Hassall and Tomlin 1977, 430-1: [I(ovi) O(ptimo) M(aximo) D(olicheno)] et Genio Loci / [et n(uminibus) Au]g(ustorum) L(ucius Viducius / [L(uci) /(ilius) Plajcidus domo / civit(ate)] Veliocasfsjium / [sevir njegotiator / [cret(arius) ajrcum etfanum / fd(ono) d(edit) l(oco) d(ato)] d(ecreto) [d(ecurionum)] Grato et / [Seleuco co(n)s(ulibus)].

ARCHAEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND T he two camps at Dullatur (FIG. 1), near Cumbernauld, lie on a north-facing slope, some 400 m south of the Antonine Wall, between Westerwood and Croy Hill. The excavation was undertaken in 1998 by Headland Archaeology 1 in advance of the development of the site for housing. The work was conducted in accordance with the detailed specification prepared by the West of Scotland Archaeology Service (WoSAS) on behalf of North Lanarkshire Council. The area of the development comprised two zones: one coincident with the site of the two camps and a smaller area (not illustrated) to the northwest. The inner camp lies within the outer, sharing part of the western side. The camps were first seen as cropmarks from the air by St Joseph in July 1961 but it was only after several years of photography that the evidence was clear enough for the site to be positively identified as Roman. 2 The southeast side of the outer camp, about 230 m long, the east and south corners, and parts of the northeast and southwest sides have been visible at various times. The northern part of both camps disappears underneath The Lane, the modern track, southeast of Dullatur House. This does not allow the overall size and area of the two camps to be determined with certainty. Trial excavation by Keppie in 1975-76 determined the location and the relationship between the two camps. The inner, smaller camp clearly re-used the southwest ditch of the outer, and consideration of the topography led him to suggest that the area of the camps was 1.7 and 4 hectares respectively. 3 The area of the camps is significant in the overall assessment of any possible relationship with the Antonine Wall and will be discussed later. EXCAVATION OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGY The objectives of the WoSAS specification were to provide clarification with regard to the dating of both camps, their relationship to the Antonine Wall, and the identification and excavation of any features in the area to the northwest of the camps. The recovery of dating evidence was given a high priority and dictated the fieldwork strategy which was prescribed in the specification. The excavation of the camps was preceded by a magnetometer survey. A metal-detector survey was also undertaken, prior to and during excavation of the ditch sediments. The methodology and sample sizes for the excavation were set in the specification. A 25 per cent sample (6,250 m 2) was specified for the area of the two camps. Work was concentrated on the 1

The purpose of this paper is to reconsider the significance of the so-called ‘Late Celtic rubbish heap’ near Oare (Nat. Grid Ref. SU 172643) in the parish of Wilcot, near Marlborough in central Wiltshire and to assess its implications for Savernake ware, a regional variety of grey culinary coarse pottery, known to have been produced in Savernake Forest, just south of Marlborough, Wiltshire. The site in question (FIG. I), 6–4 km south-west of the Roman walled town of Cunetio (Mildenhall) was dug into in 1907–8 by Benjamin and Maud Cunnington. Mr. and Mrs. Cunnington were attached to Devizes Museum from the late nineteenth until almost the mid twentieth century and became well known for their many excavations and publications, particularly on prehistoric sites in Wiltshire.

The study of utilitarian pottery from the Antonine Wall has distinguished small numbers of locally made vessels with North African affinities at nine or ten forts. Similar vessels at Chester and others made by Legio XX at the Holt works depot, one with a potter's graffito in neo-Punic suggest the presence of North Africans. It is suggested that detachments sent from Britain to Pius' Mauretanian war of AD 146-49 may have brought North Africans back with them to Britain. At the western sector of the Antonine Wall, changes in the legionary work-stints may be linked to troop reductions for the war, as the mural barrier and Bearsden Duntocher fort interiors were still unfinished. After the conflict, Bearsden and Duntocher were each partitioned to make an annexe and their internal buildings re-planned and completed; a programme of annexe construction began at other forts, and secondary alterations were made to many existing fort interiors. All may be connected with changes in units or in the composition of the returning garrisons, now perhaps mixed and augmented with small numbers of North African troops. Possible relevant epigraphic evidence is examined.

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