186 PEOFESSOR EDWAED HULL, M.A., LL.D., F.R.S., ON 



Sir Archibald Geikie, " the Antonine wall, therefore, yields no 

 evidence in favour of the view that the land has remained 

 stationary since the time of the Eomans," a favourite article 

 of faith with some persons. 



Ancient Harbours. — It may be mentioned in corroboration 

 that there are the rem.ains of old Eoman harbours along tlie 

 east coast of Scotland at Inverest and Cranund which show that 

 the land has been raised since Roman times ; and of another at 

 Camelon in the valley of the Carron, at which an anchor was 

 dug up. Lastly, there is the tradition of a Eoman harbour in 

 Falkirk Carse, below Larbert Bridge, where pieces of broken 

 anchor have been discovered; — from all of which the late learned 

 Dr. Nimmo, writing in 1777, inferred that the Firth stood con- 

 siderably higher in former ages than at present. 



Historical evidence. — I have only one more point of evidence 

 to add to the above in support of the view that the land of 

 North Britain has been considerably elevated since the Eoman 

 occupation, and that is of an historical kind. The historian 

 Gildas, who lived in the early part of the seventh century, 

 describes the " Picts " or Ancient Caledonians as a " trans- 

 onarine " people, who, emerging from their forests, attacked the 

 Eoman o-arrisons from the north-east, crossingr the intervening^ 

 water in their coracles.* The interpretation which I would 

 venture to place on this interesting passage is as follows : — 



At the time of the Eoman occupation of Scotland an arm of 

 the sea occupied tlie valley of the Forth, a prolongation in fact 

 of the present Firth, separating the land in occupation of the 

 Eomans on the south, from the Grampian Mountains on the 

 north, the slopes of which were covered by forests affording 

 shelter to the highlanders who, emerging from time to time, 

 and crossing the intervening estuary in their coracles, attacked 

 the Eoman entrenchments, doubtless making it very unpleasant 

 for the soldierS; who in sheer disgust abandoned the inhospit- 

 able country, leaving Britain to its fate about the year a.d. 187. 

 The term " transmarine " used by Gildas is specially worthy of 

 note, and would scarcely be applicable to the Caledonians had 

 they been separated at this time from their foes only by the 

 waters of the river Forth, as at the present day ; but with the 

 sea stretching inland nearly twelve miles beyond Stirling, as 

 shown by the map, the expression becomes quite intelligible. 



* Quoted by Professor Rhys in Celtic Britaiv^ 2nd edit., p. 167. 



