ROMANO-BRITISH ANTIQUITIES
The Roman name for York is well established both
by epigraphic and literary evidence as Eboracum or
Eburacum
(fn. 1) and also by a living tradition which preserves in the modern name York a corrupt form of
the Roman name. (fn. 2) Itself a latinized form of a Celtic
name meaning probably 'the place of Eburos', the
Roman name was popularly regarded as meaning
'Boar Town' and on an altar found in Bordeaux a
boar appears as the punning badge of York. (fn. 3)
The valley of the Ouse consists of a great tract of
level alluvium liable even now to sporadic local
flooding and at the time of the Roman invasion may
well have been waterlogged. At two points, York
and the village of Escrick, six miles to the south,
well-marked ridges of boulder clay and gravel, the
terminal moraines of ice-sheets, cross the valley. (fn. 4)
These ridges provided early man with a natural
bridge. (fn. 5) To the west lie the Pennines into and through
which the Dales provided routes. To the east is
easier ground, but here the Vale of Pickering formed
a similar barrier to the Vale of York and could be
crossed only at the coast and in the neighbourhood of
Malton. North-bound traffic was thus forced to
follow the rising ground skirting the Vale of York on
either side.
Bearing these considerations in mind, York must
have seemed the ideal base to the Roman commander
moving his army north out of Lincoln. From York
it was possible to dominate east Yorkshire, the north
routes and the dales, and the tidal river provided him
with water transport. Tactically the site conformed
to the normal siting for a Roman fortress and is in
this respect the only suitable site on either moraine.
A low plateau of boulder clay and gravel lying
between the junction of two rivers—the Ouse and
the Foss—provided a site for the fortress similar to
those chosen at Caerlon and Chester. (fn. 6) Subsequent
levelling has obscured the appearance of the site as
it was in Roman times, but it is clear from the marked
differences that occur in the depth at which the
Roman level is found that the contours were then
far more emphatic than now. The site chosen for the
fortress lies slightly north of where the main ridge of
the moraine, running by Heslington Hill and Nunthorpe, crosses the Ouse and is separated from it on
the east side by the low-lying ground bordering the
River Foss. On the west the ridge broadens northwards to provide ample room opposite the fortress
for the later civil town.
The site presented two minor difficulties. The
laminated boulder clay, sometimes capped with sand
or gravel, which formed the sub-soil under the greater
part of the fortress, was not always stable, and foundations occasionally subsided when stone began to be
used for building. (fn. 7) Again, on the north-west side
of the site, near the gate, was a small valley where the
Romans had to conduit a stream. (fn. 8) The subsequent
filling in of this valley has led to the preservation
here of the Roman defences to a greater height than
elsewhere.
It is not known if the site was occupied before the
Romans came in 71. Evidence exists for the presence
of Bronze-Age man in the neighbourhood (fn. 9) and it
seems likely that a site in an accessible and commanding position on a known prehistoric trade route would
have attracted settlers. There is as yet no archaeological evidence for a native Iron-Age occupation.
The dyke formerly existing across the morainic
ridge on Heslington Hill might be linked with the
well-known dykes of east Yorkshire for which an
Iron-Age date is generally postulated, but both date
and purpose of the structure are obscure. (fn. 10)
The evidence for a pre-Flavian Roman occupation
cannot be lightly dismissed. Many Claudian coins
have been found at York; elsewhere similar finds
have been interpreted as evidence of pre-Flavian
occupation (fn. 11) but the legionary pay-chest at York may
well have contained out-dated coins. The finding of
apparently Claudian pottery is harder to explain
away. (fn. 12) Historically it is easy to find an occasion for
the temporary or permanent basing of Roman troops
at York before 71. By 47 or 48 a temporary frontier
was established behind the Trent and Severn. An
alliance with the Brigantes on their northern flank
enabled the Romans to concentrate on attacking
Wales and to subdue the revolt of Boudicca without
interference from the north. The usefulness of this
alliance depended on the strength of the pro-Roman
rulers of the Brigantes and it was necessary to prop
up their power from time to time. (fn. 13) The speed and
efficiency of Roman intervention when needed has
prompted the suggestion that there were auxiliary
forts or an auxiliary fort in Brigantian territory. (fn. 14)
For an army based on Lincoln the obvious approach
was across the wolds of Lincolnshire and east Yorkshire and through the friendly territory of the Parisii (fn. 15)
and the obvious site for any military post was York.
More evidence is required before it can be said with
any degree of confidence that such a post existed.
By 69 it was clear that the Brigantian alliance was
unreliable. The story of the struggle for power within the tribe is well known and has recently been reassessed. (fn. 16) The massive fortifications at Stanwick
(N.R.) emphasize the strength of the anti-Roman
faction. The only course open was the annexation
of the whole territory and accordingly when Rome's
own dynastic troubles were over Petillius Cerialis,
the new governor of Britain, led his old legion, the
Ninth, out from Lincoln into Yorkshire in 71. The
result of this campaign, as Tacitus obscurely puts it,
was to involve the great part of the Brigantes in war
or defeat—magnamque Brigantium partem aut victoria
amplexus est aut bello. (fn. 17) Roman arms were carried to
the Solway or beyond and an uncertain amount of
new territory permanently occupied. Some time in
the course of that campaign the legionary fortress
was moved from Lincoln to York. S. N. Miller (fn. 18)
suggested the existence of a temporary campaigning
base succeeded by a more permanent fortress at the
end of the fighting in or about 74. Recent excavations (fn. 19) have modified his interpretation of the evidence and although two structural phases have now
been observed in the timber defences, they cannot be
clearly equated with a temporary base and a permanent fortress.
