Crichton Mains basement
Crichton Mains Souterrain (also Crichton Earth House) is located east of Crichton Mains in Midlothian in Scotland . The practically intact basement is located on the north side of a low ridge, about 300 m northwest of the 130 m long circular fort Longfaugh. In the case of basements, a basic distinction is made between "rock-cut", "earth-cut", "stone built" and "mixed" basements.
The banana-shaped curved chamber, which is typical for Scottish systems, is 15.7 m long and extends in width from 1.5 m on the former north-western entrance side to around two meters on the rounded south-eastern end. The partially buried broken fall of the entrance is clearly visible. Today, however, the chamber is accessed from the northeast via the approximately five-meter-long side corridor, which can only be crossed by crawling.
The walls of the chamber and the side passage are interspersed with Roman blocks ("stone built"). One of the eight preserved original lintels of the chamber appears to have the roughly executed relief of a Pegasus , the symbol of the Legio II Augusta . The Legion has had the ibex as a heraldic animal since the late 3rd century. It is likely that the Roman material from the adjacent military road from the time of Antoninus Pius (86–161 AD) was removed, so that construction could not have taken place until after the Romans withdrew in 410 AD. The basement was roofed in the shape of an arch in the 19th century in the area where the old lintels are missing.
See also
literature
- Ian Armit: Scotland's hidden history. Tempus, Stroud 1998, ISBN 0-7524-1400-3 , pp. 87-88.
- John Baldwin: Edinburgh, Lothians and the Borders (= Exploring Scotland's Heritage. ). HMSO, Edinburgh 1997, ISBN 0-11-495292-2 , No. 85.
Web links
- photos
- Pictures and plan
- Entry on Crichton Main's basement in Canmore, Historic Environment Scotland database
Coordinates: 55 ° 50 '48.1 " N , 2 ° 57' 34.4" W.