I CLYDIUS - The Romans in Inverclyde
The Romans never conquered Scotland. This is a fact which as a country we are still, some 1800 years later, still extremely proud of; and why shouldn’t we be? The most powerful and efficient army on earth, the active hand of an Empire which spanned over two million square miles, was unable to sub-due a handful of un-organised tribes. But if this is true, why then are the hills and valleys of Inverclyde dotted with the remains of Roman occupation?
The Roman historian Tacitus tells us that several early invasion forces made in-roads into Scotland in the first century A.D, getting as far as the Clyde-Forth isthmus. However, they were unable to maintain a foothold and it was not until around A.D 140, some twenty years after the building of Hadrian’s Wall, that the Romans left their greatest mark on the Scottish Landscape.
As part of the strategic move north, the Romans constructed a line of forts along a turf wall stretching between the Clyde and the Forth, known as the Antonine wall. Around this time, two fortlets were constructed in the Inverclyde area; one on Lurg moor behind Strone, and the other at Outerwards, on the hills behind Skelmorlie. Each one was home to around fifteen Legionaries, most likely from the Second Augusta Legion, whose purpose it was to watch the firth of the Clyde for possible raiding forces from the north.
The forts remained undiscovered until around fifty years ago, although the presence of Romans in the area found its way into the local folk memory. A small stone bridge outside Inverkip has for hundreds of years been referred to as the “Roman Bridge”, and the local ballad, “The Vision of Auld Dunrod”, thought to date from the 17th century, speaks of Roman ships sailing up the Clyde. However, it was only through aerial photographs that the locations of the two forts were finally revealed.
Excavations by Frank Newall in the fifties yielded a number of interesting finds at both sites, including shards of pottery and glassware, all of which have since been lost. Newall also found evidence of a network of roads and signal tracks throughout the area, which linked the two forts with a larger site outside Bishopton. Over the years there have also been a number of other finds, including coins in peoples Gardens, and a spearhead found in Gourock. There has even been a suggestion that the Romans may have operated a dockyard within the area, repairing ships stationed on the Clyde. However, perhaps the most significant find is that at both sites, there is some evidence that the forts were burned to the ground. Perhaps the Legionaries raised them themselves, or maybe they didn’t keep a close enough eye on who was crossing the river, either way evidence suggests they left in a hurry. Afterall, the Romans never conquered Scotland – they were just visiting.
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