62 Transactions. 



exact position of this " little temple," and some particulars about 

 the stable, the dwelling, and the grounds of the " poor lady " as 

 well as about the lady herself. Meantime we cannot determine 

 with the necessary degree of certainty wJiat connection, in point 

 of time, these and other Birrens antiquities had originally with 

 its ramparts and ditches. The Romans chose the sites for their 

 stations and camps with such admirable skill and foresight that 

 we need not be surprised at finding that after they left a country 

 the native tribes or subsequent invaders took possession of the 

 same positions, refortifying or strengthening them in accordance 

 with their own ideas of defensive warfare. 



Sir John Clerk's discovery at Birrens lent such probability to 

 Gordon's statements, regarding both it and Birrenswark, that 

 they soon gained currency. With some modifications they were 

 adopted by Horsley in his " Britannia Romana," who, however, 

 reversed Gordon's decision as to the comparative importance of 

 the two places by identifying Birrens as the " Blatum Bulgium '' 

 of the Antonine Itinerary. According to Sir John Clerk, the 

 suggestion of their being one and the same was originally his ; 

 and in his correspondence he indicates that he had a grievance 

 against Horsley for omitting to acknowledge indebtedness for it. 

 But it was Major-General William Roy who secured for belief in 

 the Roman origin of the mounds at Birrens and those on Birrens- 

 wark that all but universal acceptance it still enjoys. Himself a 

 soldier, he had many qualifications for the task of investigating 

 the character of these and similar remains. He took an active 

 part as an Officer of Engineers in the first Government Survey 

 of Scotland (1747 to 1755), and had thus unusual facilities 

 for collecting much of the necessary materials. In the course 

 of the Survey operations, Roy's attention was drawn almost 

 accidentally to certain supposed traces of the Romans in 

 the north. A military friend. Captain (afterwards General) 

 Melville, on reading the Agricola of Tacitus, became 

 penetrated with the idea that " for reasons of war " the battle of 

 Mpns Graupins or Grampius must have been fought in the north 

 of Forfarshire if not in Kincardine. With this view he made a 

 tour through Strathmore, where, after some search, he discovered 

 four earthworks or enclosures, which, from their situation, he 

 thought must have been occupied by Agricola during the last 

 year of the war. Soon after he met with Roy, whom he made a 

 proselyte to his opinions, and induced to follow up the matter. 



