The Roman Fortress on the Tay

It is a little known fact that a Roman legionary fortress was established at what is now Inchtuthil near Scone. It was known to the Romans as ‘Pinnata Castra’  (‘the Winged Camp’). The camp was built around 85 AD on the orders of the then Roman Provincial Governor Julius Agricola during his invasion of what is now Scotland.

                                              The Legion

The camp was built on a natural platform near to the north bank of the river Tay and was garrisoned by the Twentieth Legion (Legio XX Valeria Victrix ‘the Valiant and Victorious’) . This legion is known to have been moved up previously from the south of the province. The legion numbered 5400 men with additional auxiliary troops also present in the camp.

                                                  The Fortress

The fortress would have been intended as the base for future invasions of northern Scotland and of the Scottish Highlands in particular. As in the illustration above the base followed the usual Roman Army template. That was a rectangular area with rounded corners and with gateways on each side.

                                             Construction of the Fortress

As was the standard procedure the fortress initially had earth and timber ramparts. This would have been later strengthened with a stone outer front with a ditch in front of it. The legionary fortress covered 53 acres (21.5 hectares) . Its location being designed for it to be supplied by vessels using the nearby river Tay. As with other legionary bases it contained a hospital (5000 metres). A workshop (3,500 metres) and 64 barrack buildings. There was also a headquarters building (Praetorium) . It would have taken two or three years to construct the fortress and  a temporary camp would have been required to be built in the meantime.

                                         The Abandonment of the Fortress

Pinnata Castra is thought to have been occupied for approximately five years by the Roman Army though this could have been much longer in total. It was revealed by archaeology to be almost complete by the time it was finally abandoned. The fortresses seems to have been very speedily abandoned as during the archaeological excavations undertaken in 1959 nearly 900,000 nails were discovered buried nearby. Most of these nails had been recently produced in the fortress and were an illustration of its productive capacity. The fortress was burnt by the Romans as they withdrew southwards which meant that uniquely the layout of the legionary base was preserved. Thus making Inchtuthill the only complete example of such a camp in the Roman Empire.

                                               The Reason for the Abandonment

There has been much speculation as to the reason for the abandonment of the fortress. The most generally accepted reason by historians remains the withdrawal of significant Roman forces to take part in the Dacian wars . These were then beginning in earnest on the upper Danube river in the late 80’s AD.