Remains of Roman bath-house at Bearsden

Image: © Lairich Rig Taken: 3 Jul 2015

This is a wide-angle view from the eastern end of the site, from what would have been the eastern rampart of the annexe. (The bath-house was in an eastern annexe of Bearsden fort; the annexe was not an extension of the fort, but was created when the original large enclosure of the fort was subdivided into a smaller fort enclosure and an annexe.) Of the visible remains shown here, the nearest part, in the left foreground, was the furnace, providing underfloor heating for some of the rooms; a few of those rooms were additionally heated by means of wall cavities. The view direction (looking west) for this photograph is the same as that of the Antonine Wall. The Wall itself was not far to the north (right), in the area occupied by the large building on the right. Parallel to the Antonine Wall, and a little to the south of it, was the Military Way. The present-day main road, which is called Roman Road, appears to follow its course. The main road (Image / Image) is on the other side of the modern stone wall that can be seen, with trees beside it, on the left in this picture. Bearsden Fort extended southwards from the Wall to the Military Way, and about as far again to the south (the Military Way therefore ran through the middle of the fort). The fort included the area occupied by the large building visible ahead, as well as the area facing it on the other side of the main road. The fort's eastern annexe included the area shown here (with the bath-house), and, once again, the area facing it on the other side of the main road. The other rooms of the bath-house are depicted in separate photographs, and need not be described here in detail. Click on the end-note title for other views. For other contributors' earlier pictures of the bath-house, see Image / Image / Image / Image / Image For the appearance of the site in winter, see Image / Image / Image / Image

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