ROMAN YORK
The Fortress
Excavations undertaken between 1925 and 1927 (fn. 20)
and in 1955 and 1956 (fn. 21) have revealed details of the
earthwork and timber defences of the first fortress
at York. It occupied the site on the north-east bank
of the Ouse that was to remain in legionary occupation until the end of Roman rule. In spite of S. N.
Miller's arguments for a reduction in the size of the
fortress in the 4th century (fn. 22) there can now be no
doubt that the familiar outline of the 4th-century
fortress was also that of the preceding ones. The
1st-century defences have now been found on three
sides and there is strong presumptive evidence that
they also existed on the fourth. (fn. 23) The similarity of
the almost-contemporary fortresses at York and
Caerleon in size, shape, and siting is then most
striking. (fn. 24) The York fortress took the form of a
rectangular enclosure with rounded corners containing just under 50 acres. Its long axis ran from
north-east to south-west with the main gate (porta
praetoria) central to the south-west side and facing
the river crossing. It can be assumed that the gates
on the other sides occupied the same positions as in
the later stone fortress, and that the two lateral gates
were on the sites of the later Bootham Bar and King's
Square, south-west of the centres of their sides. The
length of the sides is 1,580 ft. (north-west and southeast) and 1,350 ft. (north-east and south-west).
The defences of the first period excavated in
Coney Street (fn. 25) consisted of a wooden palisade
strengthened behind with a bank of clay; elsewhere
sand may have been used with turf to strengthen it.
The bank was 16 ft. wide and rested on a strapping
of narrow oak boughs between 1 and 2 ft. apart. It
has not been possible to make an accurate estimate
of the height of the defences but the slightness of the
existing remains suggests that it did not exceed 10 ft.
At an unknown date but still within the Flavian
period this first rampart was rebuilt. The new rampart, of the same width as the first and at least 7 ft.
high, was placed above the levelled remains of the
first and separated from it by a corduroy of closely
laid oak planks. This new bank, like its predecessor,
was built of clay (although in places, as on the northwest side, the material was probably sand) strengthened at back and front by courses of turf. It may have
supported a timber palisade but evidence for this
has not been revealed. Remains of a timber interval
tower have been found on the south-west side of the
fortress. Sufficient details have not been recovered to
reveal its plan entirely. Stout wooden posts had been
erected in a thick bed of turf. In the turf was a considerable quantity of early Flavian pottery. This
would be consistent with an Agricolan date for the
tower. The tower belonged entirely to the second
period of the defences; those of the earlier period
had been completely removed from its site. An Agricolan date would explain the renewal of the defences
as a replacement—after a decade of use—of the
rough green wood of the first defences by seasoned
and carpentered timbers. (fn. 26) The post holes found by
S. N. Miller at the east corner are better explained as
belonging to a timber corner tower than to a timber
palisade. (fn. 27) Outside the ramparts was a double,
possibly in some places a treble, ditch of a maximum depth of 7 ft. 6 in. and an overall width of
41 ft. (fn. 28) Traces of timber buildings of this period
have been found at one or two points inside the
fortress enclosure but remains are too fragmentary and ill recorded for much to be deduced from
them. (fn. 29)
Outside the fortress must have been the amphitheatre, public baths, and the canabae or extramural settlement that accompanied every fortress to
provide for the non-military needs of the soldiers.
In the absence of systematic excavation the canabae
cannot be traced in detail. Early pottery associated
with substantial timber buildings was discovered in
1939 near the site of the Old Railway Station on the
south-west side of the river (fn. 30) and similar finds have
been made north-west of the fortress in the Museum
gardens. (fn. 31) These two widely separated sites need not
imply a settlement as extensive as the later town. The
evidence of early burials in the Micklegate area (fn. 32)
underlying the later town shows that on the southwest side of the river, where later was to be the main
urban centre, development began with cemeteries
along the main road to Calcaria (Tadcaster). This
road, which divided, beyond Tadcaster, for Chester,
the Pennines, and the south through Castleford, left
the porta praetoria, crossed the river at the site of the
medieval Guildhall and ran approximately along the
line of Toft Green, Blossom Street, and The Mount
and thence along the morainic ridge. (fn. 33) It has been
shown to be of Flavian date. (fn. 34) The tombstone of
Duccius Rufus from Vienne (Isère), a standard
bearer of the Ninth, (fn. 35) and other early tombstones
and cremations (fn. 36) have been found along this road.
An altar dedicated to Silvanus by a cornicen of the
Ninth shows that there were shrines among the
graves. (fn. 37)
There was ample room for expansion on the east
side of the river in two areas: south-west of the
fortress in the well-protected area between the two
rivers, and on the north-west. In the first of these
we should naturally expect the first civil site, all the
more so because the primary approach to the fortress
from Lincoln via Petuaria (Brough on Humber) ran
this way. A road has been traced along the Hull road
to Walmgate Bar, whence its course was probably
directed along the south-west side of the fortress to
the river crossing. First-century burials along this
road have been found at Lamel Hill, (fn. 38) Walmgate
Bar, (fn. 39) and in the Fishergate area. (fn. 40) Insufficient
evidence has been obtained from excavation to reveal
the nature of habitation or other occupation within
the area although later civil development is recorded
from Castlegate and Ousegate. On the north-west
side of the fortress a road approached from Clifton
and made direct for the river crossing. A second
road left the north-west gate and may eventually
have joined the other. (fn. 41) Early timber buildings from
the Museum gardens and early burials from Bootham and Clifton (fn. 42) suggest the possibility of a 1stcentury date for these roads. Sporadic 2nd-century
occupation material (fn. 43) and fragments of streets (fn. 44)
indicate that by that time a more systematic expansion may have begun in this direction. This
development was not maintained and from the 3rd
century onwards the whole area beyond St. Mary's
was given over to cemeteries.
