Thomshill

Thomshill, located 6km south of Elgin in Moray, Scotland, is the site of an excavated rectilinear enclosure that has been interpreted as a possible Roman military camp or fort. The enclosure covers an area of approximately 3. 25ha and is situated at a height of 72m above ordnance datum. Alongside similar sites at Boyndie, Balnageith, Easter Galcantray and Tarradale, the possibility that Thomshill represents a Roman fort has been seen as evidence that the Roman Army under Agricola occupied Moray after the Battle of Mons Graupius in AD84. Discovery and excavationIn 1834 the New Statistical Account of Scotland described "rectangular trenches, or, as some may say, a Roman castra at The Foths" within the parish of Birnie. In 1871 the Ordnance Survey recorded "the remains of rectangular trenches, said to be a Roman camp, but almost erased by cultivation" in the district. By 1971 no visible trace remained. Ground observation and aerial photography during the 1980s revealed cropmarks suggesting three sides of a rectilinear ditched enclosure, situated on an eroded spur overlooking a dry river valley dominated by two nearby distilleries. Trial excavations took place in September 1982; and over subsequent excavations between 1985 and 1990 a total of 44 trenches were cut across the lines of the ditch, the interior of the enclosure and notable surrounding features.

Thomshill, located 6km south of Elgin in Moray, Scotland, is the site of an excavated rectilinear enclosure that has been interpreted as a possible Roman military camp or fort. The enclosure covers an area of approximately 3. 25ha and is situated at a height of 72m above ordnance datum. Alongside similar sites at Boyndie, Balnageith, Easter Galcantray and Tarradale, the possibility that Thomshill represents a Roman fort has been seen as evidence that the Roman Army under Agricola occupied Moray after the Battle of Mons Graupius in AD84. Discovery and excavationIn 1834 the New Statistical Account of Scotland described "rectangular trenches, or, as some may say, a Roman castra at The Foths" within the parish of Birnie. In 1871 the Ordnance Survey recorded "the remains of rectangular trenches, said to be a Roman camp, but almost erased by cultivation" in the district. By 1971 no visible trace remained. Ground observation and aerial photography during the 1980s revealed cropmarks suggesting three sides of a rectilinear ditched enclosure, situated on an eroded spur overlooking a dry river valley dominated by two nearby distilleries. Trial excavations took place in September 1982; and over subsequent excavations between 1985 and 1990 a total of 44 trenches were cut across the lines of the ditch, the interior of the enclosure and notable surrounding features.