LOT 1062

Very Large Romano-Scottish Legion XX Valeria Victrix 'Inchtuthil Fort' Iron Nail

CIRCA 83-87 A.D.

8 1/4 in. (228 grams, 21 cm).

Sturdy rectangular-section clout-nail with a slightly domed top. [No Reserve]

From excavations started by Richmond in Perthshire, Scotland, in the 1950s, and discovered in the summer of 1960.
Selected and boxed by David Colville & Sons by 1963.
Acquired on the UK art market in the 1990s.
Property of a Middlesex gentleman.

Cf. Mapelli, C., Nicodemi, W., Riva, R.F., Vedani, M., Gariboldi, E., ‘Nails of the Roman legionary at Inchtuthil’ in La Metallurgia Italiana, January 2009, pp.51-58; fog nails used for crucifixion, Connolly, P., Living in the time of Jesus of Nazareth, Oxford, 1983, pp.50-51.

The fortress at Inchtuthil was a fortified headquarters and forward supply depot for the forces led by the Roman governor, Gnaeus Julius Agricola, when he undertook a lengthy campaign against the Caledonian tribes in the north of Britain. The campaign is mentioned in the biographical work written by his son-in-law, the historian Tacitus, which has been studied in order to understand the Roman plan for the subjugation of the island. The troops chosen for the campaign were drawn from the 20th Legion (Legio XX Valeria Victrix). While the construction of Inchtuthil and other strongholds took place, the troops lived in temporary encampments which were also fortified and formed a chain of defensive sites from which domination of the surrounding territory could be achieved. Subsequently, once the site was abandoned late in the 1st century A.D. (around 86 A.D.), no further building took place there or in the area. Excavation in the 20th century by Sir Ian Richmond (begun in 1952) revealed a pristine site with its complete plan recoverable - unique in the Roman Empire. The defences were a broad ditch and turf wall with stone facing, with watchtowers and gatehouses. The site was thought to have been abandoned due to the relocation of troops to counter an invasion from Eastern Europe into the province of Dacia, although this is no longer certain. A huge quantity of iron nails (more than 875,000) was recovered from a pit in the fort as well as other ironware; the goods had been buried in order not to let them fall into the hands of the Caledonians. The excavated nails and other items were sorted and sold in small parcels, which was completed by 1963. The nails range in size from small nails between thirty-eight and seventy millimetres long, up to the massive spikes three hundred and seventy-two millimetres long. These kinds of long nails were also used for crucifixions.