Birrens, a place, with a Roman camp, in Middlebie parish, Dumfriesshire, a little SSE of Middlebie church, 1½ mile ENE of Ecclefechan, and 3 miles SE of the summit of Brunswark. The Roman camp here is one of the best preserved in Great Britain, retaining its fossæ, aggeres, and prætorium in a state of perfect distinctness. Another Roman camp adjoined this, but was destroyed by the proprietor of the ground about 1820, when it yielded many splendid Roman relics, particularly large, well-cut, ornamental, inscribed stones.

(F.H. Groome, Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland (1882-4); © 2004 Gazetteer for Scotland)