Dr Wilkinson had returned to give the background to the art and science of facial reconstruction which is taking her all over the world, such is the demand. [Members may have seen her at Christmas 2004 in a programme about reconstructing the face of - Santa Claus - from the skull of St Nicholas in Bari in South Italy.]

Facial reconstruction from the skull has been concerned with archaeology but also recently with forensic cases to help with identification. The theory behind it is that individuals have a unique skull and face, and that even small variations in skull structure can bring about large variations in the re-creation of the face.

It seems to have started in Germany in the late 1800s with the measurement of cadavers, the use of the ‘sooty needle’ technique to measure tissue depth, and the re-casting of the faces of famous people like Johann Sebastian Bach. It was developed by the Russians (see Gorky Park) on an anatomical basis, building up the muscles of the face - and the face of Ivan the Terrible was revealed.

The Americans built up sets of measurement data, including depth of tissue averages, to produce face contours for moulding muscles from peg to peg. Manchester uses a combination of the Russian and North American models. There is also now a computer-aided system whereby one can sculpt the muscles on to a skull just on the computer screen.

Dr Wilkinson proceeded to give a series of examples of reconstruction including Egyptian mummies, peat bog bodies (where the abundance of soft tissue was very helpful), a Neolithic woman, the Spitalfields princess, and buried murder victims, the reconstructed faces of whom the police use to jog the memories of the public. How accurate were the reconstructions? The speaker indicated that the aim was to create a ‘good enough’ likeness so that someone who had known the person would be reminded of him or her. Tests had been carried out with data from a living person and the reconstructed face had been recognisable by a good proportion of people who might be expected to recognise the owner - some 68% of men and 75% of women. As for Trimontium Man, apart from the colours in the coloured model, all the features - the nose, the nostril holes, the corners of the mouth (dependent on the canine teeth), the double chin - could be guaranteed except the shape of the ears, but with regard to them Dr Wilkinson knew from the skull that Trimontium Man had no lobes.

The Chairman, a Consultant Radiologist whose business was images and who had provided the Powerpoint slide facility, was ideally placed to propose the vote of thanks for a presentation that had combined professionalism with a practical approach exactly suited to the audience. They showed Dr Wilkinson their enjoyment and appreciation.

The website has been receiving a steady stream of ‘hits’ - it is very readable - and Dr Bishop has now produced a tiny CDROM, cover shown above, with Curle winejug handle illustration, to fit into your shirtpocket. Next step? To fit one on a watch face.

A field tour was made of the upstanding earthworks and the ditches, gateways and internal features (best seen from the air) Professor Lawrence Keppie guiding the party round with handouts, quotes from the 1896 excavations and memories of his own youthful participation in the 1960 training dig under the eagle eye of the late Professor Annie Robertson. (The Hon Sec was grateful to the Rev James Annand for a preparatory look at the 1920s book by Jessie Mothersole - another indomitable lady - who toured Scotland in the steps of Agricola, and on one occasion invited herself to stay in the Birrens Manse for a week, while conducting her researches). Back in the present, the Virgin trains on the main line thundered past the nonchalant cattle in the next field.

“The fort was first built in the Flavian period (1st century), several times reconstructed and enlarged in the Hadrianic and Antonine periods (2nd century), and held up to about 180 AD (like Trimontium). The visible ramparts, belonging to the Antonine fort stand to a height of 1 metre. There are gaps for gateways on the W, N and E sides. The S side has been eroded by the adjacent Mein Water; exposed stretches of stonework from barracks can be seen. Multiple ditches on the N side, crossed by a causeway, survive here as faint hollows.”

After an early lunch it was off, some 4km NW of Birrens, to the foot of “the imposing eminence of Burnswark Hill , its summit occupied by an Iron Age fort, the ramparts of which are clearly seen; occupation began in the 7th century BC.” ( It’s the nearest location comparable to an Eildon and may explain Dr Curle’s reluctance to claim what he always called ‘the fort of Newstead’, as Trimontium - just in case later discoveries might suggest a different site).

There followed, in Roman soldier fashion, some serious footslogging up the grassy slopes to the remains of the hillfort on the top. From there, in a near aerial view, could be seen the two Roman camps laid out down below, to S and N, one at the foot of each side of the hill. The plan is on the next page, p 8.

“The camp on the S flank is the better preserved; the camp rampart facing the hill is interrupted by three entrances, in front of which are three circular platforms 20 metres across (known in local tradition as the Three Brethren - see p1 of this Newsletter), sometimes considered as emplacements for artillery, but more probably as traverses for protecting the camp gateways”. [More about that anon].

