Berta (Perth)

Bertha ( Eng. Bertha ) - a Roman fortress, located north of the city of Perth , Scotland , at the confluence of the rivers Olmond and Theay. It is an archaeological site of national importance ^[1] .

Some historians have suggested that the name of Perth itself was only a distortion of the name of the Roman fort. According to another opinion, the name "Bert" was originally used by medieval Scottish chroniclers, such as John of Ford and Walter Bower, who did not know the original name of this place and simply Latinized "Perth" in "Bert". Therefore, the Romans, perhaps, could actually name the fortress "Tamiya", in honor of the Tei River. One way or another, in the early Middle Ages the abandoned fortress was still used for ceremonial purposes by the Pictish and Gaelic kings, who called it “Ratinweramon” ^[2] .

The fort served as a supply base to support the Roman legions, who occasionally made military expeditions to northeastern Scotland. It was built around 83 A.D. At that time, it was the highest navigable point on the Tey River ^[3] . Historians believe that the fortress was used three times until the III century ^[4] .

A plot of land with an area of ​​36 thousand square meters. m. was identified as the location of the fortress in the XVIII century. By that time, the remains of the structure were seriously damaged due to erosion from the river and plowing, but nevertheless, excavations that were carried out in 1973 revealed a fortified moat 3.4 meters wide and 1.7 meters deep. Also in the ditch was found a wide berm with a width of 9.1 m., Supported by a shaft of turf with a width of 6.4 m. ^[4]