The topography of 1st-century York may be summarized in this way. On the north-east bank of the
Ouse lay the legionary fortress enclosed by earth and
timber defences. In front of the main gate of the
fortress was a river crossing upon which converged
roads from Chester, Lincoln, and the north. Along
these roads lay cemeteries and, nearer the fortress,
the beginnings of urban development. The nucleus
of this civil settlement has not yet been discovered:
it need not necessarily have been the same as that of
the later town on the south-west bank of the river and
may in fact have been in the sheltered area southeast of the fortress. Fortress and town are likely
to have contained buildings constructed almost
entirely of wood.
There is further, though slight, evidence from
epigraphic sources for this period. The presence of
the Ninth Legion is vouched for by tomb inscriptions and by stamped tiles. The origines of two soldiers
are given on their tombs, Vienne (Isere) in south
Gaul (fn. 45) and Novara near Milan. (fn. 46) There is also a
record of the unusual presence in a western legion of
a soldier from the eastern half of the empire. (fn. 47) The
suggestion has been made that he was brought over
by the legionary commander, Caristanius Fronto,
who came from Pisidian Antioch and had held previous command in the east. There are also two
stamped bronze plates in Greek dedicated by a secretary, called Demetrius. He has been identified with
the Demetrius mentioned by Plutarch who met him
at Delphi in 83 or 84, newly returned from intelligence work in northern Britain. (fn. 48)
The beginning of the 2nd century was marked by
a firm consolidation of the military area in Roman
Britain under Trajan. Earth and timber defences
were replaced by stone at Caerleon in 99 (fn. 49) and at
Chester in 102. (fn. 50) At York this rebuilding began in
108 and 109 as is known from the surviving portion of
the fine building inscription from the south-east gate
in King's Square. (fn. 51) The suggestion has been made
that rebuilding may at first have been limited to the
towers and gates and that a stone curtain was not
built until Hadrian's reign. (fn. 52) A fragment of a building inscription with part of that emperor's titles,
shows that some building in stone took place in his
reign but it is not certain that this stone originally
lay in the fortress.
Another change occurred in the early 2nd century:
the garrison changed from the Ninth to the Sixth
Legion. Both the precise date and significance of
the change are uncertain. The Ninth was in York in
108–9; the Sixth had certainly replaced it by the
middle of the 2nd century as is known from Ptolemy (fn. 53)
and from early legionary burials on Baile Hill. (fn. 54) The
orthodox view is that the Sixth was brought over by
Hadrian in 121–2 to replace the Ninth which had
suffered so heavily in the serious troubles that followed the end of Trajan's reign as to necessitate its
removal from the Roman army. This view has been
challenged and a later date suggested for its departure from York, (fn. 55) but the arguments advanced have
not found general acceptance. They do, however,
prove that the legion was not, as has been suggested,
'annihilated' (fn. 56) and they show the lack of evidence
for the suggestion that the disaster took place at
York. (fn. 57) The slow promotion of some surviving
officers reflects the disgrace which the legion suffered and supports the suggestion of a recent writer
that it was 'cashiered . . . after an ignominious
defeat'. (fn. 58)
The fortress that the Sixth Legion took over is
only imperfectly known. As has been said, its defences may still have been those of the earlier earth
and timber fortress with the addition of stone towers
and gates. Nothing is known about the gateways but
they were presumably faced with magnesian limestone like the block on which the Hadrianic inscription was carved. More is known about the towers.
The foundations of the east corner tower and of the
interval tower immediately to the north-west have
been recovered; both were internal. The foundations
of the corner tower were of clay and cobble, 1½ ft.
deep and 5 ft. wide; they were not rectangular in
plan but had sides splayed outwards so that the tower
was narrower at the back than the front. Such
foundations could have accommodated a tower with
sides and back nearly 20 ft. long. The superstructure
had been completely replaced by a succeeding tower. (fn. 59)
The interval tower lay about 125 ft. north-west
of the angle tower, an interval which implies the
existence of six towers on the short sides, although
they may not have been exactly evenly spaced. As
with the angle tower, the superstructure had been
replaced and only the foundations remained. These,
like those of the corner tower, were of clay and
cobble but in this case were 4 ft. deep; they would
have accommodated a tower 17 ft. wide with 12 ft.
sides. (fn. 60)
The stone wall which was associated with these
towers was found by S. N. Miller near and on the
east corner. (fn. 61) In the Museum gardens on this front
there is evidence for the filling in, during this period,
of the inner 1st-century ditch, an operation which
could have been preparatory to the erection of a
wall. (fn. 62) It seems safe to assume that this fortress was
of the same extent as its predecessor and successors,
although no other structural remains of it have yet
been found despite careful excavations on the southwest front. The wall found by Miller had been built
immediately in front of the 1st-century earth rampart. It was about 5 ft. wide, of unknown height and
was composed of concrete and rubble faced inside
and out with neat courses of magnesian limestone
blocks. Its foundations were weak and consisted of
cobbles run with mortar; the clay beneath it was
strengthened where necessary with piles. In one
place there had been considerable settlement and it is
probably this weakness of the foundations rather than
a deliberate under-cutting by the Maeatae (fn. 63) which
led to the complete replacement of these walls at the
end of the century. At the corner, the foundations
have a slightly different angle of curve from that of
the later wall, and both here and where they have
been found on the south-east side, they have been
left in front of the later wall to give it additional
support.
