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Question...	Submited By: Ivor Mollema
My name is Ivor Mollema and I am a third year student of Ancient History and Archaeology at the University of St Andrews, I am currently in the process of completing an mock application for fieldwork and have decided to base my work on Mons Graupius. As a result I was wondering whether you could tell me what kind of work has been done near your proposed location of Dunning. If you know anything, please let me know. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Response...	Date: 05/12/2011 Subject: Mons Graupius
You could check out the ongoing work of the Strathearn Environs and Royal Forteviot Serf Project, not least their Dunning broch find this year. See our newsbite on the subject. Also a trawl through RCAHMS Canmore page will let you see where any digs or watching briefs have been done on any recognised features of archaeological interest so far identified. The Roman marching camp at Dunning has had trenching done historically. We were the first to identify the Clevage Hills as the probable site in 2009 so we have no knowledge of any such search digs before and no-one has provided us with feedback info of any since. As for metal detectorists, well, who knows? Hope this has been of some limited help and best wishes with your studies.

Question...	Submited By: Anthony Durham
While reading Rivet & Smith on Roman place names in Britain I realised that they missed a trick with regard to Vindogara. By assuming that the name started out in Celtic, they failed to notice that gara 'spear' in a geographical name meant promontory, or gore in modern English. Likewise, the first part vindo- need not mean 'white, shining' but could also come from Latin vindex 'defender' or Germanic wind (modern Wend) 'border foreigner'. This suggests that the site of Vindogara should be sought on a promontory. I do not know the Irvine Bay area at all, but would be intrigued to know if this comment is useful to anyone.

Response...	Date: 11/10/2011 Subject: Location
Anthony Will put your theory on and see if it prompts any response from interested parties.

Question...	Submited By: Matt McLay
I was studying the Ptolemy Map & legend and observed the following: The feature Tinae Ostia is translated to the River Earn. The feature Victoria which sits on Tinae Ostia is translated to Inchtuthill. I live in the village Comrie and from local history it's Roman name was Victoria, there is also a sizeable roman camp on the outskirts of the village, just wondered if Victoria would be better translated to Comrie, as Inchtuthill is further North of the River Earn. I'm not coming from a position of authority here, just combing a little local knowledge with a look at the maps.

Response...	Date: 23/09/2011 Subject: Location
Comrie has had a popular association with Victoria since General Roys time when he concluded that the fort built there in Flavian times was named to commemorate the (successful?) fight that took place in Agricolas first full blown campaigning season north of the forth Clyde line in 82 AD. See our Mons Graupius article for fuller details of Comrie/ Dalginross marching camp being a contender for Mons Graupius and the 82 AD addendum looking specifically at the events of 82 AD where we - like Roy - believe Comrie saw the confrontation in that particular year. Our choice, locating Victoria at the Inchtuthil legionary fortress on the Tay (R; Tavae) is based on an assumption that the most likely place to receive such an implanted - and triumphalistic name - is the great construction that took place there probably the year after the battle and most probably none too far removed from it, if not necessarily directly on the site of the battle. As yet however there are no inscriptions from the Roman station there or elsewhere to tie the matter down definitively. All other locations noted on Ptolemys map are reckoned to derive from a Celtic root so "Victoria" is a rather unusual one to suddenly come across and would appear to locate, or remember some great feat of arms. Given the map was created in the early years of Pius's reign in the early mid second century - before he built his frontier - then this may either be some submission or defeat of the tribes that his general Lollius Urbicus had recently secured on his behalf or more likely relates to the battle of Mons Graupius in Romes last sojourn into central and northern Scotland, or perhaps both? see below. Modern associations with Victoria can be found at some other contending Mons Graupius sites such as Ardoch. Ptolemies map; please take a look at the original on the site showing his world - the detailed one of Scotland is a later map - is always difficult to reconcile as Scotland was always shown in very little detail in the original and has the incongruous bend to the right which makes placing the sites - which were listed as bearings very difficult. So a site shown on the Earn on a modern map does not necessarily mean that is exactly correct but should be taken as being within a reasonable radius of the location, hence why on this we are comfortable attributing it to an installation on the next river north, the Tay. We will only find out Inchtuthils Roman name when archaeologists finally unearth an inscription proving matters one way or the other, until then we have to keep an open mind, not a dogmatic closed mind like many academics. Since writing our article we have managed to get a copy of Smiths 1987 work - mentioned in the Craig Rossie contender in our Mons Graupius article. He took the line you have followed and has placed the fighting on Craig Rossie but has located Agricolas camp - and in his opinion hence the name of Victoria at Dunning in Strathearn near the river Earn. This has all come at the problem from a different direction from the one we took but located things much as we have done at Dunning, albeit the Clevage Hills are the more appropriate location of the fight within the orbit of the Flavian camp at Dunning. Given that the camp at Dunning saw re-use in the Antonine period - the ditches were recut and pottery fragments of that period were found - then it seems that Urbicus may have campaigned or toured the great site in strength. Did he meet and successfully negotiate or physically confront the tribes in a predetermined location aimed to intimidate them with its then fairly recent history? Did that lead to site then being known as Victoria after two show-downs with the tribes? We can`t know but its further compelling evidence for Dunning and if we were not to attribute the name "Victoria" to the legionary fortress constructed after the battle at Inchtuthil then Dunning would it seems be the next best bet for the place name.

