Day seven

Next morning the bus traced a brief Aberdeen drive-through before heading northwest to the fields of Durno, northern-most stop on the Roman Army in Scotland tour and the site of a huge 141 acre Roman marching camp. Nothing remains to be seen on the ground there. Aerial photography has spotted "crop marks" which mark the dimensions of the camp. To the south of the Durno camp is the dramatic hill of Bennachie, site of multiple Iron Age forts including Mither Tap on the crown of Bennachie.

The dramatic heights of Bennachie near the large marching camp at Durno have led scholars to suggest that this is another strong candidate for the site of the Battle of Mons Graupius between Agricola and Calgacus, leader of the Caledonians.

Our next stop was the visitor's centre for Bennachie where many of the tour party hiked to the top for a view from Iron Age fortress (Mither Tap). It was all that could be imagined with spectacular vistas in all directions and an interesting look back north to Durno (see above). Once one has climbed the hill (518m above sea level) it becomes clear that the flat ridges extending from the summit to the southwest could have concealed a huge Caledonian army from the Romans until the time of the battle. Was this Mons Graupius? It does seem very possible.

After a picnic lunch at the Bennachie visitor centre, the tour bus drove west around the north edge of Bennachie to the small town of Oyne just off the A96, to the Archaeolink, an interesting archaeological demonstration museum. A multimedia theatre, displays and cafeteria are located in an innovative energy-efficient building while extensive outside displays reconstruct all eras of occupation in the Oyne area from prehistoric through to Celtic and Roman. Our tour arrived on a Sunday afternoon during the Euro Cup so it was surprising to see the parking lot busy and plenty of active kids' displays and activities. An archaeological dig was in process, though it did appear to be a "demonstration." A nearby hilltop has been planted with species of trees common during earlier occupations and barely visible stone remains of an Iron Age occupation on the same hillock could be seen. The location also offered a view eastward back to Bennachie and the associated hilltops.

After visiting Archaeolink, our tour headed south on a three hour drive back to Edinburgh for the evening.