It is a curious fact that the Roman occupation of Scotland has attracted a greater degree of archaeological enquiry than perhaps any other territory of the Roman Empire. Indeed, we know more about the Romans in Scotland than we do about the Romans in Italy. But what about Roman Fife? What role did Fife play in Rome’s North-West Frontier and what evidence, if any, do we have to suggest that the Romans were ever here?
Well, if truth be told, the notable absence of any striking Roman monuments in Fife, nor any momentous Roman finds in the region has led some to believe that the Romans never visited Fife at all. Nothing, however, could be farther from the truth. Indeed, the sheer paucity of Roman remains in Fife speaks volumes about the Roman relationship with the region, a relationship that is only now just beginning to be properly understood.
Romans and the Antiquarians
Firstly, before we go any further, it is important to sort out a few basics and in particular to sort out our Roman remains from our non-Roman remains. The problem is that before the advent of a modern scientific archaeology, it was often difficult for early archaeologists to identify Roman from non-Roman remains. That is to say, in the 18th and 19th centuries, Scottish antiquarians had a surprisingly detailed knowledge of classical Rome and her army’s occupation of Scotland but they knew little about the form, nature and chronology of their own indigenous archaeological remains. As a result, there was a strong tendency to describe almost every earthwork, tumulus, grave or find as Roman even though in most cases these features were in fact the products of indigenous Bronze Age and Iron Age peoples.
To illustrate the point more clearly one need only look at Small’s classic volume of 1823: Interesting Roman antiquities recently discovered in Fife, ascertaining the great battle fought betwixt Agricola and Galgacus; with the discovery and position of five Roman towns, and of the site and names of upwards of seventy Roman forts.
This is a fantastic piece of antiquarian writing but unfortunately it is hopelessly inaccurate. Indeed, perhaps less than 10 per cent of the sites and finds described by Small are in fact Roman and of the seventy forts he identifies, almost all were constructed by native Iron Age peoples and not the Romans.
Coins, Pots and Forts
So what evidence do we have for the Romans in Fife and what does it tell us? Well we don’t have any great Roman forts such as those found in the Scottish Borders or along the militarised frontier zones of the Antonine Wall or the Gask Ridge in Perthshire. Nor in Fife do we have any known examples of Roman civilian settlements or of villas, such as those commonly found in England. Rather, in Fife, our principal evidence for a Roman presence is restricted to five small temporary Roman marching camps and a range of Roman artefacts such as pottery, jewellery and coins.
So, in contrast to the numerous Roman military remains and the discreet concentrations of Roman finds found elsewhere in lowland Scotland, the Fife pattern is rather unusual. But what does it tell us? Well the temporary Roman marching camps, most of which probably date from the late first century AD clearly show that the Roman army did make its presence felt in Fife. However, the complete absence of larger, permanent military forts indicates that this presence was not that of an occupying force subjugating a hostile local population by means of a resident garrison army. Rather, all the evidence suggests that the native Iron Age tribes of Fife lived in peace with their Roman invaders.
Pax Romana – The Roman Peace
Of course, this is likely to have been a forced peace and it was probably only accepted after stiff initial resistance. Certainly, the temporary Roman marching camps, simple ditched forts thrown up each night around the encamped marching army, show that the Roman army’s first visits to Fife were forays into hostile territory. But the fact that permanent forts were never established is extremely significant and strongly suggests that the Iron Age tribes of Fife quickly and peaceably accepted the presence of their new Roman masters.
Effectively then, Fife was a client kingdom; a puppet state of the Roman Empire, forced into compliance by might and kept obedient by the presence of a number of massive legionary fortresses just over her borders at Cramond, Carpow, Ardoch, Strageath and Bertha.
The nature, form and distribution of the Roman finds known from Fife similarly seems to bear out such an interpretation. Coins, pottery, items of dress wear and jewellery make up the vast majority of Roman finds. Indeed, we see almost nothing else in Fife. Moreover, these finds have not been found concentrated in any one area, indicating the presence of a Roman settlement. Rather the vast majority have been found as either isolated stray finds or more commonly, they have been recovered from known native Iron Age sites. This suggests that Roman goods were being used and lost by the local indigenous population across Fife and that contact and trade between the Roman invaders and the settled native population was an everyday occurrence. Indeed, it is likely that locals were only too keen to acquire exotic Roman goods such as fine pottery and elegant jewellery and of course, silver and gold Roman coins had a value in any economic market.
The Roman Legacy
But in the final analysis, if we are truly to understand the mark the Romans left on Fife, we must look beyond mere artefactual evidence and instead look at the lasting change they wrought on local society. For forced absorption into the Empire meant much more than simple access to exotic Roman goods, it meant the immediate and dramatic end to a centuries old way of life for the locals. Traditional Iron Age hill-forts, centres of local power and resistance against Rome were destroyed by the Romans, and their like were never built again. Expanding trading markets introduced foreign influences, not only in the goods available but in dress, in customs and in the native Celtic art. Centuries-old systems of tribal organisation were flung into chaos. Settlement patterns changed. Religious practices and burial rites changed. In essence, the continuity of later pre-Roman Iron Age society came to a sudden and dramatic end with the appearance of the Romans.
Thus, whilst it is true that Roman remains in terms of sites, finds and monuments may be rather thin on the ground in Fife, the actual legacy of the Roman presence in the region can be demonstrated in almost every area of the archaeological record if we just look at the bigger picture.