Question...	Submited By: Peter Lamont
I only recently found your Roman Scotland website and thought you might be interested in what appears to be native signalling arrangements on the west coast during the Roman period. After making my own discoveries which were published in summary form in "Historic Argyll" April 2010 (the annual magazine of the Lorne Archaeological and Historical Magazine) I found out about the Gask ridge Roman signalling line but there appears to be no other work on communication arrangements from that period. Citation - Lamont, P. 2010, Messages from the past: Iron Age signalling in Argyll Historic Argyll No. 15 pp 8-23 ed. Julian Overnell Messages from the past: Iron Age signalling in Argyll (1MB PDF) With best regards, Peter Lamont Isle of Luing, Oban, Argyll (Edited by Roman Scotland from 2 separate messages)

Response...	Date: 02/09/2011 Subject: Location
Very interesting work. The community on places like the Isle of Luing would have had little or scant warning of approaching raids and the Epidii or whatever tribal grouping lived there in Roman times would have been wise to take such precautions, both in this as well as earlier and later eras. Seaborne raiders was a phenomenon not restricted to the Roman era. Once spotted it is interesting to contemplate the actions of the islanders, round everyone and their livestock up in the earthworks and weather the storm or make a rapid escape to larger landmasses where they could better hide out any incursions? I suppose that would depend on whether one slaver vessel was spotted or a sizeable element of the Classis Britannicus, the forts are after all quite tiny and would not have long held off a determined organised assault. It is however a smashing insight however into the grim and brutal reality of being on the edge of Empire and is a welcome corrective to nonsense being put out at present that the native "style" roundhouses at Vindolanda may have been used to house quislings from persecution by rebellious (sic) natives north of Hadrian's wall at the time of Severus's campaign. As usual this tediously pro Roman approach deems the stance of the southern superstate to be the noble and caring one and those to the north somehow as the invidious bad guys. Total unlikely nonsense of course making spurious links between current actions with UN mandate with the Imperialist pretensions of an ancient superstate in a remote location out of site and by default out of mind and care in its actions. The reality, as your work illustrates by remains on the ground is that the Roman superstate was an essentially uncaring consumerist elite society that brutally milked provinces for the benefit of the few, while the lands beyond the frontiers will have routinely received worse treatment; their inhabitants looked upon as a ready and legitimate source of slaves. The possibility is strong that under such circumstances the population of places such as Luing could be depopulated in one fell swoop. Yes, caring Romans indeed!

Question...	Submited By: Rorie
Can you tell me if there is any evidence of roman activity in clackmannanshire? Alloa and Clackmannanshire does very little to encourage local history so I would be much obliged to you for any information on this subject.

Response...	Date: 02/09/2011 Subject: Location
There are no currently known Roman camps, forts or roads identified in Clackmannanshire but you sit only a few miles away from the Antonine wall and the Roman road north from Camelon towards Stirling then Doune. The Clachmabenstane is reckoned to have been one of the late Roman era pre arranged native mustering "loca"; locus Manavii. See our chronicle of the Emperors for Caracalla to get the full context for that. Like Fife the Romans will have been here, lack of firm archaeological evidence at present does not mean ommission in antiquity. Hopefully something a little more concrete may be found in the years to come, however the stone itself is a direct link with both natives and invaders.

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