The Antonine Wall
ROUGH CASTLE
Map of the Antonine Wall, with Rough Castle highlighted
A view of Rough Castle from the air, looking east. Click on the image to enlarge it.
The fort at Rough Castle is the most complete example on the line of the Antonine Wall. The fort occupies a position between the Wall itself and a gully carved out by the nearby Rowantree Burn. With an area of 0.4 hectares, Rough Castle is one of the smallest forts along the Wall. It was excavated by archaeologists in 1904, and the plan of the fort, shown below, was drawn at that time. Several stone buildings were uncovered during the excavation, but were covered over again to protect them.
Inside the fort was a headquarters building, a granary and a house for the commanding officer. There were also barrack buildings, where the soldiers would have slept and eaten their meals.
The fort was crossed by the Military Way, a road that ran along the length of the Wall. The road enters Rough Castle fort through its West Gate, after crossing the Rowantree Burn via a wooden bridge, and leaves the fort through its East Gate. It is possible to walk along the course of this road when you visit the fort. A by-pass was also built around the southern side of the fort.
The fort at Rough Castle is defended by a turf rampart, and attached to its eastern side was an annexe. This provided extra space, and contained the bath-house. The bath-house at Rough Castle was covered over by its excavators, but was similar to the one at Bearsden, which can still be visited today.
A plan of the fort at Rough Castle, drawn when it was excavated in 1904. Click on the image to enlarge it.
Reproduced by kind permission of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland
An unusual feature of the defences at Rough Castle, only discovered because of the excavation, is a series of pits containing sharpened stakes, lying to the north-west of the causeway across the the Wall ditch. These pits are known as lillia, and were positioned to help defend the vulnerable gateway through the Wall.
A series of pits (lillia) near the gateway through the Wall
Photograph reproduced by kind permission of the Hunterian Museum
A close-up view of the lillia