The internal buildings of the fortress were also
rebuilt in stone in the early 2nd century. A long
range of buildings of this period built into the
rampart on the north-west side was excavated by
Miller and were probably store buildings. (fn. 64) A similar
range on the north-east side may also have been
built at this time. (fn. 65) In St. Sampson's Square were
found the stables belonging to the small cavalry detachment that formed part of every legion. (fn. 66) These
buildings had walls 2 ft. to 2 ft. 6 in. thick and were
roofed with the usual red tiles. Nothing is known
of the sites of the other main buildings but their
position may be guessed from what is known of the
typical plans of other legionary fortresses. The streetplan is fairly certain. From the south-west gate—
the porta praetoria—the via praetoria followed approximately the line of Stonegate: the metalling
found there (fn. 67) cannot be dated but the street-plan of
the fortress was probably the same throughout its
history. The via principia, running at right angles,
followed the line of Petergate and again its metalling
has been found. (fn. 68) North-east of their junction are
likely to have stood the central administrative buildings of the fortress. Massive column bases found
near the west end of St. Michael-le-Belfrey Church (fn. 69)
and a solitary base found under the minster are all
that remain. (fn. 70) Behind the central buildings, the via
decumana carried on the line of the via praetoria and
led to the porta decumana or north-east gate. Part of
its metalling and of a colonnade on its south-east
side have been found under the Treasurer's House. (fn. 71)
The intervallum road, following the inside of the
defences, has been discovered in Davygate; adjacent
to it have been found the remains of a large structure
built into the back of the defences and the end walls
of three barrack blocks of which the long axes are
parallel to the long axis of the fortress. (fn. 72) The barracks belong to a later period but must have had predecessors on this site: walls found adjacent to them
on the other side of Davygate are of two periods. (fn. 73)
Fragments of sewers and water-mains have also been
found. (fn. 74)
The military activity in the north under Antoninus
Pius and the disturbances in the opening years of the
Emperor Commodus probably had their repercussions at York but they do not seem to have left
archaeological trace. The withdrawal of troops from
Britain in 196 by the governor Albinus to support
his claims to the imperial throne led to the disastrous
incursion of the Maeatae from the north. At York
it was necessary to rebuild the fortress defences
completely and this work was probably finished by
the time Severus arrived in 208.
Considerably more is known about the Severan
defences than about their predecessors. It is to this
period that the remains exposed at the east corner of
the fortress, adjacent to the Merchant Tailors' Hall,
belong. They survive to the base of the parapet and
it is possible therefore to reconstruct their whole
arrangement. (fn. 75) Wherever found, the new curtain
wall has been cut back into the 1st-century earth
bank, and the early-2nd-century stone wall completely removed, except where, as has been said, its
foundations were allowed to remain in front of
those of this new wall. The wall was 6 ft. wide at its
base decreasing to 5 ft. above, and stood to a height
of 16 ft. above the foundations. It was faced externally with neat blocks of magnesian limestone with
narrow joints; internally, the facing was of dressed
stone but less neat. At the base of the wall was a
chamfered plinth and a projecting cornice ran along
the top below the parapet. The core was a strong concrete of rubble and cement. The difference in width
between the bottom and the top of the wall was in
places accomplished by a series of narrow off-sets on
the inside, but elsewhere (fn. 76) there are rough, sloping
footings internally above the concrete foundation
and at the base of the dressed face. The work was
done in sections by separate working parties: S. N.
Miller was fortunate enough to locate the junction
of two such sections north-west of the east corner. (fn. 77)
An inscription on one of the facing stones at the east
corner records the work of the Tenth Cohort. (fn. 78)
YORK - EBORACVM
Third-century fortress wall
On top of the surviving wall there was almost certainly a parapet with a platform behind it. If a width
of 2 ft. is allowed for the parapet the platform would
have a maximum width of 3 ft. This would be a little
narrow for a rampart walk and it was therefore
supplemented by a cobbled walk running about 6 ft.
below the parapet platform, along the top of the
strengthened earthwork defences of the 1st century.
This cobbled walk survives and can be seen adjacent
to the north-east corner tower.
The east corner tower rested on the foundations
of its predecessor and, like it, was internal. The
slightly different curve of the new curtain wall
placed the tower walls on a different line from the
earlier tower foundations on which they stand: but
the 5-ft.-wide foundations of that earlier tower
could easily accommodate the 2 ft. 6 in. walls of the
later tower. The lower part of the new tower walls,
covered by the 1st-century rampart bank, consists
of a core faced internally and externally with rough
undressed blocks of oolitic limestone. Above the
level of the rampart bank the external face is dressed.
The side walls are 14 ft. and the rear wall 22 ft. long.
The tower was hollow except for the bottom 3 ft.
