Birrens

From Wikishire
Jump to: navigation, search
Western ramparts of Birrens Fort

Birrens in Dumfriesshire is the location of a hill on which was an ancient Roman fort, known to the Romans as Blatobulgium and in later ages as Birrenswark. It is one of the best preserved of all Roman forts north of Hadrian's Wall.

Birrens is in Annandale, since prehistory the major route north from the Solway Firth through the Southern Uplands towards the Clyde Valley.

Close by Blatobulgium have been found the remains of another four, temporary Roman constructions, which may have been briefly occupied marching camps.

Position and function

The fort lies in Annadale, the route north piercing through the Southern Uplands. It is a mile and a half east of Ecclefechan in the parish of Middlebie. Notwithstanding its position by a main traansport corridor, the site has not been affected by building since the Roman period. Little remains today of the fort's southern rampart, and from the south the hill on which the fort was built may seem unexceptional, but it is much clearer from the north.

Lying north of Hadrian's Wall, the fort served as an observation post guarding the Roman road up Annadale, from Carlisle (Luguualium) towards the Clyde. The fort also stood in a strategic position to guard the approaches to the western end of Hadrian's Wall and the coast of the Solway Firth.

Name

The fort's ancient name, Blatobulgium, appears to mean "Flour Sack".[1] There were three granaries at the fort, as demonstrated by the archaeological evidence.

The name is found in the Itinerarium Antonini from the second century AD, recording a distance of 481 Roman miles from Hadrian's Wall to Rutupiae (Richborough in Kent). The Itinerarium states that Blatobulgio is twelve Roman miles from Castra Exploratorum (Netherby in Cumberland).

Today's placename, 'Birrens' is found in various variants in the records, amongst them (Birren, Burran, Burrance, Burian, and there are two rivak theories as to it origin, The most plausible its that the name, in common with most place name hereabouts, is from the Old English byrgene oder byrigen, meaning “Burial place” or (Tumulus). Another theory has it from the Irish language, in which boirean may mean “Big Stones“ or “Stony Place“.[2]

Archaeological research

The fort has been extensively excavated. Individual finds had been known since at least the eighteenth century, but the first dedicated archaeological study was begun by Alexander Gordon, whio described the layout of the fort, noting its rectilinear pattern and its trenches and earthern ramparts. Later he discovered masonry, and the extent to which the fort which had once stood here had been degraded by the effect weathering by rainwater and ground water. The first systematic excavation was carried out for the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland over the summer and autumn of 1895.[3] Further work on the site was carried out in the 1930s,[4] and from 1960 to 1967.[5]

During the excavations at Birrens, the head of a ballista bolt was found, typical of the mid-second century. Of the same age is the fort just to the north at Burnswark, where there are artillery platforms and the extent of the remains of ballista bolts and slingshot suggest intensive use for artillery training.

References

  1. Guy da Bedoyere, 1998, S. 126.
  2. Christinson, 1896.
  3. D. Christison, 1896, S. 81–204.
  4. Eric Birley, 1938, S. 275–347.
  5. A. Robertson, 1975a.
  • Rivet, A.L.F.; Smith, Colin (1979). The Place-Names of Roman Britain. London. pp. 268–269.