THE PROBLEM WITH UXELLUM OF THE SELGOVAE

The Cities of the Selgovae (from Strang)

The difficulty in finding the real Uxellum is that there are a cluster of major hillforts from Burgh Hill (a candidate I favored in https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2019/06/an-apology-for-article-retraction-why-i.html) and Bonchester up to Highchesters*, Whitcastle Hill/Todshaw Hill, Dunion Hill and Rubers Law that can be made to fit the geographical requirements fixed by Strang.  But if we are going to honor Uxellum as the tallest hillfort in the ara, then Rubers Law, literally, stands out from its fellow.

FROM  https://canmore.org.uk/site/55249/rubers-law:


"Forts and Site of Roman Signal-Station, Rubers Law. Rubers Law, on the borders of Cavers and Hobkirk parishes, is, after the Eildon Hills, the most conspicuous landmark in Roxburghshire. Rising to a height of 1392 ft. OD, it has a rugged and precipitous top composed of igneous rock largely bare of vegetation and much disintegrated, which has thrust its way through the strata of the Old Red Sandstone lying on the flanks of the hill. Being an isolated peak, it commands a magnificent prospect of the surrounding country as far as the Cheviot range on the S and E, the Eildons and Lammermuirs on the N, and the hills of Selkirkshire and Liddesdale on the W and SW."

Alas, if we go by Strang's plotting of Ptolemaic sites, Rubers Law (his own tentative choice for Uxellum; see https://canmore.org.uk/site/55249/rubers-law) simply doesn't work.  Even allowing for a significant margin of error on the part of Ptolemy, Rubers Law is much higher in latitude that Raeburnfoot/Carbantoritum.  In terms of longtitude, it is to the east of Trimontium, while Uxellum must be to the east of that Roman fort at Newstead. 

What I keep coming back to is the apparent "cornering" of Selgovae territory by Raeburnfoot, Dreva Craig/Corda and Newstead.  Whether a false pattern or not, if we are right in restricting the Selgovae to the greater Tweed catchment basin, then Newstead is situated perfectly to control the lower Tweed up to the the Lammermuir and Moorfoot Hills, while Dreva Craig guarded the Biggar Gap that led to the Clyde and Raeburnfoot protected the southwest on the Border Esk.

Assuming for the sake of argument that this is an accurate portrait of the arrangement and function of these three sites, where would be the most logical place to find a southeastern "corner" of this quadrangle?  And would it not be reasonable to find Uxellum there?

Again, going solely by geography, which often determines the natural borders of kingdoms, we must seriously entertain the notion that the Cheviots formed the limit of Selgovae territory in the southeast.  Dere Street pierced the Cheviots from the south and continued on to Trimontium/Newstead. 

While like Rubers Law it is too far to the east of the latitude of Trimontium to fit perfectly onto Strang's plotting, I would raise the possibility once more that Woden Law could be Uxellum.  This fort is further south than Rubers Law and guarded the route through the Cheviots into Selgovae lands.  I here offer the CANMORE listings for both Woden Law and the nearby Pennymuir Roman camps:

Woden Law

https://canmore.org.uk/site/83741/pennymuir 

https://canmore.org.uk/site/58068/woden-law

An important paragraph concludes the discussion of Woden Law:

"A further feature, the series of five cross-dykes spanning the easy ridge between Woden Law and Hunthall Hill, is pre-Roman however, and part of the native British defence system. Such cross-dykes are not uncommon in relation to hillforts in the Cheviots.  Here they guard access from the main Cheviot ridge and emphasise the importance of the site and the route."

In other words, even before the Romans came the Selgovae stood guard over the Cheviot pass. This doubtless indicates that the lands to the south were hostile to 'the Hunters', i.e. was not a part of the Selgovae kingdom.

For those who would insist on Rubers Law for no other reason that it is the highest hillfort after the Eildons, note the following elevation statistics (from Hill Bagger):

422m / 1384ft - Woden Law
424m / 1391ft - Rubers Law

Woden Law is thus a significant hill, being almost as tall as Rubers.

My conclusion?  If the four Selgovae cities form a quadrangle that describes the approximate corners of the tribe's kingdom, then Uxellum as the southeast corner makes the most sense as Woden Law. 

* English 'High' matches in meaning the root of Celtic Uxellum, the 'High [Place]'.  But we cannot identify the two sites based solely on a semantic correspondence.