Inchtuthil

Inchtuthil is the name of a large, well-preserved Roman castrum on the banks of the River Tay near Dunkeld, Perth and Kinross, Scotland.

It was built in 83 AD as the advance headquarters for the forces of general Gnaeus Julius Agricola who had been steadily fighting his way north from Chester. Positioned at the head of one of the main routes in and out of the Scottish Highlands, it was occupied by Legion XX "Valeria Victrix" and covered a total area of convert|21.5|ha|acre. [cite book |last=Keppie |first=Lawrence |title=The making of the Roman army from Republic to Empire |publisher=Batsford |date=1984 |pages=174-5 |location=London |isbn=0-713-43651-4] Construction of the huge site would have taken more than one season and a temporary camp was built nearby to house and protect the soldiers over the winter. Additional, smaller forts were built further north and south at the mouth of each nearby glen forming what are now referred to as the Glenblocker forts. Inchtuthil was one of a chain of Roman camps which supported the northern invasions of Scotland. Other Roman camps in this chain include Battledykes, Stracathro, Raedykes and thence taking the Elsick Mounth to Normandykes. [cite web |title=Elsick Mounth - Ancient Trackway in Scotland in Aberdeenshire |author=C. Michael Hogan |url=http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=18037 |publisher=Megalithic.co.uk |accessdate=2008-03-09] The relationship of the Glen forts to the Gask Ridge defences concentrated further south is unclear.

Design and staffing

When it was excavated in the 1950s by Sir Ian Richmond a large pit containing more than 750,000 iron nails, weighing ten tonnes, was found. The pit was elaborately concealed and the nails were probably buried by the troops when they left in order to deny them to the local tribes. Unlike other legionary fortresses, Inchtuthil was not later built over and its layout was still largely preserved when Richmond dug it. Its defences consisted of a stone wall with an outside ditch and gatehouses on each side, following the standard Roman plan. It would have been able to accommodate 6,000 troops, it could accommodate ten normal size centuries and five centurions. [Flavius Vegetius Renatus, N. P. Milner, "Vegetius: Epitome of Military Science", 1996, Liverpool UniversityPress, 161 pages ISBN 085323910X] Facilities included a hospital that itself covered 5,000 square metres and contained wards for each century, a workshop covering 3,500 square metres and dozens of barracks buildings, the timber walls of which had a total perimeter of seven miles (10 km). [cite book |last=Keppie |first=Lawrence |title=The making of the Roman army from Republic to Empire |publisher=Batsford |date=1984 |pages=175 |location=London |isbn=0-713-43651-4] A headquarters building and an aedes where the legion's colours and images of the emperor would have been kept have also been identified.

Inchtuthil was only briefly occupied and was evacuated around summer AD 86 and certainly no later than early in AD 87. The reason for this was probably that Legio II "Adiutrix" had been called to Moesia from its base in Deva Victrix (Chester) to deal with a Dacian invasion in 86 and XX "Valeria Victrix" was obliged to move back south to take its place. However recent archaeology has cast some doubt on this, indicating that the fortress may have been in use for considerably longer than previously thought.

Modern commentary

The 2000 year old iron Inchtuthil nails have been used by atomic scientists to estimate the corrosion effects on barrels of nuclear waste.

References