6 in. where the 1st-century rampart bank was left
intact. The basement was floored with concrete, was
only 5 ft. high, and was approached by a manhole
at the back. There was an entrance to the tower above
from the rampart walk but insufficient details
have survived to say anything about the arrangements of the upper part of the tower. The basement
was subsequently filled in, possibly to support the
heavier artillery of the later empire. (fn. 79) An interval
tower rested on the foundations of the earlier interval
tower 125 ft. north-west of the corner. (fn. 80)
To the Severan period or the early 2nd century
belongs the gatehouse in St. Helen's Square whose
plan can be reconstructed from remains found at
various dates from the 18th century onwards. (fn. 81) It
was the main gate of the fortress, the porta praetoria,
set centrally in the south-west side and was built as
a separate structure independent of the walls. Only
half the gate has been observed but it may be assumed
that it was symmetrical. Massive foundations, 11 ft.
6 in. wide, lay under the front and rear of the gatehouse which projected 2 ft. 6 in. in front of the
curtain wall; the cross walls rested on foundations
5 ft. wide. The building was about 85 ft. long and
40 ft. wide. There were two arched entrances 15 ft.
wide opening on to passages 4 ft. wider. On either
side were guard chambers with internal dimensions
of 12 by 18 ft. Later alterations have complicated
and obscured the plan, making it difficult to interpret. It is clear from what was discovered that at a
subsequent period the gate projected much further
beyond the line of the curtain wall and it is natural
to link this with the 4th-century reconstruction of
the river front with its projecting interval and corner
towers.
Nothing is known about Severan alterations to the
interior of the fortress. The domus palatina referred
to in accounts of the emperor's death was presumably
something more than the normal legionary commander's residence and may have been outside the
fortress. York became, after Severus's division of
Britain into two provinces, the capital of Britannia
Inferior and the domus palatina perhaps became the
official residence of the governor. Outside the fortress,
a wall of military character has been found which
continues the line of the south-west wall of the fortress
at least another 100 yds. to the north-west. (fn. 82) It is
possible that it may be the wall of an annexe to the
fortress designed to provide some of the extra military
accommodation required during the emperor's stay
at York.
The military and administrative arrangements of
Severus and his successor Caracalla guaranteed
peace to the north until the late 3rd century. In 287
Carausius, while in charge of a fleet to suppress
Saxon piracy in the channel, revolted and assumed
sovereignty in Britain. His successor, Allectus, in
order to maintain his position, withdrew troops from
Britain. Although Allectus was defeated by Constantius Chlorus in 296 and Britain was reunited
with the empire, the north had meanwhile been invaded and wasted. The damage was made good and
the fortress at York rebuilt. The curtain wall was rebuilt on the old foundations from the north-east
gate to the south-east gate. On the river front projecting interval and corner towers of new design
replaced the earlier internal ones, but on the northwest, north-east, and presumably also the southeast sides, the towers were either rebuilt on the old
plan or the old towers remained in use.
The new curtain wall, large parts of which survive
particularly at the west corner, was higher than its
predecessor: it was 17–18 ft. high excluding most
of the parapet. Behind it the old earthen bank was
increased in width and height to provide the base for
a rampart walk at a height 4½ ft. below the parapet
platform. The hidden, inner face of the wall was
faced with rough, undressed stone, very unevenly
coursed. Externally the facing was of dressed magnesian limestone blocks similar to those of the
Severan wall but not so neatly built. A band of five
courses of brick, 7–8 ft. above the foundations, enhanced the appearance of the wall and helped to
bond the facing to the core. It is probable that similar
brick courses ornamented the parapet. Between the
two faces of the wall was a core similar to that of the
Severan wall but containing a considerable amount
of debris from destroyed buildings. (fn. 83)
On the south-west or river front, towers were
added of entirely new design. Of these the 'Multangular Tower' at the west corner is the best known;
it survives to a height of 19 ft. (see plate facing
p. 332). (fn. 84) The corresponding tower at the south
corner is preserved in the basement of a large store
in Feasegate. (fn. 85) These two large towers project well
beyond the line of the curtain walls: in plan each
forms ten sides of a regular 13-sided figure, interrupting the curve of the curtain wall at the corner.
The maximum internal width of the west tower is
35 ft. 6 in. Between its sides and the external face
of the wall are sharp re-entrant angles overlooked by
two embrasures in the tower wall. Internally, it was
divided by a cross wall which extended into the
interior of the fortress; behind the tower, inside the
fortress, was a forecourt or ante-chamber. The curtain wall was not carried across the entrance of the
tower but was bonded with the side walls. Across the
21-ft. gap at the entrance the rampart walk was probably carried on a double arch supported on the cross
wall. Externally the tower is of similar masonry to
the curtain walls and the band of brick is continued
round it; internally, unlike the walls, it has a neat
facing of dressed limestone. The tower is considerably thickened at the base, decreasing from 6 ft. 9 in.
at ground level to 3 ft. at a height of 17 ft. Its original
height is uncertain. The south corner tower is of
similar plan and construction; its walls survive only
to a height of 8 ft. but are much better preserved,
particularly in the details of the external plinth. Reused material on the inner face includes a centurial
stone built in upside down.
Remains of two projecting interval towers have
been found. There were six towers symmetrically
spaced three on either side of the porta praetoria. In
plan these towers have six equal sides projecting 17
ft. from the wall. The greatest width of the towers
was 32 ft. One of these towers was, in 1958, exposed
in the Museum gardens, 125 ft. south-east of the
Multangular Tower; (fn. 86) the other, 125 ft. farther to
the south-east, lay beneath a shop in Lendal. (fn. 87) The
masonry of the towers was similar to that of the
walls; in the Museum gardens the facing of the
tower is bonded with the curtain wall to form a continuous face. The foundations, however, were built
against the existing Severan foundations used by the
curtain wall.