“The camp on the N side of the hill is the less well preserved, but much of its somewhat irregular outline is clear, in front of a forestry plantation”. A subsequent photograph of the W end of the N camp, against its plantation, [not printed here]seemed to the writer to show something resembling a similar heaped earth mound at one of the entrances (though this is shown differently in the plan on p 8). The photo below shows a party trio in reflective mood on a S camp mound, one indeed in a Rodin-like ‘thinker’ pose.

Had there been an actual siege of the hillfort or was the area just a training ground for troops from Hadrian’s Wall? Scholars argue about it. The Trust, up to the minute, had engaged Dr D B Campbell of Glasgow, author of a recent Britannia article about the subject, to come and lecture in the Autumn (see over). The Trimontium climbers, traversing the tussocky slopes, enjoyed the fresh air and the wonderful views, and looked forward to hearing about what they were seeing on the ground at first hand.

Troops have to be fed, but before the afternoon cup of tea at Powfoot on the shores of the Solway Firth (and the tricky crossing of the narrow road bridge) a visit was paid to Ruthwell to see the 18 feet high 7th century carved stone cross in the church with its Biblical scenes, a real contrast with the rest of the day. In the evening sunshine on the way home the party marvelled at their good fortune.

We wrote to Dr Campbell and he kindly agreed to come and speak to us, Dr Reid again providing the Powerpoint slide facility.

The set-up is as shown on the plan above, the most intriguing point being the fact that the three South camp entrances, which face uphill, have an artificial hillock of earth, some 3 metres high and 15 metres in diameter, each surrounded by a ditch, sitting in front of each entrance.

All the scholars, from the 18th century onwards, seem to have regarded the hillfort-and-camps situation as being the classic arrangement by the Romans for a siege of the hillfort, and counted Burnswark along with the sieges of Numantia in Spain and Masada in Palestine. Some thought that the earthworks in the area could be construed as ‘circumvallations’ against the hillfort

‘Roman practice camps’

It was in the 1920s that the suggestion was made that the Three Brethren were artillery platforms, though no parallels could be quoted. Stone-throwing machines were routinely moved about, had no need of custom-made emplacements and their crews needed protection. Twenty-three ballista balls were found in the hillfort, none larger than 1.0 kg.

In the 1960s it was mooted that ‘the siege of Burnswark was a simulated exercise, rather than a genuine military operation’. In other words it was a case of Roman practice camps with artillery, stationed on top of the hillocks, firing into a deserted hillfort. It is a ‘tentative theory (that) has grown with each retelling, until it is regularly quoted as fact’, but it is to be found in all the books and even extended to the hillfort and native works of Woden Law, South of Jedburgh. A thorough investigation of the literary sources and the archaeological evidence led Dr Campbell to the conclusion that there had been an actual siege. The hillocks, too small for heavy artillery (which would not need the advantage of height) are sited, as tituli, to protect the (temporary) Roman camp(s) from the normal range of missiles thrown/rolled down from a besieged hillfort viz tree trunks, boulders, barrels, heavy waggons etc . People had got it wrong about ‘stone-faced ramparts’ and ‘large and important buildings’ and ‘training quarters for troops’. The practice/training ground theory was invented to fit one interpretation of the terrain - and it had stuck in the popular imagination, till now. “Far from being ‘the best surviving example of an ancient artillery range’, the remains at Burnswark may be taken to graphically illustrate an actual episode of warfare”.

‘a modern weapons technician’

There are always interesting questions after a Trimontium lecture and Dr Campbell was soon under siege himself, with knowledgeable citizens (among whom, incredibly, was a modern weapons technician) hurling queries at him involving the mechanics and physics of missile flight, siege tactics and the ability of the Roman army machine to build a temporary camp, even under fire, as one ancient writer said ‘quicker than thought’.

When the questioners drew breath Mr Eric Birnie proposed a vote of thanks for a fascinating talk which had stimulated so many responses from a stirred and shaken audience.

He spoke to us years ago about the work that he did with a few not-so-young helpers and we thought irreverently (and feebly) of a possible title for a boy band ‘(An) Tony and the Wallnuts’. Antoninus Pius was the 2nd century Roman Emperor whose spinmasters got him the credit for building the Antonine Wall, as well as an upgrading of Trimontium fort.

‘think Maginot Line’

Falkirk Council is responsible for more than one-third of the entire Wall, none of which, like Trimontium fort, is upstanding in that area. There still exist, however, to be found and ‘rescued’ the massive archaeological remains of the components of the military zone - a cross-country strip of features which consists of the following, side by side:- a Roman road; a huge 12 metre wide, 4.5 metre deep ditch; a 20 feet wide flat area, called a berm; a series of pits, laid out like the number 5 on a die, with stakes in them; a wall foundation exactly 4.3 metres wide; a 10 feet high turf rampart on top of that foundation; and a separate mound on the South, built up from the huge piles of earth dug out of the ditch.

