Documents

Where documents include maps, the use of this data is subject to terms and conditions (https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/termsandconditions).

The legal document available for download below constitutes the formal designation of the monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The additional details provided on this page are provided for information purposes only and do not form part of the designation. Historic Environment Scotland accepts no liability for any loss or damages arising from reliance on any inaccuracies within this additional information.

• Type

  Legal Documents

  Title

  Legal Documents for Coatshill Quarry to Holehouse Linn, Roman Road. (SM3347)

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600002290)

• Type

  Legal Documents

  Title

  Legal Map for Coatshill Quarry to Holehouse Linn, Roman Road. (SM3347)

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600002291)

Summary

Description

The monument comprises the remains of a 5.5km stretch of Roman road probably dating to the late first or early second centuries AD. The monument is located on the east side of Annandale, north of Moffat and is visible as a slight and intermittent linear earthwork aligned north northwest for most of its length before the road turns northwards at approximately 4km from its south end.

The road surface is up to 7.3m wide with a camber of up to 0.6m constructed on a turf bed and, at least in part, using stone excavated from adjacent quarry pits. Lateral indentations may indicate the surviving fragments of drainage ditches. The road survives under a variety of land uses including forestry, moorland, modern tarmacadam surfacing and a golf course

The scheduled area is irregular on plan, to include the remains described above and an area around them within which evidence relating to the monument's construction, use and abandonment is expected to survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map. The scheduled area specifically excludes the top 300mm of modern prepared surfaces along with the above-ground remains of all modern boundary features to allow for their upkeep and maintenance. The monument was first scheduled in 1973 and amended in 2009, but an inadequate area was included to protect all of the archaeological remains: the present amendment rectifies this.

Statement of National Importance

The monument is of national importance because it has an inherent potential to contribute to our understanding of the past, in particular of the construction, use and role of roads during the Roman occupation of southern Scotland. The road is well-preserved as an upstanding earthwork and archaeological excavation has confirmed the presence of the surface and underlying structure of the road as well as its associated quarry pits and possible drainage ditches beneath the ground surface. There is also potential for survival of buried organic remains and artefacts from under the road surface and in the fills of the ditches and quarry pits. Such remains can provide important dating evidence and information about the contemporary environment at the time of the road's construction. This road was an important part of the Roman road network that linked what is now Scotland with the rest of Roman Britain and its importance is enhanced by the close proximity of several contemporary Roman monuments. The road can also provide evidence of Roman civil engineering techniques including the routing of such roads through the landscape. The loss of the monument would affect our understanding of the construction and use of roads by the Roman army and of the progress, organisation and extent of the Roman occupation within Scotland.   

References

Bibliography

About Scheduled Monuments

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Scheduling is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for monuments and archaeological sites of national importance as set out in the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979.

We schedule sites and monuments that are found to be of national importance using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Scheduled monument records provide an indication of the national importance of the scheduled monument which has been identified by the description and map. The description and map (see ‘legal documents’ above) showing the scheduled area is the designation of the monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The statement of national importance and additional information provided are supplementary and provided for general information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland accepts no liability for any loss or damages arising from reliance on any inaccuracies within the statement of national importance or additional information. These records are not definitive historical or archaeological accounts or a complete description of the monument(s).

The format of scheduled monument records has changed over time. Earlier records will usually be brief. Some information will not have been recorded and the map will not be to current standards. Even if what is described and what is mapped has changed, the monument is still scheduled.

Scheduled monument consent is required to carry out certain work, including repairs, to scheduled monuments. Applications for scheduled monument consent are made to us. We are happy to discuss your proposals with you before you apply and we do not charge for advice or consent. More information about consent and how to apply for it can be found on our website at www.historicenvironment.scot.

Find out more about scheduling and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.