Mons Graupius Contender: Carpow
Introduction
Roman Scotland identified the land around Newburgh in Fife as a contender in 2008 primarily as the site contains the Carpow marching camp, one of the series of suitably sized Flavian marching camps in the area.
The land at Carpow itself saw several phases of Roman occupation and a large Severan fortress occupied the site in the early years of the 3rd C AD. Carpow was called “Horrea Classis” or “Porreoclassis” in the late Roman Ravena Cosmography.
Ormiston Hill (+236m OD) sits prominently above the River Tay, and chokes further easy access along the south shore of the Tay estuary here. The lower slopes extending past Easter and Wester Clunie would provide an ideal Caledonian position, with the suggested battlefield positioned on the low lying ground (circa +30m OD) between the hill and the (later) fortress site.
This land would probably be on or near the boundary between the Venicones and the tribes of Fife – most probably the Horesti.
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?
Yes
B: Marching Camps
Is there a marching camp in the vicinity of the site?
Yes, Carpow.
Is the marching camp located close to the site?
Yes
Does the marching camps position and orientation “address” the site?
Yes
Does the marching camp display Flavian characteristics?
Yes
Is the size of the marching camp reasonably close to the 117 acre criteria required to accommodate 26,000 men?
Yes, at 109.5 acres it can accommodate 24,300 men.
C: Site topography
Is the site of an appropriate size to accommodate the forces engaged?
Yes, a site centred on Clunie extending to lower slopes of Ormiston Hill and Pitcairlie Hill has a concave profile 3.5 km long.
Does the critical area of the engagement include terrain or features which are specifically inconsistent with Tacitus account?
Apart from Gillies Burn running across the face of Ormiston Hill, no.
Does the site have a “plain” at the foot of the hill suitable for the recorded chariot action?
Yes though with only a limited depth.
Is the hill of an appropriate gradient for:
- The Caledonians to be marshalled and advance down and around? Lower slopes only.
- 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, broken upland setting.
Can reasonably ready access to the fleet (approx a day or twos march) be achieved from the sites location?
No. Access to the fleet is immediately available on the Tay and would not require a further march.
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?
Yes, Horrea in Fife.
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?
Yes, Inchtuthil is sited aggressively – but not too far - in advance of this contending battle site.
D: The Sites Name
Is there evidence in the locality for names from which Mons “Graupius” could be derived?
Yes by close association with the escarpment with excellent philological links at Dunning and Carey.
Summary
Carpow benefits as a contender by its association with the suitably sized Flavian camp there. At an impressive 15.5 appropriate answers out of a possible 19, Carpow rates as a “strong contender”.
Further, Carpows association with later recurring Roman activity is also interesting.
There are some sheer falls to parts of the upper slopes of Pitcairlie Hill though, and the depth of the battlefield is quite compact. The saddle between Ormiston and Pitcairlie Hills could be singled out as a weakness in any Caledonian position there which allows us to speculate over why Agricola sent forward his Batavian and Tungrian cohorts before committing his other auxiliaries.
Sited directly on the banks of the Tay, we wonder however why Tacitus would record Agricola undertaking a march following the battle to make contact with the fleet when this would be immediately available to hand.
Carpow however is a fine site that well justifies its inclusion in the list of contenders.
NEXT PAGE: The Contenders: Craig Rossie
©2009 Roman Scotland. All Rights Reserved
First Published February 2009
