Mons Graupius Contender: Bennachie
Introduction
Bennachie is an extremely imposing and highly visible mountainous hill in the Garrioch north west of Inverurie.
J.K.S. St Joseph - the noted exponent of 20th C aerial reconnaissance - discovered the exceptionally large Roman marching camp at Logie Durno, several kilometres from Bennachie in 1978.
St Joseph argued that the camp, the largest then known north of the Forth – Clyde line was Agricola’s on the eve of the battle of Mons Graupius.
He attempted to explain the great distance between the camp and the hill as a “precautionary” measure to lessen the likelihood of Caledonian attacks through the night.
Further, the camp at Logie Durno -St Joseph asserted - appears to have ominously veered off a direct line of march between other camps at Kintore and Glenmailen/Ythan Wells.
St Joseph therefore proposed a battle centred around Kirkton of Oyne - around +100m OD - with the Caledonians massed on Bennachie which rises to +518m OD. For many years since Bennachie has been popularly hailed as the site of the battle.
Roman Scotland visited the site in 2007 full of anticipation and revisited twice in 2008 to check our findings. We were struck by both the vastness of the site as well as the unacceptable gradients on Bennachie the Caledonians and Romans would have to contend with.
Walking the ground, an alternative site centred on Chapel of Garrioch, part of the sweeping wings on the Bennachie massif offered itself as a fine site, a good match for the description of the site by Tacitus and in many ways superior to St Josephs over-large and sprawling site above Kirkton of Oyne.
A: Campaigning
Is the site located in an area of known Flavian campaigning?
Yes
Is the Flavian activity in the area likely to be Agricolan?
No, the circa 30 acre string of camps arcing through Aberdeenshire to Moray do not hold sufficient capacity and post date 83 AD.
B: Marching Camps
Is there a marching camp in the vicinity of the site?
Yes, Durno.
Is the marching camp located close to the site?
No, it is approximately 5 km away or 3km to the alternative Chapel of Garrioch site.
Does the marching camps position and orientation “address” the site?
Traditional site; yes. Alternative site; no.
Does the marching camp display Flavian characteristics?
No, it displays late Roman marching camp morphology.
Is the size of the marching camp reasonably close to the 117 acre criteria required to accommodate 26,000 men?
No. At 144 acres Durno is too large and could accommodate a force of 32,000 men.
C: Site topography
Is the site of an appropriate size to accommodate the forces engaged?
No, the traditional Bennachie site is too large, over 8km wide.
Reducing this frontage to an alternative location between its outlying lower slopes around Hill of Knockollochie and Gallows Hill centred on Chapel of Garrioch gives a very credible width of just under 3 km.
Does the critical area of the engagement include terrain or features which are specifically inconsistent with Tacitus account?
Yes. The camp at Durno sits directly behind the River Urie and the line of Roman advance and deployment is similarly crossed by the Gadie Burn.
Both of which would be noteworthy impediments; first to the auxiliaries forming up and secondly to the ability to rapidly commit the legionaries in the event of the auxiliaries coming under difficulties.
The alternative suggested location at Chapel of Garrioch is close on fordable reaches of the Urie and not hampered by the Gadie Burn.
Does the site have a “plain” at the foot of the hill suitable for the recorded chariot action?
The ground on the traditional extended battlefront is extremely broken around Oyne. The reduced battlefield below Garrioch is ideal.
Is the hill of an appropriate gradient for:
- The Caledonians to be marshalled and advance down and around? Bennachie has a distinctly mountainous profile and steep gradients, even at lower levels around the northern quadrant of the hill. Gradients at the suggested reduced width battlefield are appropriate.
- A realistic Roman assault up? As above.
Does the countryside behind the Caledonian position have terrain consistent with the actions recorded in the immediate aftermath of the battle?
Yes, a broken upland setting.
Can reasonably ready access to the fleet (approx a day or twos march) be achieved from the sites location?
No, a 3 day march encumbered with wounded would be necessary to reach the Aberdeenshire coast, probably following the River Don.
Is the likely point of contact with the fleet consistent with the broad strategy and location of the Roman fleet on the east coast?
Yes
Can the “Boresti” be identified locally?
No
Are there known marching camps which hint at Agricola’s movements after leaving the site of battle?
No
Is the sites location consistent with the position chosen the following year for the siting of the legionary fortress of Inchtuthil?
No, siting Inchtuthil so far to the south of the scene of victory on the field does not sit convincingly.
D: The Sites Name
Is there evidence in the locality for names from which Mons “Graupius” could be derived?
No
Summary
Bennachie is a vast site and the sheer bulk of the hill alone makes it difficult to imagine 30,000 warriors on its slopes being so thickly massed as to be able to rise in the “tiers” described by Tacitus.
The traditional site occupying much of Bennachie is simply too large for the action and numbers recorded by Tacitus. The alternative site at Chapel of Garrioch however is extremely imposing, of a practical gradient for the Caledonians to be marshalled on while its strong theatre - like profile would indeed make any commander assaulting it naturally concerned for his exposed flanks.
The ground between the battle site(s) and the camp at Logie Durno is bisected by the River Urie and the Gadie Burn. Deployment and the course of events would be both hampered by these as well as the rough broken ground at Kirkton of Oyne.
The camp itself at Logie Durno unfortunately has late Roman marching camp morphology and its great size is sufficient to accommodate 32,000 men, some 6,000 men more than we have calculated Agricola deployed. At no point has anyone suggested that the Romans outnumbered the Caledonians.
Leaving the legionaries at the camp, either in front or behind the Urie would leave them too far removed from the scene of the fighting to influence events if required.
Finally St Joseph’s ominous diversion of the line of march, is unfortunately entirely imagined.
The distinctive peak of Mither Tap is long visible from the wide lands of lowland Aberdeenshire from as far as Normandykes on the Dee and was clearly used as a waymarker by the various Roman forces who marched this way.
There is no “deviation” in line of march to Durno, it simply lies on the route a force would take through the Garrioch between Kintore and Ythan Wells while skirting the River Urie, a natural corridor that would be later followed by medieval roads and modern communication routes.
Bennachie will always remain a “must visit” site and Roman Scotland hopes that the alternative Chapel of Garrioch site we have offered at least endeavours to address some of the problems inherent with the traditional Bennachie site.
Unfortunately, with only 5 and 7 appropriate answers out of a possible 19 for the traditional and alternative sites respectively, Bennachie rates no better than “highly unlikely” and can no longer be rated as the favoured site for the location of the battle.
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©2009 Roman Scotland. All Rights Reserved
First Published February 2009
