Duncrub – the location of the battle of Mons Graupius?

One of the proposed locations for the battle of Mons Graupius is a place called Duncrub in Strathearn. This is one of the most southern locations. Duncrub is close to a small town called Dunning, just to the north of the Ochil hills. Strathearn is a valley which runs from Loch Earn to the west all the way to the Firth of Tay to the east. The main reason why some historians believe Duncrub is the location is the name. The word ‘crub’ is Gaelic for a ridge. The name Graupius is supposedly derived from ‘crub’. Duncrub means the ‘fort of the ridge’ and Mons Graupius means the ‘hill of the ridge’. However, there are other places in Scotland with the word crub. For example, there’s a Cruban Beg and  Cruban Mor in the highlands, to the north of Atholl, which means the ‘little ridge’ and the ‘big ridge’. The name Grampians is also derived from Graupius. There’s a Roman marching camp at Dunning of around 115 acres, which may date to the campaigns of Agricola around 80AD. However, the marching camp is located to the east of Duncrub. There’s another marching camp of a similar size at Carey to the east, close to the Firth of Tay. According to the Roman historian, Tacitus, Agricola’s army reached the Firth of Tay in the third year of campaigning. These marching camps may belong to Agricola’s campaign in the third year. There’s very little to see at Duncrub. The name may actually refer to a hillfort on the Ochil hills called Rossie Law. I visited the hillfort a while ago, to get an idea of the location. The hillfort has good views over Strathearn. It has a single rampart which surrounds the summit of the hill. Nearby, there’s a hill called Blair hill, which means the hill of battle. However, Blair is quite a common placename in Scotland. Another reason why some historians believe Duncrub is the location, is the presence of a placename called Victoria on Ptolemy’s map of Scotland. Victoria seems to be placed in Strathearn. Some historians believe this indicates the location of Mons Graupius. However, Ptolemy’s map is unreliable. It could also be referring to a fort or marching camp which the Caledonians raided the year before the battle of Mons Graupius. The 9^th legion were based at the fort and were almost defeated until Agricola returned with his army just on time. In conclusion, the location of Duncrub doesn’t make sense strategically. Why would the Caledonians place themselves on the Ochil hills to the south with the Romans on the plain to the north? They would only be able to retreat into the Ochil hills and Fife. Furthermore, the Romans occupied Strathmore to the north all the way up to Stracathro. There may be more Roman forts further north, which haven’t been discovered yet. If the battle had taken place at Duncrub, the Romans would have probably been able to only secure Strathearn and the land up to the River Tay.  

The Ochil hills (as seen from the north).

The view from Rossie Law hillfort towards the east. The village of Dunning is just visible in the distance. Duncrub is in the area of Dunning.

A possible entrance to the hillfort and the view towards the Gask ridge to the north. The Romans marched along the Gask ridge on their campaigns to the north east. They built a series of signal stations on the ridge.

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