The Roman Fort at Mumrills, near Falkirk

Abstract

A substantial programme of excavation revealed an early Agricolan fort which was succeeded by one of Antonine date. The form of the Antonine fort is described in some detail. Mumrills was the site of one of the praesidia established on the\r\nline of the isthmus by Agricola in AD 80 or 81. The fortified enclosure, which was defended by a wooden palisade and a single ditch, was exceptionally large. The occupation, however, was a short one, covering perhaps not more than a single winter. In or about AD 142 Mumrills was selected as the site of what was, so far as is known, much the largest of the castella on the line of the Antonine Wall. Both then and in the Agricolan period, therefore, it may have been the station of the officer in general command of the frontier. The artefacts are reported on extensively.