Visiting the Gask Ridge | Romans in Scotland | Ardoch Roman Fort + Roman Exhibition

A new exhibition about the Romans in Scotland opened up in Perth, where I live, and it inspired me to visit a few places along the Gask Ridge: the Roman frontier along the Scottish Highlands, which was first established during Agricola's 1st Century campaign in Scotland. We visited the watchtowers Muir O' Fauld and Ardunie, tried (and succeeded) to get a view of Strageath Roman Fort from up in the air, then visited the Roman fortlet of Kaims Castle and finished off at Ardoch, one of the best preserved Roman Forts in existence. In this video I dive into the history of the Gask Ridge and why I think the Roman occupation of Scotland ultimately failed and didn't leave the same impact as it did in the South of Britain. At the end of the video I give a sneak peek at the exhibition: it's called "ROMANS : Edge of Empire" and it's on until the 6th of February 2022 at Perth Museum and Art Gallery. More info here: www.culturepk.org.uk/whats-on...
If you're local to Scotland (or visiting), go and have a look, it's free!
Hope you enjoy the video!
Visiting the Antonine Wall: • Romans in Scotland | B...
Visiting Inchtuthil Legionary Fortress: • Inchtuthil - Searching...
Visiting Fendoch Roman Fort and Signal Station: • Sma' Glen | Dun Mor Hi...
Dunmore Hillfort, Callander, and Bochastle Roman Fort: • Dunmore Hillfort and B...
More Scottish history videos: • Dundurn Hillfort Tour ...
Sources:
Muir O' Fauld:
canmore.org.uk/site/25990/mui...
Ardunie:
canmore.org.uk/site/26019/ard...
Strageath:
canmore.org.uk/site/25296/str...
ancientmonuments.uk/125935-st...
Kaims Castle:
canmore.org.uk/site/25365/kai...
www.theromangaskproject.org/?p...
Ardoch:
Archaology: canmore.org.uk/site/25227/ardoch
History: www.castlesfortsbattles.co.uk/...
Dezentralized Scotland: www.theromangaskproject.org/?p...
An Earlier Roman Occupation?: www.theromangaskproject.org/?p...
Mini-documentary: • Take a Tour of Scotlan...
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My name is Elena and I am a photographer and painter based in Scotland.
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Camera: Nikon D5300 / Samsung Galaxy Note 9 / DJI Mavic Air

[@OnMistyMountains]

A new exhibition about the Romans in Scotland opened up in Perth, where I live, and it inspired me to visit a few places along the Gask Ridge: the Roman frontier along the Scottish Highlands, which was first established during Agricola's 1st Century campaign in Scotland. We visited the watchtowers Muir O' Fauld and Ardunie, tried (and succeeded) to get a view of Strageath Roman Fort from up in the air, then visited the Roman fortlet of Kaims Castle and finished off at Ardoch, one of the best preserved Roman Forts in existence. In this video I dive into the history of the Gask Ridge and why I think the Roman occupation of Scotland ultimately failed and didn't leave the same impact as it did in the South of Britain. At the end of the video I give a sneak peek at the exhibition: it's called "ROMANS : Edge of Empire" and it's on until the 6th of February 2022 at Perth Museum and Art Gallery. More info here: www.culturepk.org.uk/whats-on/romans-edge-of-empire/ If you're local to Scotland (or visiting), go and have a look, it's free! Hope you enjoy the video! (Sources in the description)

[@lachlanmccutcheon1655]

I am in awe at the cast numbers of Forts and Lookouts there were. at the 2:10 mark you showed a map with a couple dozen Red Marker Dots. The map has a Scale on it but I cannot read the Units of measure. I was wondering what the average distance was between the Hill Forts, Lookouts etc is / was. They look to be quite close. Anyway I really love your videos as you explain everything so well and bring history to life with all the background information you supply. Explaining the How and Why thing took place. Again Thank you

[@OnMistyMountains]

@@lachlanmccutcheon1655 Wow, thank you! That's quite a compliment! Makes me feel like my effort is paying off. 😉As far as the watchtowers go, they're between 0.5 to 1 miles apart, depending on where they are positioned. The map itsself is measured in km and most of seem around 1km apart each. I guess the idea is to have a chain of sight, so you can relay a signal. The fortlets are interesting. They seem to be part of the signal chain, but have a little more space for soldiers to stay. Kaims Castle is on a higher point, so it surely had good visibility. I think the maps show pretty well that the Romans truly created frontiers or frontlines, or perhaps even a border line. It must have been difficult for larger groups to pass this line without being seen. The bigger forts are also strategically situated right next to rivers when you look at the map at 3:52. Those Romans were a clever bunch. 😀

[@jamesthomson8066]

Excellent video on the Gask Ridge. The drone footage makes the interpretation of the sites far easier. It reminds me of when I was at Viewlands Primary School in Perth when our teacher Miss Alexander, took the class to visit a dig of a signal station, adjacent to Parkneuk Cottage in the Innerpeffray Wood. I have been fascinated by the Romans and archaeology ever since. I Keep up the good work!