On the north-west side of the fortress the towers
were internal as in the earlier period. One, measuring
13 ft. square internally, survived to a considerable
height and was discovered and destroyed during the
construction of St. Leonard's Place. The upper part
of this tower, rising above the curtain wall, had two
openings in the front which showed signs of the
wear caused by the artillery the tower had housed.
There were side openings on both sides grooved for
shuttering to protect those in the tower. (fn. 88) The tower
lay 125 ft. south-west from the north-west gate of the
fortress. Remains of a similar tower were found 125
ft. farther south-west. (fn. 89) These intervals, the same as
those on the south-west side, suggest the existence
of three towers between the gate and the west corner.
North-east of the gate, however, the position of yet
another internal interval tower found by S. N.
Miller (fn. 90) implies that different intervals were maintained between the gate and north corner.
Remains have been found of the north-west gate,
nearly on the site of Bootham Bar. There appears to
have been a double-arched entrance through the
centre of a gate-house, with guard chambers on
either side. The gate-house measured externally
76 ft. by 30 ft., with 7-ft.-wide passages; the guard
chambers were 20 ft. square internally. The whole
structure projected little at all beyond the line of the
wall and was built with large blocks of dark gritstone. (fn. 91) Fragments of several decorative carvings
have survived, including a deity driving a quadriga
and a triton blowing a conch-shell trumpet. (fn. 92)
The remains of the south-west gate suggest that
it was modified at this time. The major part of this
structure has been described; (fn. 93) some walls continuing forward beyond the main mass of the gate
suggest that it may at this period have been rebuilt
to conform with the new towers on this front and have
projected beyond the curtain wall.
Inside the fortress considerable alterations were
probably made. Part of a large bath-house has been
found in St. Sampson's Square. It is unusual to find
a bath within a fortress; to accommodate it, earlier
buildings, including the stables already referred to, (fn. 94)
had been cleared away. The barracks, of which the
end walls have been discovered, seem to have been
renewed at this date. (fn. 95) The store buildings on the
north-west side of the fortress had now fallen into
disuse, and indeed were buried under the newly
extended rampart bank. (fn. 96)
On the death of Constantius Chlorus, his son,
Constantine the Great, was proclaimed emperor at
York. A fine head from a greater than life-size statue
of this emperor is now in the Yorkshire Museum: it
perhaps stood in front of the headquarters building
(see plate facing p. 332). (fn. 97)
The Roman garrison remained at York for another century but there is little evidence of structural
alterations during this period. The large bath-house
became disused and was adapted for other purposes. (fn. 98)
The building of the chamber, which remains behind
the Public Library and which was probably the
undercroft of a tower, belongs to a period when the
wall was already ruinous and breached. (fn. 99)
The garrison of the fortress continued from the
early 2nd century until the end of Roman rule to be
the Sixth Legion. Epigraphic evidence at York for
this legion is naturally more abundant than for the
Ninth. There is a fine series of tile stamps giving, in
addition to the legion's regular title of Victrix pia
fidelis, those of Gordiana and Severiana. (fn. 1) Claudius
Hieronymianus, legate of the Sixth, built a temple to
Serapis. (fn. 2) Q. Antonius Isauricus, also a legate, almost
certainly commanded the Sixth; his wife set up an
altar to Fortune. (fn. 3) Centurions include Aurelius Super, (fn. 4)
Flavius Flavinus, (fn. 5) Felicius Simplex (fn. 6) , Attius Severus,
C. Aprilis, (fn. 7) and Septimius Lupianus. (fn. 8) The last was
a centurion ex evocatis, that is to say that after service
in the ranks of the praetorian guard at Rome he had
been chosen for promotion to the legionary centurionate. The fine coffin he provided for his wife,
found near that of Aurelius Super in the Castle
Yard, stood originally in a tomb; it was re-used for
an interment which, though still in the Roman
tradition, may have occurred at a time when the
centurionate no longer existed at York to protect
its tombs from violation. On centurial stones on the
fortress wall are recorded the names of two more
centurions: Antonius (fn. 9) and Iullinus. (fn. 10) Two veterans
of the legion are recorded, Caeresius (fn. 11) and Manlius
Cresces (fn. 12) and two soldiers, L. Baebius Crescens of
Augusta Vindelicium (Augst in Austria) (fn. 13) and M.
Minicius Mude. The last set up an altar to the mother
goddesses of Italy, Africa, and Gaul, presumably the
three areas which then provided recruits for the
legion. (fn. 14) Vespasian is sometimes said to have excluded Italians from the legions but another altar,
from Hadrian's Wall, dedicated by cives italici et
norici serving in the Sixth, confirms their service in
that legion. (fn. 15)
The Colonia
Out of the canabae developed a thriving town
which by the 3rd century was dignified by the title
and privileges of a colonia. The name of the colonia
is given in abbreviated form on three inscriptions
and may be expanded colonia Eboracensium. (fn. 16) The
date of its creation is not known. The name is
mentioned in connexion with the date 237, on an
altar found at Bordeaux. (fn. 17) A Severan date has been
suggested (fn. 18) and in view of Severus's sojourn there,
together with his court, his creation of York as the
capital of the new province of Britannia Inferior, (fn. 19)
and his known interest in the military towns that had
grown up alongside fortresses, (fn. 20) it seems likely that
he was responsible for the elevation of the town.
