Burnswark Hill

55°05′49″N 3°16′34″W / 55.096873°N 3.276126°W / 55.096873; -3.276126

Burnswark Hill, Dumfries & Galloway

Burnswark Hill (also known as Birrenswark), to the east of the A74(M) between Ecclefechan and Lockerbie in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, is a prominent flat-topped hill, composed of basalt deposited some 300 million years ago as a local flow of lava.[1] On this hill have been found an Iron Age hillfort enclosing some 7 hectares,[2] Iron Age round houses within the fort, an earlier Bronze Age burial cairn, enclosures dated to the medieval period, a possible Civil War battery, and an Ordnance Survey triangulation station.[3][4] Immediately adjacent to the base of the hill are two Roman camps, north and south of the fort, and a possible Roman fortlet (or pre-existing earthwork) within the South Camp.

Excavations have found evidence that the fortifications had collapsed or had been “deliberately felled” before about 140, when the site was bombarded by Roman sling bullets, arrows, and artillery missiles.[5] While this was suggested to be evidence of Roman military training, it now seems likely that the missiles were left by a Roman assault, almost certainly as part of Quintus Lollius Urbicus' conquest of the Scottish Lowlands in about 140.

In November 1542, James V of Scotland rode from Lochmaben Castle to Burnwark Hill to watch fires started by the Scottish army. After learning of the defeat at the battle of Solway Moss, he returned to Stirling Castle.[6]

Siege of Burnswark
Part of Roman conquest of Britain
Date140
Location
South-west Scotland
Result Roman victory
Belligerents
Roman Empire Selgovae
Commanders and leaders
Antoninus Augustus Pius
Quintus Lollius Urbicus		 Unknown
Strength
6,000+[7] Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown Unknown, suspected massacre
  1. ^ "Dumfriesshire, v.c. 72". Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland. 9 April 2016. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  2. ^ "ArcGIS Web Application". hillforts.arch.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  3. ^ "Burnswark Hillfort". The Megalithic Portal. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  4. ^ Jones, Rebecca H. (2012). Roman camps in Britain. Amberley Pub. ISBN 978-1-84868-688-5. OCLC 779838240.
  5. ^ Johnston, Willie (26 August 2016). "Hill's bloody Roman history unearthed". BBC News. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  6. ^ Joseph Bain, Hamilton Papers, 1 (Edinburgh, 1890), lxxxvi, lxxxviii.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Live Science was invoked but never defined (see the help page).