Facing the Enemy?: A GIS Study of 1st Century Roman Fortifications in the Scottish Landscape

Facing the Enemy is a GIS-based examination of the relationship between Roman fortifications occupied during the Flavian period (AD 77-86/90), and their Scottish landscape setting. It undertakes spatial analysis of the positioning, orientation, intervisibility and interconnectivity of the early legionary fortresses, forts, fortlets, camps and towers. The study combines mapping data, remote sensing technologies, along with archaeological evidence in an extensive GIS database, and takes a systematic approach to analysing the landscapes surrounding the fortifications.The work demonstrates that Flavian fortifications were almost always located in positions which enabled the military to control movement through the landscape, with coastal sites frequently guarding access to river networks and fortifications further upstream. The study concludes that the military strategy in Flavian Scotland was not to block all movement through the landscape as such a strategy would have been impossible in such a varied setting, but rather to control the main corridors of movement, and by extension, exert control and authority over the indigenous population.