An alternative suggestion links the creation of the
colony with a reference by Pausanias to a punitive
curtailment of Brigantian territory by Antoninus
Pius and the use of the confiscated land for this
purpose. (fn. 21)
Evidence for the corporate life of the town is provided by two sepulchral inscriptions. The stone
coffin of Flavius Bellator, a decurion of the colony,
was found in the Roman cemetery that occupied the
site of the new railway station and sidings. It contained his skeleton, still wearing his official gold ring
set with a ruby. Nearby was found the coffin of
Marcus Verecundius, a sevir of the colony, who came
from Bourges (Cher), (fn. 22) and that of his wife, Julia
Fortunata, from Sardinia. (fn. 23)
The site occupied by the colonia seems from the
preponderance of the remains to have been southwest of the Ouse where higher land provided a
capacious and well-drained site above flood level. As
already mentioned, timber buildings of the 1st century show that this site was already used then, but the
evidence of burials (fn. 24) implies that the main development on this side of the river did not occur until well
into the 2nd century. The destruction during the
disturbances that followed Albinus's withdrawal of
troops in 195 will almost certainly have caused as
much damage in the civil town as in the fortress. It
is therefore probable, although no archaeological
evidence has yet been found, that the town was almost wholly rebuilt under Severus. The cessation of
civil occupation along Bootham and Clifton on the
north-west side of the fortress at the same period (fn. 25)
is consistent with a greater concentration of the town
closer to the fortress on the south-west bank of the
river. New building at the turn of the 2nd and 3rd
centuries is attested only by the dedication of a new
temple to Serapis by Claudius Hieronymianus, the
legionary commandant. (fn. 26)
The area of the colonia on the south-west side of the
river can be defined first by the actual area in which
buildings have been found. This evidence is inconclusive because it depends on chance finds made
during building or drainage. Secondly, the area may
be defined by burials because the Romans enjoined
that these should be made outside the town; but this
evidence is difficult to interpret because the later
colonia extended over earlier burials and the date at
which the main extension took place is only approximately known.
These two criteria, however, may be used to give
the following approximate boundaries. The buildings
are concentrated in the Micklegate and Toft Green
areas; near the old railway station they extend right
up to the medieval wall in at least two places. (fn. 27)
Burials have been found immediately outside the
medieval wall at this point (fn. 28) and it may safely be
assumed that the wall here represents the boundary
of the colonia. Near Micklegate Bar, however, there
is evidence for two buildings outside the medieval
wall; (fn. 29) inside the Bar they extended right up to it. (fn. 30)
The town, therefore, may have extended a little
beyond the medieval wall here, but the junction of
the Aldborough and Tadcaster Roman roads found
near Blossom Street was certainly outside the town. (fn. 31)
On the south-east side of the colonia the boundary
is less certain. The few structural finds are a considerable distance from the medieval walls; and if
some of the pottery found in Priory Street (fn. 32) is
sepulchral, as may well be the case, then it seems that
the medieval town was here larger than the Roman.
The farthest south-east at which structures have
been found is near the churches of St. Mary,
Bishophill, Junior (fn. 33) and Senior. (fn. 34) A mosaic pavement found on Cherry Hill, (fn. 35) some distance to the
south-east, is separated from the other two finds by
burials (fn. 36) and seems to be suburban. These burials
appear to belong to a small cemetery which lay
mainly outside the walls in the Clementhorpe area.
The conclusion seems to be that the Roman town
south-west of the Ouse extended from the river as
far as the walls of the medieval town north of Micklegate; to the south there is no evidence that it reached
the medieval limits. The built-up area on this side
of the river covered at least 50 acres. The colonia
was probably defended by a wall at least in the 4th
century. On the north-west side the medieval wall
has in three places been found to overlie an earlier
wall (fn. 37) but this has not yet been shown to be Roman.
The axis of the colonia was the main Calcaria
road. In relation to later topography the road crossed
the medieval wall at a point 130 ft. north-west of
the centre of Micklegate Bar, passed through the
gardens behind houses in Micklegate, forming, as
it were, a chord to the curve of Toft Green and
Tanner Row; it crossed Tanner Row just above the
junction with Rougier Street and reached the river
nearly opposite the Guildhall. (fn. 38) Another street ran
parallel to this through Micklegate Bar, following
approximately the line of Micklegate until that road
curves away towards Ouse Bridge. Its pavement was
found under the front of three houses at the corner
of Barker Lane. (fn. 39) There is some slight evidence for
a grid of streets, later distorted to form the basis of
the medieval street plan. (fn. 40)
The colonia had a public water system; a street
fountain, protected by a vaulted roof, was found outside the church of St. Mary, Bishophill, Junior and
the cistern is now preserved in the Museum gardens. (fn. 41)
The remains of several buildings have been found by
accident in the area of the colonia but are inadequately recorded. Among the more important are the
following. In Railway Street near the junction with
Tanner Row were found the bases of a double
colonnade with massive columns 3 ft. in diameter
and set only 6 ft. apart. (fn. 42) Other fragments of a colonnade or portico were found in Micklegate at the
other end of Railway Street. (fn. 43) Various finds made
during the erection of the new railway offices included a building with a heavy gritstone façade
facing the main Calcaria road; behind it lay fragments of other buildings and building debris,
including three stone capitals, one enriched with
acanthus leaves. (fn. 44)
Extensive remains of important public baths were
found during the erection of the old railway station
and again in the same area in 1939; they included
what has been described as the largest caldarium
in Britain. (fn. 45) Claudius Hieronymianus's shrine of
Serapis comes from the same area, (fn. 46) as does a statue
dedicated to the god Arimanes. (fn. 47) A Mithraeum lay
nearer the river: its reredos was found opposite St.
