Search for missing Roman fort between Angus and Aberdeenshire
A search for a "missing" Roman fort thought to be buried somewhere in the Angus and Aberdeenshire countryside is due to get under way.
A team of archaeologists from the University of Liverpool plan to carry out investigations at various sites.
They believe Roman remains could lie between the last known fort at Stracathro, near Brechin, and the north east coast.
If found, the fort would form part of the Gask Frontier.
The frontier, which predates Hadrian's Wall, comprises of a series of Roman forts and watchtowers and stretches from Doune, near Stirling to Stracathro.
The archaeologists from The Roman GaskProject will use a variety of non-invasive techniques for investigations at a number of sites.
Any sites which have the potential to be Roman will then be looked at from the air later in the year, with the potential for a follow up excavation in 2014.
Dr Birgitta Hoffmann, who will lead the work, said: "We came last year to investigate Scotland's most northerly Roman fort, but now we're back looking for the lost fort.
"We're not sure what exactly we'll find, but we're hoping to find something, and if it is a Roman fort, it will help to complete our understanding of the Romans in Scotland.
"We know they built forts as far north as Brechin, and we even have evidence that they marched as far as Elgin, but that's it, but we think there's much more than that."
Dr Hoffman said the team would use local geography, old settlements and other evidence to help pinpoint likely site.
She added: "People are always surprised when I tell them about the Roman occupation of the area - they think the Romans never got any further than the Antonine Wall or even Hadrian's Wall which simply isn't true.
"The truth is, we don't know how far north they got, but we're hoping that the work of The Roman GaskProject will change that this year."