Visit Balmuildy Roman Fort
📍 Location: Balmuildy, East Dunbartonshire
👁 What survives: The fort survives mainly as archaeological remains, with the frontier line and setting still understandable in the landscape.
⭐ Best for: A stone-built Antonine Wall fort and the inscriptions associated with its construction.
🥾 Visit: An outdoor archaeological site with limited standing remains.
🏛 Nearby Roman places: Cadder, Bearsden and Castlehill
Balmuildy at a glance
| Occupation | Antonine foundation, constructed before the adjoining Wall rampart reached the fort. |
| Garrison | Unknown. |
| Size | About 1.6 hectares (4 acres) internally. |
| Troop estimate | Cohort-scale capacity; about 480 infantry is a nominal comparison, not a verified local strength. |
Inscriptions
The Second Legion Augusta’s building inscription names Lollius Urbicus. It identifies the builders rather than a permanent legionary garrison.
Sources for this summary
Hanson, Jones and Hannon (2024), Exploring the Antonine Wall with terrestrial remote sensing
Watch: Balmuildy reconstructed
These digital interpretations show how the Roman site may have looked. They are reconstructions, rather than footage of surviving Roman buildings.
64 seconds · Reconstruction Model of Balmuildy Fort · Antonine Wall Vimeo Account
This fort predates the Antonine Wall and was built by the Second Legion Augusta, under the command of Quintus Lollius Urbicus. The 6th Legion also had a distance slab erected nearby.
Found in the North Gate: “For the Emperor Caesar Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Augustus Pius, father of his country, the Second Legion Augusta built this under Quintus Lollius Urbicus, emperor’s propraetorian legate.” RIB 2192. Honorific Building Inscription of the Second Legion
This fort is one of two built of stone on the Antonine Wall and is 1.6 hectares in size. (A football pitch is 0.71 hectares.) One unusual feature of the fort is that it had two bathhouses, most likely reflecting different periods of occupation.
Barley and spelt wheat (used by the Romans for breadmaking) have been found here. Seaweed was also found, probably used as a fertiliser.
Explore finds in video and 3D
Open an item below to play its short video or explore its interactive 3D model. Titles retain the publishers’ findspot labels; nearby discoveries need not have come from inside the fort. Videos are from the Antonine Wall Vimeo Account; interactive models are by Historic Environment Scotland.
Oil Lamp, Balmuildy Fort · Video, 20 seconds
20 seconds · Oil Lamp, Balmuildy Fort · Antonine Wall Vimeo Account
Surgical Probe, Balmuildy Fort · Video, 20 seconds
20 seconds · Surgical Probe, Balmuildy Fort · Antonine Wall Vimeo Account
Building Tablet Fragment, Balmuildy Fort · Video, 20 seconds
20 seconds · Building Tablet Fragment, Balmuildy Fort · Antonine Wall Vimeo Account
Statue of Mars Ultor, Balmuildy Fort · Video, 20 seconds
20 seconds · Statue of Mars Ultor, Balmuildy Fort · Antonine Wall Vimeo Account
Perfume pot, Balmuildy · Video, 20 seconds
20 seconds · Perfume pot, Balmuildy · Antonine Wall Vimeo Account
Unguent Pot, Balmuildy · Video, 20 seconds
20 seconds · Unguent Pot, Balmuildy · Antonine Wall Vimeo Account
Samian ware platter, Balmuildy · Video, 20 seconds
20 seconds · Samian ware platter, Balmuildy · Antonine Wall Vimeo Account
Cheese Press, Balmuildy · Video, 20 seconds
20 seconds · Cheese Press, Balmuildy · Antonine Wall Vimeo Account
Commemorative Stone Fragment of the Second Legion, Balmuildy · Video, 20 seconds
20 seconds · Commemorative Stone Fragment of the Second Legion, Balmuildy · Antonine Wall Vimeo Account
Samian Ware Bowl, Balmuildy · Video, 17 seconds
17 seconds · Samian Ware Bowl, Balmuildy · Antonine Wall Vimeo Account
Distance Slab of the Second Legion , Balmuildy · Video, 17 seconds
17 seconds · Distance Slab of the Second Legion , Balmuildy · Antonine Wall Vimeo Account
Door hinge plate, Balmuildy · Video, 17 seconds
17 seconds · Door hinge plate, Balmuildy · Antonine Wall Vimeo Account
Teracotta Drainpipe, Balmuildy · Video, 17 seconds
17 seconds · Teracotta Drainpipe, Balmuildy · Antonine Wall Vimeo Account
T-shaped holdfast, Balmuildy · Video, 17 seconds
17 seconds · T-shaped holdfast, Balmuildy · Antonine Wall Vimeo Account
Pot Fragment, Balmuildy, Antonine Wall · Interactive 3D
Drag to rotate and zoom to examine the object.
Oil Lamp, Balmuildy, Antonine Wall · Interactive 3D
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Samian Platter, Balmuildy, Antonine Wall · Interactive 3D
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Unguent Pot, Balmuildy, Antonine Wall · Interactive 3D
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Surgical Probe, Balmuildy, Antonine Wall · Interactive 3D
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Drainpipe, Balmuildy, Antonine Wall · Interactive 3D
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Statue of Mars Ultor, Balmuildy, Antonine Wall · Interactive 3D
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Commemorative Slab, Balmuildy, Antonine Wall · Interactive 3D
Drag to rotate and zoom to examine the object.
Perfume Bottle, Balmuildy, Antonine Wall · Interactive 3D
Drag to rotate and zoom to examine the object.
Cheese Press, Balmuildy, Antonine Wall · Interactive 3D
Drag to rotate and zoom to examine the object.
Samian Bowl, Balmuildy, Antonine Wall · Open on Sketchfab
Interactive 3D model by Historic Environment Scotland. Open the model on Sketchfab to rotate, zoom and examine the object.
References
- Balmuildy (Trove NRHE)
- Balmuildy (Antonine wall)
- Inscriptions ( Roman Inscriptions of Britain)
- Balmuildy ( Wikipedia)
Academic Papers
- Excavation of the defensive ditches at Balmuildy Fort, Glasgow, 1999