Martin's Church in Micklegate and bears upon it a
notable scene of the bull-killing. (fn. 48) From Toft Green
come several mosaic pavements, including one lying
under the mound of the medieval wall near Bar Lane
with the unusual decoration of haunches of venison. (fn. 49)
Numerous building finds have been made under
Micklegate (fn. 50) and a colonnade was found in Trinity
Lane. (fn. 51) Domestic baths come from Fetter Lane,
south of Micklegate. (fn. 52) During the rebuilding of the
medieval bridge across the Ouse many Roman architectural fragments were found that had belonged to
structures with some pretensions to grandeur. (fn. 53) Most
of the walls found were of stone but there is some evidence that some at least of the buildings, although
based on stone walls, may have borne half-timbered
superstructures. (fn. 54)
East of the Ouse, evidence of buildings comes
mainly from the triangle of land between the Ouse
and the Foss in the lee of the fortress. It is in this
area, on the banks of the Foss, that indications of an
extensive wharfage system have been found. (fn. 55) Finds
of carbonized wheat in Market Street suggest the
presence of granaries nearby. (fn. 56) Fragments of a building have been found in Parliament Street. (fn. 57) Buildings of a non-commercial nature have been found
farther west in the Ousegate-Castlegate area. Part of
a tessellated pavement was found under a buttress
of St. Mary's Church in Castlegate; (fn. 58) at the corner
of Nessgate and Ousegate were found various architectural fragments including two building inscriptions, one for a temple of Hercules and the other for
a temple devoted to emperor worship; (fn. 59) and at the
corner of Ousegate and Spurriergate various successive structures have been found alongside the main
road to the south-west gate of the fortress, including
part of a large bath house. (fn. 60)
North-west of the fortress there is clear evidence
from the Museum gardens of occupation from the
1st to the 4th centuries, but there is no evidence
north of Marygate for any use of the land after the
2nd century except for burial purposes. (fn. 61)
Suburban development was mainly limited to the
cemeteries. At first haphazardly developing along the
main approach roads, these came later to be concentrated into three main areas: along the Calcaria
road, on the site of the new railway station, and northwest of the fortress between St. Mary's and Clifton.
There were other, smaller cemeteries, notably in the
Castle Yard and Fishergate areas.
These cemeteries have produced a wealth of grave
goods and are remarkable for the variety of burial
methods. Cremation in the early burials was replaced during the 3rd and 4th centuries by inhumation in large stone coffins, (fn. 62) stone or tile-built cists, (fn. 63)
wooden iron-bound coffins, (fn. 64) lead coffins, (fn. 65) or simply
in graves without coffins. (fn. 66) Perhaps the most remarkable burials are those where gypsum was poured in
and has produced casts of the body, preserving, in
some cases, clothes and hair. (fn. 67) A remarkable range of
ornaments, toilet, and trinket sets with remains of
the bronze-bound dressing cases that contained
them, (fn. 68) a folding fan, (fn. 69) and parts of a parasol, (fn. 70) both
in ivory, are among the grave goods. A Christian
burial from Sycamore Terrace with an open-work
motto in bone, SOROR AVE VIVAS IN DEO, was equally
lavishly equipped with jewellery and glass vessels
for food and drink. (fn. 71) Some of the jewellery from the
graves is made of jet and objects ranging from plain
bangles to elaborate necklaces and carved pendants
were made in this material. (fn. 72) Some of the stone
coffins were inscribed and remains exist of at least
two that were elaborately carved as, for example,
that of Julia Victorina. (fn. 73) Coffins such as these were
probably associated with fine tombs, but almost all
of these have perished. On The Mount is preserved
the only example of a vaulted tomb-chamber. (fn. 74)
Fragments of sculpture survive from tomb monuments: a female head in 3rd-century coiffure from
Fishergate, (fn. 75) the shaft of a monumental candelabrum, (fn. 76) a fragment of a stone chair, (fn. 77) and a noteworthy figure of a harpy (see plate facing this page). (fn. 78)
One other fine sculpture which is not funerary
should be mentioned; it is a life-size statue of the
youthful Mars in panoply and comes from a mixed
cache of stones in Blossom Street. (fn. 79)
The inscriptions on the tombs of two local magistrates, the one a decurion and the other a sevir
Augustalis have already been mentioned. These
seviri were drawn from the freedmen class and were
charged with the local emperor worship. Their
wealth was mainly based on commerce and their
cosmopolitanism is illustrated by the birthplaces,
Bourges and Sardinia, of Verecundius Diogenes and
his wife. The Bordeaux inscription of Marcus Aurelius Lunaris, who was a sevir Augustalis both of
York and Lincoln, and who travelled to Aquitania,
presumably in connexion with the wine trade, illustrates the trade connexions of York. Lunaris was
perhaps an army contractor with civilian clients in
both coloniae. (fn. 80) Nicomedes, who erected a statue to
Britannia, now lost, was a freedman of the emperor
and probably a minor civil servant. (fn. 81)
The army no doubt provided York with the bulk
of its wealth but the town must also have served the
civil population as a commercial centre. There were
minor local industries such as those which produced
the jet and bone ornaments, (fn. 82) and coarser pottery
was most probably made locally; but scarcely any
evidence has survived of the sites of these industries. (fn. 83)