Armed and dangerous people of the swamps
Tulloch Stone
As you all know the Romans tried three times to conquer Scotland, each time marching past Stirling.
The third attempt around 208 was led by the Emperor Septimius Severus. This invasion was detailed by Roman historian Cassius Dio who provided the first details of Stirlingshire and Perthshire as well as the local tribes the Maeatae and the Caledonians.
Cassius said they“inhabit wild and waterless mountains and desolate and swampy plains, and possess neither walls, cities, nor tilled fields, but live on their flocks, wild game, and certain fruits. They dwell in tents, naked and unshod, possess their women in common, and in common rear all the offspring ... For arms they have a shield and a short spear, with a bronze apple attached to the end of the spear-shaft, so that when it is shaken it may clash and terrify the enemy; and they also have daggers.
“They can endure hunger and cold and any kind of hardship; for they plunge into the swamps and exist there for many days with only their heads above water, and in the forests they support themselves upon bark and roots, and for all emergencies they prepare a certain kind of food, the eating of a small portion of which, the size of a bean, prevents them from feeling either hunger or thirst.”
Now while a lot of this seems nonsense the spears they describe have been found and also carved on stones. This carving of a naked warrior was found near Perth and is called the Tulloch Stone, there are several found across Scotland north of the Forth, all naked and with the same pose.
It’s not clear if this figure is one of the Maeatae or perhaps one of their gods - I like to think it’s a warrior resisting Rome and her legions!