Roman Camp Elginhaugh, Native Fort and Palisaded Enclosure 600m 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 because of its potential to add to our understanding of the relationship between Roman and native populations in southern Scotland and because of the information it contains relating to prehistoric economy and settlement in the pre-Roman and Roman periods. Its importance is greatly enhanced by its association with the excavated Roman fort of Elginhaugh.

Scheduled Monument Description

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

The monument comprises the remains of a Roman temporary camp, a prehistoric fort and palisaded enclosure and associated features, all represented by cropmarks visible on oblique aerial photographs.

The site lies above the N bank of the River North Esk immediately E of the excavated 1st Century AD Roman fort at Elginhaugh. The Roman temporary camp is represented by a rectangular cropmark with rounded corners measuring approximately 110m NNW-SSE by 70m. It occupies an

area otherwise characterised by numerous ill-defined cropmarks. To the NW of the camp are a series of linear cropmarks which may represent other, larger camps or enclosures associated with the adjacent Roman fort.

Some 40m N of the camp are the remains of an oval palisaded enclosure measuring some 40m E-W by 30m. In the extreme S of the site lies the remains of a multi-vallate promontory fort defined by a broad curving ditch with two concentric outer palisades and a slight, poorly-defined, external ditch. The fort and enclosure appear to represent native settlement of the later prehistoric period.

The area to be scheduled encompasses the visible features and an area around them in which traces of associated activity may be expected to survive. It is irregular in shape with maximum dimensions of 500m N-S by 420m E-W 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 50, 97, 105.