That strip stretches across the waist of Scotland from Forth to Clyde. Think of the Berlin Wall or the Maginot Line.

People have been studying the Antonine Wall for centuries, and new discoveries are still being made. Most members of the public know of the pits with stakes in them that the Romans dug, like a minefield, near the fort of Rough Castle. We now know that the stakes were smeared with poison. What has now emerged is that the pits appear every time there is an archaeological investigation of the Wall.

In other words, the lilia are a standard feature of the zone and extend along the whole line of the Wall. Surprise, surprise, they are now being found as a continuous feature of that other and earlier Mark 1 Wall of the Emperor Hadrian.

‘no parapet on top’

In addition, half of the Antonine Wall in the Falkirk sector is not built of turf but faced on the outside with clay ‘cheeks’, strengthened with timber, the inner core being filled with cartloads of earth. Because the ‘Wall’ is really a pile of turf or earth, with sloping sides, which needs all the consolidation it can have on its stone floor, it now seems likely that there was no parapet on top. Its place was taken by timber watchtowers on stilts sunk into the pile of turf or earth every one-third of a mile.

Geoff Bailey’s ‘rescue work’ consists of investigating the ground before a house or a one-car garage is built and the evidence disappears altogether or is covered up for years. In one fort annexe site where an abandoned factory was to be replaced by houses, the dig, inside the factory building, still showed traces of a Roman road and timber buildings. It also showed the excavation trenches of the archaeologists of the 1920s, who had missed these features and decided that the annexes outside the forts were empty of buildings and used therefore for cattle. The new dig showed that the annexes were as crowded as the forts - space was at a premium - and the military zone was a hive of activity. What else have previous digs missed?

‘the possibility of organised fieldwalking at Trimontium’

The Wall itself would need to be maintained and indeed repaired after about 15 years (it lasted 25 years) and there are signs of new clay puddling and possible rebuilding in stone. Then the Emperor died, the politics changed, and this barrier ‘went’, like all others in history.

There were many questions - about the state of the rest of the Wall beyond the Falkirk sector; the possibliity of emulating at Trimontium (under the aegis of Drs Hunter and Reid) the organised Falkirk fieldwalking at Mumrills; and the bid to have the Wall declared a World Heritage Site, along with other frontiers on the Continent, backed up by a magnificently photographed, produced and free Historic Scotland booklet.

In proposing the vote of thanks new member Mr Eddie Stanley of Dalkeith looked forward to more revelations in the future. Mr Bailey found a ready sale for his £3.50 36-page popular booklet, with wonderful reconstructions by Mike Moore ( ISBN 0954 04 5327; Falkirk Council Cultural Services, Callendar Park, Falkirk FK 1 1YR ).

Mumrills note: On the walk over the ploughed site a large quantity of box flue tile was picked up from the area of the commanding officer’s house. It is unusual in having rolled clay reinforcing bands inside the corners. So far there are few such tiles along this frontier, stone slabs being used more often. Other finds: a stamped amphora handle; a stamped mortarium rim (for Kay Hartley’s Mortaria in Scotland project); 35 pieces of samian; and unusually, a coin of Trajan (c117 AD), a colour-coated flagon and a whetstone.

You are looking at, and admiring Eildon Hill North one of the most distinctive landmarks in Scotland

All this notwithstanding, the way to look at the Hill, has been, as ever to look up - and admire

We also included the stunning aerial photograph; the drawings of the ‘three rings’ round Eildon Hill North from the 1956 Roxburghshire Inventory, a plan of the hut platform sites, and sketches of one of the hut depressions and the signal tower; General Roy’s drawing of the Three Hills - ‘the Trimontion of Ptolemy’ - though he guessed the fort might be at Eildon Village; a photo of the seven bronze axe heads from 700 BC found by the Wilsons; and a series of recent photographs of activities, with Eildon Hill North always in the background. John Dent says that people are reckoned to spend about an average of 90 seconds in front of an information board. If they look only at the illustrations we hope they’ll find something to interest them. The neighbours at Rushbank across the way tell us about people stopping their cars to go and have a good look. This board and its eight colleagues round the site have been provided under the Tweed Rivers (sic) Interpretation Project of the Heritage Lottery Fund through Tweed Forum, Phase II of which finishes in 2005 and for which we are very grateful.

The Walk started in dull weather but improved to brilliant sunshine. Stan and Christine from Selkirk were pleased to identify several Ancrum-Maxton Parish Boundary Stones (marked BS on their map, believe it or not). Old Dere Street would make an obvious boundary line for that purpose. The two large stones with curved tops and ISKL clearly marked were still there (estate stones?) and still a puzzle The party were pleased to see the new plaques at the Lady Lilliard monument (our own Debbie Playfair has had a hand in that) and again the wonderful views, North to the Eildons and South to Harestanes. On we pressed to the field with the massive standing (and other) stones East of Trowpenny native fort and its tree-covered mound. A large and horned Highland cow (we didn’t go close enough to confirm gender) was on fort guard. We marched on over the various bridges, took tea in the sunny courtyard and were very grateful to the charioteers who drove us back to the start.

