I have been looking at the little village of Caldwell in North Yorkshire.
It is interesting because it is located very near to a main road junction known as Scotch Corner. This is where the main road north from London splits in two - one going north to the Lothians and Edinburgh and the other diverging west through Carlisle to the western parts of Scotland.
This point must have always been an important place.
On the web it says that Caldwell was once quite an important centre.
It is also effectively next to the enclosed defensive area of the Brigantes known as Stanwick. This comprised three concentric fortifications the outermost being an enclosure of 650 acres - enough to hold 10,000 men.
It is also the terminus of a vallum running North East from Richmond and known as "Scotch Dyke".
I wonder whether Stanwick was a combined fortification and cattle trading area where the Scots bringing down their cattle for sale would meet at the confluence of the two main routes out of Scotland. The large enclosed area would mark out the area where herds could be traded and the "Dyke" was a marker to show that they were not welcome to go further looking for easy booty to take home with them.
Of further interest is the fact that Barnard Castle situated nearby was the seat of the Balliols.
We have been busy looking for Caldwells coming with the de Morville's and the Stewart's - the Balliol's are an equivalent possibility.