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The battle of Mons Graupius has been a constant motif in the study of Roman Scotland. In the nineteenth century CE it was identified with almost every principal Roman site in Perth and Kinross from Dalginross to Blairgowrie. With the advent of aerial photography and the interpretation of crop markings in the twentieth century CE the focus has moved to the north-east and a series of marching camps en route to the Moray coast. This has given rise to the belief that the battle occurred in Aberdeenshire at the foot of Bennachie, a very distinctive hill just south of a large marching camp at Logie Durno (St. Joseph, 1978; Salway 1981; Campbell, 2010). Yet this site seems too far from the coast and the fleet to match with Tacitus' description of the battle. There is also a river between the camp and the alleged battlefield which is not referenced. Others have advocated the Roman marching camp at Raedykes as another possible candidate in the north-east (Crawford 1949). Although closer to the sea there is no distinctive hill in the immediate vicinity and the dating of the camp is not straight forward, a problem which could also effect the Durno camp (Forder 2019, 112-118). Given the difficulties with these northern locations, other have turned to more southerly sites, looking specifically at the marching camps of Strathearn (Feachem 1970; Smith 1987; Fraser 2005; Forder 2019). This has created various proposals mainly centred on Dunning and we can now speak of a northern and southern school of thought on the battle.
However, the failure to provide a definitive site for the battle has meant an increasing scepticism towards its existence (Woolliscroft, 2009). The original account of the battle of Mons Graupius by Tacitus occurred in his biography of his father-in-law, Gnaeus Julius Agricola. It is claimed that given the family connections, Tacitus has either invented or exaggerated the significance of this battle and it never actually occurred. However Tacitus does record Agricola receiving an ornamenta triumphalia (Agricola 40.1, 44.3) in Rome for the conquest which suggests it is more than a fiction, although its significance may have been exaggerated. The narrative of the battle runs from chapter 29 to 38 of the Life of Agricola (see synopsis). Yet the substance of this account is predominately made up of two fictional speeches, one given by a Caledonian warrior called Calgacus (see here) and the other by Agricola (see here). Very few details are provided of the events leading up to the battle or its actual location. Nevertheless, the second-century Geography of Claudius Ptolemaeus (‘Ptolemy’) in its representation of Scotland does cite a place known as Victoria. This name is highly suggestive and could be indicative of a battle.
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