TRANSACTIONS. 7 
country south of Agricola’s forts, withdrew his garrisons, left the 
inhabitants of the South of Scotland to their fate, built a wall 
between the Solway and the Tyne, and made a new boundary to 
the Roman Empire in Britain. The Springfield Hill Camp, along 
with the other military stations, would be evacuated at this time 
and left for nineteen years to ruin and decay. In the year A.D. 
139 Lollius Urbicus, under Antoninus Pius, rolled back the tide 
of barbarian invasion which had swept over the Lowlands of Scot- 
land, repressed the lawlessness and anarchy which prevailed, built 
a wall in the line of Agricola’s forts, and re-established the Roman 
authority in the land as it had existed nearly sixty years before. 
The likelihood is that our Camp was restored and re-occupied 
because it was required for the same purposes for which it had 
been constructed in the days of Agricola, and that the occupation 
continued till A.D. 210, when the Emperor Severus rebuilt 
Hadrian’s wall and again made it the northern boundary of the 
Roman province. The legionaries, recalled, marched from Spring- 
field Hill never more to return for any length of time. It is true 
that, in the year A.D. 368, in the reign of Valentinian, the country 
between the two walls was re-conquered by Theodosius, the 
Roman governor of Britain ; but as the Empire had at this time 
entered on its decline, it is very improbable he retained possession 
of his conquest for any length of time. The Romans finally 
abandoned Britain about A.D. 448. 
This discussion shews, then, that in all probability the Gian 
on Springfield Hill was constructed about A.D. 82 as a military 
post of observation, that it was occupied as such till a.p. 120, 
that it was abandoned for nineteen years, that it was re-occupied 
in A.D. 139 and maintained till A.D. 210, when it was finally and 
for ever abandoned. 
Il. Natural History Notes for 1887. By Mr Wm. Hastines. 
There is little to note this year in reference to anything 
unusual among our native birds so far as I have seen. There has 
been a great scarcity of the cuckoo this year compared with the 
two last seasons. I have had only one specimen this year, whereas 
Tused to have a good many both old and young birds. In the 
Spring I received a nice specimen of a pure white starling. I 
_have had the starling peculiarly marked, but never before saw one 
pure white. In the month of May I received a fine specimen of 
the golden eagle (male bird), trapped in Argyleshire, where in 
