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 what 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 
Mons 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. 
