This fort for a mounted auxiliary unit of around 500 men was built in timber around 79 or 80 AD during Agricola’s campaign. There is nothing to see at the site anymore, but it has been extensively researched. If you are in Edinburgh, it is a nice cycle.
Visit Elginhaugh Roman Fort
📍 Location: Elginhaugh, near Dalkeith, Midlothian
👁 What survives: Nothing of the timber fort is visible today; the site is exceptionally well understood through excavation.
⭐ Best for: Understanding the layout and daily life of an Agricolan auxiliary fort.
🥾 Visit: There are no visible fort remains, so visit for the landscape and archaeological context.
🏛 Nearby Roman places: Inveresk, Cramond and the Roman routes through the Lothians
Elginhaugh at a glance
| Occupation | Short Flavian occupation, approximately AD 79–87. |
| Garrison | Unidentified mounted auxiliary force, interpreted from the accommodation. |
| Size | About 1.26 hectares (3.1 acres) within the rampart; the annexe is additional. |
| Troop estimate | Around 500 is a working cavalry-unit estimate. |
Inscriptions
Stamps and graffiti provide personal and manufacturing evidence. A maker’s stamp on a steelyard does not identify the regiment.
Sources for this summary
It is likely that supplies came by ship and landed at Inveresk/Musselburgh further down the River Esk. There is evidence that Elginhaugh Fort had shoemakers (See Roman Shoemaking in Scotland.) and a plough was found with the manufacturer’s stamp also found at a site in Wereham, Norfolk
Open the full-size photographs: Elginhaugh Fort location · Elginhaugh Fort location · Elginhaugh Fort location on left · Elginhaugh bath house location · Elginhaugh Fort escarpment down to River Esk.
References
- Elginhaugh (Historic Environment Scotland Canmore record)
- Yeoman, P. A., Terry, J., Speller, K. and Hanson, W. S. (2007). Elginhaugh: A Flavian Fort and its Annexe. Malet Street: Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies. https://doi.org/10.5284/1090313 Free download of 676-page report
- Elginhaugh (Roman Britain)
- Case Study: Elginhaugh Roman Fort (good aerial photo of the fort)
- Steelyard Elginhaugh fort
