Cardean Roman Fort and Marching Camp

A short distance to the north of Meigle, where the Kirriemuir road crosses the Dean Water, are the remains of a Roman fort and marching camp dating from circa 85 AD. 

The fort and the camp are part of a line of such settlements established by the Romans to the south of the Highland edge during the first century AD. 

Roman occupation is likely to have been short-lived, as the fort had been abandoned by AD 90, when the Twentieth Legion was withdrawn.  

Although there is little evidence to see above ground, traces of the fort overlooking the confluence of the Dean Water and the River Isla can be seen in the form of cropmarks in this ariel photo. 

A useful source for more detailed archeological information about this site and others in Tayside is the Tayside and Fife Archeological Committee, which produces annual journals of articles, including this one: Cardean: the changing face of a Flavian fort in Scotland by Birgitta Hoffmann.