Battle of Mons Graupius 84
Marker: recorded battle location (no official boundary).
Key facts
| Date (year) | 84 | Wikidata P585 point in time |
|---|---|---|
| Century | 1st century | derived |
| Period | Roman Britain | derived |
| Country | Scotland | derived |
| War / conflict | Roman conquest of Britain | Wikidata |
| Participants | Ancient Rome, Caledonians, Calgacus, Gnaeus Julius Agricola | Wikidata |
About the battle
The Battle of Mons Graupius was, according to Tacitus, a Roman military victory in what is now Scotland, taking place in AD 83 or, less probably, 84. The exact location of the battle is a matter of debate. Historians have long questioned some details of Tacitus's account of the fight, suggesting that he exaggerated Roman success.
Visiting the battlefield
The Battle of Mons Graupius has been a constant motif in the study of Roman Scotland. In the 19th century, it was identified with almost every principal Roman site in Perth and Kinross from Dalginross to Blairgowrie. With the advent of aerial photography and the interpretation of crop markings in the 20th century, the focus has moved to the north-east and a series of marching camps en route to the Moray coast. This has given rise to the belief that the battle occurred in Aberdeenshire at the foot of Bennachie, a very distinctive hill just south of a large marching camp at Logie Durno.
Considerable debate and analysis have been conducted regarding the battle location, with the locus of most of these sites spanning Perthshire to the north of the River Dee, all in the northeast of…
Location
- Recorded location (Wikidata; may be approximate): 56.9167, -3.0000
Battlefields are often on private farmland: please keep to public rights of way and respect landowners.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Mons Graupius (revision 1378286630), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “Location”; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations removed. No text added.
Battle location from Wikidata (CC0).
Nearby battlefields
- Battle of Tullich 1652 · 16 km
- Battle of Culblean 1335 · 20 km
- Battle of Stracathro 1130 · 29 km
- Battle of Lumphanan 1057 · 29 km
- Battle of Dun Nechtain 685 · 34 km
- Battle of Alford 1645 · 39 km
Other battles of the Roman conquest of Britain
All battles of the Roman conquest of Britain →
Browse more: battles in Scotland · Roman Britain · 1st century battles