Vol 6 - Dumfriesshire & Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian ...

Transactions. 7country south of Agricola's forts, withdrew his garrisons, left theinhabitants of the South of Scotland to their fate, built a wallbetween theSolway and the Tyne, and made a new boundary tothe Roman Emjiire in Britain. The Springfield Hill Camp, alongwith the other military stations, would be evacuated at this timeand left for nineteen years to ruin and decay. In the year A.D.1.39 LoUius Urbicus, under Antoninus Pius, rolled back the tideof barbarian invasion which had swept over theLowlands of Scotland,repressed the lawlessness and anarchy which prevailed, builta wall in the line of Agricola's forts, and re-established the Romanauthority in the land as it had existed nearly sixty years before.The likelihood is that our Camp was restored and re-occupiedbecause it was required for the same purposes for which it hadbeen constructed in the days of Agricola, and that the occupationcontinued till A.D. 210, when the Emperor Severus rebuiltHadrian's wall and again made it the northern boundary of theRoman province. The legionaries, recalled, marched from SpringfieldHill never more to return for any length of time. It is truethat, in the year A.D. 368, in the reign of Valentinian, the countrybetween the two walls was re-conquered by Theodosius, theRoman governor of Britain ; but as the Empire had at this timeentered on its decline, it is very improbable he retained possessionof his conquest for any length of time. The Romans finallyabandoned Britain about A.D. 448.This discussion shews, then, that in all probability the Campon Springfield Hill was constructed about A.D. 82 as a militarypost of observation, that it was occupied as such till A.D. 120,that it was abandoned for nineteen years, that it was re-occupiedin A.D. 139 and maintained till A.D. 210, when it was finally andfor ever abandoned.11. Natural History Notes for 1887. By Mr Wm. Hastings.There is little to note this year in reference to anythingunusual among our native birds so far as I have seen. There hasbeen a great scarcity of the cuckoo this year compared with thetwo last seasons.I have had only one specimen this year, whereasI used to have a good many both old and young binls. In theSpring I received a nice specimen of a pure white starling. Ihave had the starling peculiarly marked, but never before saw onepure white. In the month of May I received a fine specimen oftlie golden eagle (male bird), trapped in Argyleshire, where in