S.A.M Walk start from Greenend - above
(Dod) Rome with a view - top left
Stand and grow big. Launching the Short Walks booklet - top right
Rest and be thankful on the Trimontium Walk - bottom left & right

‘the essence of good results’

Flanked by a simple vase arrangement in green and white by a local firm, which included Roman items like roses, lilies, carnations, rosemary and ivy, Mrs Farrar began with an example of hard work (the essence of good results in gardening), showing a fresco of the last labour of Hercules in taking the apples from the garden of the Hesperides and leaving a yellow ribbon apparently, this time round the old golden apple tree. [You will be glad to be reminded that the Hesperides were three sisters guarding Hera’s/Juno’s wedding gift - golden apples - assisted by a dragon which Hercules despatched so as to ‘pinch’ the fruit. Taking uninvited from someone’s garden ? Good result ? Hmm]

Leaving mythology behind on we went, using all the evidence available from archaeology, art and from the very detailed and fond descriptions that the ancient writers and poets had left. House styles came first and then gardens, which developed in stages including architectural features like cloisters or peristyles all round for shade; ornamental pools, from simple to complex shapes; low water pressure features and fountains; caves and grottoes; garden sculpture (Venus was the goddess of gardens but Bacchus, Apollo and many others were also involved); and garden tools and techniques. The best reconstructed Roman garden is at the John Paul Getty Museum in California.

‘ancestors of today’s blooms’

Perhaps the final section on plants - flowers and vegetables - drew most interest. The flower species, though not having been subject to centuries of hybridization, were immediately recognisable as ancestors of today’s blooms. The vegetable list that the Romans brought to this country made one realise the truth of the description by Don Macfarlane of Nisbet of British diet and cooking styles before the Romans came - ‘pot, spit and pot’.

‘the spirit of a Roman garden’

After a host of questions Mr Ian Dalton of Gullane proposed an eloquent vote of thanks, suitably endorsed by an appreciative audience of many interests, to a speaker whose presentational skills had matched her erudition.

Linda Farrar’s 237 page book is ‘Ancient Roman Gardens’ pub. 1998, Sutton Publishing ISBN 0 7509 1725 3; was £25.

The last section of the book deals with ‘Features that could be incorporated into a modern garden to evoke the spirit of a Roman garden’. She mentions alterations like a portico, as an alternative to a conservatory, with oscilla hanging between the posts, and a niche for a statue, and she also suggests trellises and pergolas. A simple bedding plan for a Roman style garden is given (see below). Pot-grown lilies, Madonna and Turk’s cap could fill gaps after the spring bulbs have finished flowering.

The bedding plants are as follows:-
Acanthus A. mollis, Bay Laurus nobilis, Carnation Dianthus caryophyllus, Crocus C. sativus, Feverfew Chrysanthemum parthenium, Hart’s -tongue fern Phyllitis scolopendrium, Hyacinth H. orientalis, Juniper J. communis, Lavender Lavandula spica, Lychnis L flos-jovis, Madonna Lily Lilium candidum, Marjoram Origanum vulgare, Narcissus N. tazetta or poeticus, Rose Rosa damascena bifera ‘Quatre saisons’, Rosemary Rosmarinus officinalis, Southernwood Artemisia arborescens, Stocks Matthiola incana, Sweet rocket or Dame’s violet Hesperis matronalis, Thyme Thymus vulgaris, Turk’s cap Lily Lilium martagon, Laurustinus/Viburnum V. tinus, Violet Viola odorata, Wallflower Cheiranthus cheri.

A much more fanciful garden is the Hippodrome Garden of Pliny the Younger. In one of his letters he invites his friend Apollinaris to come and stay at his villa in the Tuscan hills. As an encouragement he describes the house and its gardens, and in the process provides a wonderful glimpse inside a luxurious property of 1st century AD. One section of the gardens is described as a Hippodromus because its long straight shape with curved ends is rather like a Roman horse-racing track, but with ivy-covered plane trees, boxwood and laurel down the middle. Ben Hur, with mute on.

glass intaglio
Cupid holding up a torch
and a butterfly

dolphin in agate
wavebands, nose on top,
tail up
soul across the sea

winged Victory
carries palm branch, laurel leaf
on tiptoe, flying

naked eye carving
wheel rotates, sand grinds
cutting in lines

a personal seal
gemstone for pressing in wax
a half-sucked sweetie

Valerie Gillies