[@dink7278]

This is all new to me but took an interest due to an upcoming walk along Handrian's Wall. Besides that, I love her accent. I could just listen to her tell the stories all day!

[@francogasparotti3052]

Great work and thank you so much for your informative videos regarding the Romans in Scotland as Roman history is unique and fascinating. Well done and i look forward to your future work.

[@OnMistyMountains]

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it. It was so much more work than I imagined when I had the idea, but I'm pretty satisfied with the end result. It's great that there are so many traces of the Romans here and I'm quite looking forward to visiting more Roman sites in the future. 😊

[@johnwishart2653]

Superbly informative video. Thanks very much.

[@OnMistyMountains]

Glad you enjoyed! Thank you for taking the time to watch!

[@invictus3598]

A fantastic historical video on the Roman occupation of Scotland. Very enjoyable! Thank you!

[@OnMistyMountains]

Glad you enjoyed it! 😊

[@beyo124]

Very well presented and educational 👍

[@theyellowdukesscotland499]

Fascinating video, thoroughly researched and well presented. Thank you and well done. Interesting theory why the Romans never subdued Scotland. They clearly could have done. In fact, Agricola virtually did for a brief period. But the political will was rarely strong enough and military resources were often needed elsewhere. Tax revenue from Scotland was perhaps too meagre to make conquest of the Highlands cost effective for the Romans. Maybe the weather discouraged them too.

[@OnMistyMountains]

Thank you! Very interesting point about the cost-effectiveness. The Romans do seem like they would evaluate a region based on how much they can extract from it on a material level. My partner says it was a warming period when they were there, but Roman historians have made a point about 'unpleasant' Scottish weather, so good point as well. I'm sure the Romans could have dominated Scotland if they really tried, but the local population not being co-operative at all would have worn them down over time, surely. It seems the nomadic livestyle (mainly cattle herding) was retained in Scotland for much longer than the rest of Britain, so the conservative nature of the locals made them incompatible with the progressive Romans. And this only continued, i.e. the conservative Highland clans being incompatible with the progressive British government from the Hanoverian takeover onwards. Sadly, the Highland clearances put an end to that defiance of authority.

[@davidtapp3950]

What a lovely voice!

[@OnMistyMountains]

Thank you! 😊

[@thomasblackport5951]

I have been on a Roman History binge lately, focusing a lot on their time in the UK. This content is brilliant, love seeing the history and the locations like this. Makes me want to see them in person even more. Fishbourne Palace, Hadrian's Wall, Antonine Wall, and Ardoch would definitely be on the list. Thanks for the awesome content!

[@OnMistyMountains]

You're very welcome! It's a pretty fascinating topic and the archaeological remains are pretty impressive. 😊

[@paulmacgregor6988]

Excellent video and well narrated. Should have visited Kirkhill as its probably the best preserved of the signal stations, plus you get a clear view to the ochils.

[@OnMistyMountains]

Thank you! I added it to my Google maps. I hope we'll get around to visit some more Roman sites this year.

[@riaanshaigh1338]

They plundered and infringed on natives. But which civilization of the ancients didn't. The wealth of there architecture and ways of life is indesputably the finest. I love em

[@tomboH82]

Superb vid, visited that wee bit of the Gask ridge recently (muir o Fauld) on a freezing cold day. It's spooky to look to the hills and wonder what went through the soldiers minds each night. Or what the tribes made of it all,:the road, the towers, forts. Ardoch is an amazing place though, so strange how it survived (you can walk along the ramparts) whereas other sites like Inchtuthil faded away over the centuries.

[@OnMistyMountains]

To be fair, Inchtuthil has cows all over it. Sometimes the ownership and use of the land can make a difference. I get the impression though that Ardoch was just a massive architectural effort compared to some less preserved Roman camps in Scotland.

[@tomboH82]

Yes, it's almost better when there's less to see as you have to let your imagination take over. Think you are right those ditches at Ardoch got dug so deeply for some reason! Maybe at Inchtuthil they reckoned they were safe (ish) so didn't spend the time digging and then 2000 years of cows has undone all that hard work. Very inspiring work though, need to get up those hills to see those hill forts!

