside’ the Roman Empire  and dated to the end of Roman occupation in Britannia c. early 5th century (the 'Edinburgh' area at this point in time being well north of the Hadrian's Wall empire boundary) was found at the site of the Votadini’s Traprain Law fort. The hoard is thought to have been some form of payment for services rendered to the Roman Empire, or a bribe. Traprain Law is also thought to have been a major Votadini hillfort.

When excavated the Agricolan fort at Elginhaugh yielded a cache of buried nails, like at the legionary fortress of Inchtuthil, though the amount of nails at Elginhaugh was much less weighty at around 160 kg. When a fort was abandoned everything portable was removed for further use. But when that was logistically difficult, then it seems to have been usual for the Roman Army to destroy, or bury, anything that could be used by the enemy. Though why the Elginhaugh nails weren’t carted off is interesting, perhaps because the fort had mainly been used by equestrian forces and perhaps had less use of carts for belongings?

Many of the excavated Agricolan forts have yielded some tantalising clues as to what it may have been like to have been stationed there, whether in hostile or more hospitable territory. Middens, and ditches dug on purpose during dismantling for dumping goods, can be great sources of information. Sometimes the faeces found, or organic debris, gives an indication of what the soldiers ate.

Henbane
Hyoscyamus niger
Wikimedia Commons

At Elginhaugh we get a slightly different aspect of what was absorbed into the bodies of the soldiers. Seeds of hemlock and henbane were discovered, the plants most likely used as sedatives or painkillers. If the fort was sited in what was a less hostile area, it begs the question of what might have caused the soldiers to need heavy sedatives. Henbane could ease problems with the digestive tract, which was thought to have been a common ailment due to the fairly restricted diet of the Roman soldier. 

(image hopefully of the correct form of henbane) 

Of course, on the other hand, hemlock if not used properly could kill!

Aes (plural), or a single ass (I’m not sure how many) from A.D. 86 were/was found at Elginhaugh in the midden debris, thought to be lost during the dismantling of the fort. This confirms the site as being of Flavian and/or late Agricolan occupation since nothing was found in the area which is dated beyond the rule of Domitian. 

Denarius Wikimedia Commons

Other coin finds from Elginhaugh (in 1986/87) comprised: 4 republican Denarii including 1 of Marcus Antonius, and 48 ranging in dates from Nero to Domitian. No doubt some soldier was very unhappy at losing a denarius since they were hard to come by. Or perhaps it may have been used in some sort of votive ceremony.

Which information about Elginhaugh did you enjoy the most, today?

Nancy Jardine- National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh 

Till tomorrow and more #A2ZChallenge...

Slainthe!

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Traprain_Law_Treasure_01.JPG

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hyoscyamus_niger,_Henbane_(3528518146).jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Coin,_denarius_of_Vespasian_(FindID_439952).jpg