Editing Cramond (section)

====Roman period====
{{See also|Cramond Roman Fort}}
Around 142, [[Roman Empire|Roman]] forces arrived at Cramond by order of the Emperor [[Antoninus Pius]], with the task of establishing a [[fort]] at the mouth of the River Almond. This fort would guard the eastern flank of the fortified frontier known as the [[Antonine Wall]] (named after the Emperor, as with [[Hadrian]]'s Wall) that the Romans had established across Scotland. Nearly five hundred men worked on the site, building a fort that covered nearly six acres, with a harbour for communication. However, the fort was only inhabited for a short time, perhaps fifteen years, before it was abandoned by the troops who were ordered to retreat south to [[Hadrian's Wall]]. Pottery and coins of later date indicate that the fort and harbour were reinhabited and used as a base for the army and navy of the Emperor [[Septimius Severus]], sometime between 208 and 211.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Elliott|first1=Simon|last2=Hughes|first2=Tristan|title=The Scottish Campaigns of Septimius Severus|url=http://turningpointsoftheancientworld.com/index.php/2018/03/18/scottish-campaigns-septimius-severus/|access-date=21 May 2018|agency=Turning Points of the Ancient World|date=18 March 2018}}</ref>

The medieval parish church of Cramond parish (which retains its late medieval western tower in altered form), was built within the Roman fort.
[[File:Cramond Lioness, National Museum of Scotland.jpg|thumb|220px|The [[Cramond Lioness]] in the [[National Museum of Scotland]], Edinburgh]]
Though knowledge of the Roman presence at Cramond was recorded afterwards, the remains of the fort itself were only rediscovered in 1954. Substantial archaeological research was carried out upon its discovery to build up a reasonably accurate picture of the site in Roman times. The fort was rectangular in shape, with walls fifteen feet high on all sides. A [[gatehouse]] was set in every wall, allowing access in all four directions. Inside, there were barracks, workshops, granaries, headquarters and the commander's house. Later excavations revealed other constructions outside the boundary of the fort, including a [[Thermae|bath-house]], further industrial workshops and a native settlement.

In 1997, the [[Cramond Lioness]] was uncovered in the harbour mud by a local boatman (who received a substantial monetary reward for finding this major antiquity), and was identified as a sandstone statue of a lioness devouring a hapless male figure, probably one of a pair at the tomb of a military commander. After conservation, the statue was put on display in the [[National Museum of Scotland]] in Edinburgh.  It is one of the most ambitious pieces of Roman sculpture to have survived in Scotland.