[@trevlamb6510]

Thank you for this, really informative and interesting to not only hear about the history but see you walking the same paths. It gives it a reality and scale that can be difficult to achieve without being in the ground 😀

[@peterallison607]

I enjoyed your video. In the collection you featured at the end from the edge of empire exhibition I was hoping to see the find I made with my metal detector and was on display. They had mounted it upside down but it was still a buzz to have something I'd found amongst all those other amazing artefacts. I have a full report on it from the curator of the Iron Age and Roman collection at the National Museum Fraser Hunter. If you'd like it let me know. Peter

[@OnMistyMountains]

It's great that you managed to find something and getting it displayed as well! Which item was it?

[@peterallison607]

It was a Romano British copper alloy vessel mount c150-250AD in the form of a head with head dress which would have held one of three suspension chains. A high status object and rare for Scotland. The interesting thing was it was right on the frontier and appears to have been very old when it went in the ground. This suggests it was around for a long time after the Romans left. Found close to a Pictish hill fort. It was displayed in the cabinet at the bottom of the tankard handles.

[@OnMistyMountains]

@@peterallison607 I managed to find a picture of the vessel mount from my visit. It looks so inconspicuous to me. I wouldn't even know what I was looking at if I found it. People who can recognise these items are amazing!

[@CaledoniaChronicles]

I've been to the Ardoch Fort, and it certainly is impressive. Rough Castle, near Falkirk, is also worth a visit.

[@OnMistyMountains]

We have visited Rough Castle too. I enjoyed it very much! 😊

[@CaledoniaChronicles]

@@OnMistyMountains it’s an amazing place, isn’t it?

[@OnMistyMountains]

I didn't know what the Antonine wall looked like before I went, so I was pretty floored by the size of it at Rough Castle. 😁

[@CaledoniaChronicles]

@@OnMistyMountains Yeah, Rough Castle is amazing and certainly deserves to be better known than it is.

[@robcrusoe]

Nicely researched and put together,interesting Roman history on our doorstep. I've passed Braco many times so Ardoch is a must to visit.I've came across a few Iron age and Roman forts on my hikes so it's great to see even more I never knew about.Thanks for sharing.

[@OnMistyMountains]

Thank you! It was a lot more work than anticipated. 😅 I'm glad you discovered something new! 😊 I didn't know anything at all about Iron Age or Roman Forts before I met my partner, but I'm having so much fun exploring them now.

[@peterlamont1533]

Well done with a nicely put together informative video! It is quite a lot of work to do that and I hope your tour encourages folk to visit these places. My understanding is that the Roman signalling was by coded flag semaphore which is limited to about 1 to 1.5 km. On the other hand, the Pictish signalling of around the same time appears to have been over many kilometres. One sight line I found is 22 km. Those discoveries lead me to believe that the Romans inadvertently enabled the Scots (Scotti) to establish themselves in Scotland (see: "Messages from the past: Iron Age signalling in Argyll").

[@OnMistyMountains]

I'd be happy if more people visit these places (in a respectful manner) because of my videos! Also, very interesting information. Thank you for sharing! I'll give that article a read.

[@aduncan4041]

Very interesting. I'm further north. There are very large marching camp sites nearby but not much to see. Many thanks.

[@OnMistyMountains]

You're welcome! I can imagine that marching camps are pretty hard to preserve anyway. It's amazing that archaeologists are still able to find them after all these centuries.

[@lukehuds2235]

😘🥰

[@dawg4202]

Good video

[@dawg4202]

Have you visited the antonine wall

[@OnMistyMountains]

Yes, Barr Hill and Rough Castle. That's in my 'Romans in Scotland' video. I want to visit a few more places this summer though.

[@dawg4202]

Aye Barr Hill is nice and so is Roughcastle. Anywhere in particular are you going to visit

[@OnMistyMountains]

I don't know yet. Any recommendations?

[@dawg4202]

Watling Lodge then walk to roughcastle is cool following the wall. Seabegs Wood too is cool. Callander Park has a stretch also. Bearsden roman baths is OK too. Polmont woods has a section too

[@papalaz4444244]

Aye ok, but what have the Romans ever done for us? :)

[@OnMistyMountains]

😂 ... nice bath houses?

[@tofgamman]

very beutiful lady. Ever in Edinburgh id be honoured to give you a tour

[@tofgamman]

not joking