Old Kilpatrick - Roman Fort

Roman Fort

The western end of the Antonine Wall was at Old Kilpatrick (the eastern end, 59 km distant was at Bridgeness on the Forth). The physical traces of the wall had been erased but the route was surveyed during the 18th century and traced to the Chapel Hill where various Roman artifacts were found.

When the Forth and Clyde Canal was being dug in 1790 the remains of a bathhouse were discovered. In 1913 the foundations of the fort which had been conjectured as being in the vicinity were confirmed; in the Ravenna Cosmography, an ancient map, this site was called "Clotagenium". However it was not until 1923 and the redevelopment of the area that significant archeology was undertaken, which established the size and nature of the fort. Established around 81 AD, it occupied an area of about four acres enclosed by an outer defensive wall. Internally, buildings discovered included a praetorium (headquarters), barracks and a granary. Major development precluded further significant excavation, and nothing is visible of the remains today: the remains lie beneath the houses of Gavinburn Gardens to the east, a large commercial building to the west and the A814 road to the north.