Inveresk Roman Fort

Inveresk Roman Fort stands inside the grounds of St Michael’s Church in the village of Inveresk, East Lothian. The fort once covered 6.6 acres, making it one of the larger Roman forts in the region. Excavations led by Ian Richmond suggested cavalry troops were stationed here. A tombstone found at Carberry shows a cavalry trooper named Crescens who may have lived at the fort. Nearby, archaeologists uncovered the earliest dated Mithraeum in Scotland, dating to around 140 AD. Two sandstone altars dedicated to Mithras and Sol were found and are now in the National Museum of Scotland. The fort was built after Emperor Antoninus Pius launched an invasion of Scotland in AD 139 or 140. Evidence points to two clear phases of occupation during the Antonine period. The fort was likely abandoned around AD 160 when Hadrian’s Wall was recommissioned. Outside the east rampart lay a civil settlement called a vicus, which included a structure thought to be an amphitheatre. Excavations since 1946 have revealed the fort’s outline and interior details. In 2004, Roman artefacts and possible boundary ditches were found during water main work. Later digs uncovered Mesolithic tools and Iron Age burials dating to 50 BC – AD 130. Roman remains included six human burials, one horse burial, and samian bowls with scratched names. The finds suggest the fort’s occupants came from diverse backgrounds, possibly including soldiers from Thrace.