Durno

Durno, also known as Logie Durno, lies 10 kilometres north-west of Inverurie in Aberdeenshire. It is a flat stretch of farmland where a vast Roman marching camp once stood. The site was first spotted from the air in July 1975 and then carefully dug over in 1976 and 1977. Archaeologists found a ditch 3.35 metres wide and deep all around the camp. The south-west side measured 980 metres long, while the north-west side stretched 590 metres. The camp’s size is unusual for northern Britain. At between 57.2 and 58.4 hectares, it is the largest Roman camp found north of the Antonine Wall. Some experts think the Roman general Agricola gathered his legions here before the battle of Mons Graupius in AD 84. Other scholars argue the link is weak and based on little proof. The debate makes the site important for understanding Roman strategy in Scotland. Today the field shows few traces of its past. A single physician and geologist, Dr William Mackie, was born on this land in the 19th century. Visitors walk over the quiet ground where thousands once marched. The wide sky and open fields give a sense of how the Romans saw this place long ago.