New research has shown that Roman activity across Scotland was more significant than previously thought.

As the map below demonstrates, the force reached far and wide, setting up camps as far north as Elgin, and to the west near Stranraer, as well as at widely known sites along the Antonine Wall.

The map and key below (listing the camp names) have been compiled by Dr Rebecca Jones, an archaeologist with the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments, who used photographs from the organisation's aerial survey collection, as well as existing archives, to record every site in Scotland, which is home to the largest number of surviving Roman camps in Europe.

"For the first time, we have a picture of the true extent of the Roman war machine in Scotland," says Dr Jones. "By mapping and recording the hundreds of temporary army outposts, we have provided an important benchmark for further research into the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire."

Up to 260 camps have now been discovered in Scotland - in some cases several were set up close together or at the same site.

Although the camps provided only basic accommodation for soldiers and were not occupied for long, they were crucial to the Roman campaign in Scotland, housing the army when on patrols or manoeuvres. 

Their shapes can be detected through techniques such as the study of crop patterns on aerial photographs, which can indicate the outlines of ancient structures.The photographs in the gallery above show the locations of some of the Roman camps today, and a selection of artefacts recovered from sites across Scotland, now displayed in The Hunterian, at the University of Glasgow.

Dr Jones provides a full archaeological record of these military outposts in her new book Roman Camps in Scotland.