Roman Fort Elginhaugh, Annexe and Bathhouse 200m NE Of Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland, UK

Scheduled Monument Statement of Significance

© Crown Copyright text courtesy of Historic Environment Scotland, reprinted under the Open Government License.

The monument is of national importance as part of the first permanent Roman military presence in Scotland. It is a key site for studies of the development of Roman military installations in northern Britain and to studies of the Roman occupation of southern Scotland. The importance of the surviving remains is enhanced by their association with the excavated parts of the site. They form an important resource for the application of future research procedures and methodologies which could, in turn, enhance the value of the previously excavated evidence.

Scheduled Monument Description

© Crown Copyright text courtesy of Historic Environment Scotland, reprinted under the Open Government License.

The monument comprises the remains of part of a Roman fort and annexe together with the remains of an associated bathhouse. These features lie on a south-facing slope, south of the remainder of the fort and annexe, above the modern Gilmerton Road and Elginhaugh Bridge. They survive as vegetation marks, visible on aerial photographs.

The installation defended the crossing point over the

River North Esk, forming a key part of the Roman military network in northern Britain. The remains date to the 1st century AD, with evidence for earlier native settlement in the vicinity. Extensive excavations were carried out on the fort and annexe, to the N of the area proposed for scheduling, in the 1980s in advance of development.

The annexe was found to contain extensive evidence for several phases of occupation. The location of the bathhouse was confirmed by trial excavations after its initial identification in aerial photographs. The area to be scheduled encompasses the southern part of the annexe, the entire bathhouse, and any southern defensive ditches or other outworks which may be associated with the fort.

It also encompasses an area around these features in which traces of associated activity may be preserved. It is irregular in shape, measuring a maximum of 400m NW-SE by 110m as marked in red on the accompanying map.

Scheduled Monument References

© Crown Copyright text courtesy of Historic Environment Scotland, reprinted under the Open Government License.

RCAHMS records the monument as NT 36 NW 61.

References:

Hanson W S and Yeoman P A 1988, Elginhaugh: a Roman fort and its environs: a recipient of a Glenfiddich 'Living Scotland Award', Edinburgh.

Maxwell G S 1983, 'Recent aerial discoveries in Roman Scotland; Drumquhassle, Elginhaugh and Woodhead', Britannia, Vol. 14, 172-7.