Facing the Enemy: An Examination of the Location, Intervisibility, Orientation & Interconnectivity of Flavian Fortifications in Roman Scotland

Abstract

This thesis is a spatial analysis of Roman fortifications originating in Scotland during the Flavian period, defined as AD 77-86/90. It is a quantitative investigation of the positioning, the intervisibility, the orientation, and the interconnectivity of these fortifications, comparing them with similar arrangements from elsewhere in the Roman Empire. In examining these sites, it combines mapping data and remote sensing technologies, along with archaeological evidence in an extensive GIS database, and takes a systematic approach to the analysis of the immediate and wider landscapes surrounding the fortifications.

This investigation demonstrates that Flavian fortifications in Scotland, were almost always located near bodies of water, as well as positions which enabled visual control of movement through the landscape, while those located on the coast may also have controlled access to the river networks and those fortifications located further upstream.

The thesis concludes that the military strategy in Flavian Scotland was not to block all movement through the landscape as such a strategy would have been impossible in such a varied landscape, but rather to enable visual control of the main corridors of movement through the Roman frontier-zone.