Roman roads in
Britannia
Britannia () is the national personification of Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used in classical antiquity, the Latin ''Britannia'' was the name variously applied to the British Isles, Grea ...
were initially designed for military use, created by the
Roman Army during the nearly four centuries (AD 43–410) that Britannia was a
province of the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...
.
It is estimated that about of paved
trunk roads (surfaced roads running between two towns or cities) were constructed and maintained throughout the province. Most of the known network was complete by 180. The primary function of the network was to allow rapid movement of troops and military supplies, but it subsequently provided vital infrastructure for commerce, trade and the transportation of goods.
A considerable number of Roman roads remained in daily use as core trunk roads for centuries after the
end of Roman rule in Britain in 410. Some routes are now part of the
UK's national road network. Others have been lost or are of archeological and historical interest only.
After the Romans departed, systematic construction of paved highways in the United Kingdom did not resume until the early 18th century. The Roman road network remained the only nationally managed highway system within Britain until the establishment of the
Ministry of Transport
A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government ...
in the early 20th century.
Overview
Prior to the
Roman conquest of Britain,
pre-Roman Britons mostly used unpaved
trackways for travel. These routes, many of which had
prehistoric origins, followed elevated ridge lines across hills, such as the
South Downs Way. Although most routes were unpaved tracks, some
British tribes had begun engineering roads during the first century BC.
Beginning in AD 43, the Romans quickly created a national road network. Engineers from the Roman Army, in most cases, surveyed and built them from scratch. Key locations, both strategic and administrative, were connected by the most direct routes possible. Main roads were
gravel or paved, had
bridges constructed in stone or wood, and manned
waypoints where travellers or military units could stop and rest. The roads'
impermeable design permitted travel in all seasons and weather. Following the
withdrawal of the Roman legions in 410, the road system
soon fell into disrepair. Parts of the network were retained by the
Anglo-Saxons
The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened ...
, eventually becoming integral routes in
Anglo-Saxon Britain, but large sections were abandoned and lost.
Historical development
The earliest roads, built in the first phase of Roman occupation (the
Julio-Claudian period, AD 43–68), connected London with the ports used in the invasion (
Chichester and
Richborough), and with the earlier legionary bases at
Colchester,
Lincoln (''
Lindum''),
Wroxeter (''
Viroconium
Viroconium or Uriconium, formally Viroconium Cornoviorum, was a Roman city, one corner of which is now occupied by Wroxeter, a small village in Shropshire, England, about east-south-east of Shrewsbury. At its peak, Viroconium is estimated to ...
''),
Gloucester and
Exeter. The
Fosse Way, from Exeter to Lincoln, was also built at this time to connect these bases with each other, marking the effective boundary of the early Roman province.
During the
Flavian period (AD 69–96), the roads to Lincoln, Wroxeter and Gloucester were extended (by CE 80) to the legionary bases at ''
Eboracum'' (
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
), ''
Deva Victrix'' (
Chester) and ''
Isca Augusta'' (
Caerleon
Caerleon (; cy, Caerllion) is a town and community in Newport, Wales. Situated on the River Usk, it lies northeast of Newport city centre, and southeast of Cwmbran. Caerleon is of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable Roman ...
). By 96, further extensions were completed from York to
Corbridge, and from Chester to ''
Luguvalium'' (
Carlisle) and ''
Segontium'' (
Caernarfon) as Roman rule was extended over ''
Cambria
Cambria is a name for Wales, being the Latinised form of the Welsh name for the country, . The term was not in use during the Roman period (when Wales had not come into existence as a distinct entity). It emerged later, in the medieval period ...
'' (
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
) and northern England (''
Brigantia'').
Stanegate, the military road from Carlisle to Corbridge, was built under the Emperor
Trajan (ruled 98–117) along the line of the future
Hadrian's Wall, which was constructed by his successor
Hadrian in 122–132.
Scotland (''
Caledonia''), including England north of Hadrian's Wall, remained mostly outside the boundaries of ''Britannia'' province, as the Romans never succeeded in subjugating the entire island, despite a serious effort to do so by governor
Gnaeus Julius Agricola in 82–84. The Romans maintained a system of forts in the lowland region –220 to control the indigenous population beyond Hadrian's Wall and annexed the
Lowlands briefly with the construction of the
Antonine Wall in 164. This barrier, across the 'neck' of Scotland, from the
Firth of Clyde to the
Firth of Forth, was held for twenty years.
The Romans' main routes from Hadrian's Wall to the Antonine Wall, built by , were:
* Corbridge to the
Roman fort at
Cramond,
Edinburgh (certain) and (likely) to
Carriden
Borrowstounness (commonly known as Bo'ness ( )) is a town and former burgh and seaport on the south bank of the Firth of Forth in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Historically part of the county of West Lothian, it is a place within the Falkir ...
(''Veluniate'') on the eastern end of the Antonine Wall, via
High Rochester
Bremenium is an ancient Roman fort (castrum) located at Rochester, Northumberland, England. The fort is one of the defensive structures built along Dere Street, a Roman road running from York to Corbridge and onwards to Melrose. Signific ...
(''
Bremenium
Bremenium is an ancient Roman fort (castrum) located at Rochester, Northumberland, England. The fort is one of the defensive structures built along Dere Street, a Roman road running from York to Corbridge and onwards to Melrose. Signi ...
'') and
Melrose Melrose may refer to:
Places
United Kingdom
* Melrose, Scottish Borders, a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland
** Melrose Abbey, ruined monastery
** Melrose RFC, rugby club
Australia
* Melrose, Queensland, a locality in the South Burnett R ...
(''
Trimontium'');
* Carlisle to
Bothwellhaugh
Bothwellhaugh was a Scottish coal mining village housing Hamilton Palace Colliery workers and their families. Locals referred to the village as The Pailis. It was located near to the towns of Motherwell, Bellshill and Hamilton in Lanarkshire, ...
(certain) and (likely) to the Antonine.
There was also a certain road beyond the Antonine Wall to
Perth (''
Bertha'') from the Antonine fort at
Falkirk. Indeed, it has been thought that the Roman road to the north of the
Forth
Forth or FORTH may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''forth'' magazine, an Internet magazine
* ''Forth'' (album), by The Verve, 2008
* ''Forth'', a 2011 album by Proto-Kaw
* Radio Forth, a group of independent local radio stations in Scotla ...
, to
Stirling and Perth, dates from the expedition of
Severus Severus is the name of various historical and fictional figures, including:
;Emperors of the Roman empire
*Septimius Severus (145–211), Roman emperor from 193 to 211 (rarely known as ''Severus I.'')
*Severus Caracalla (188–217), Roman emperor f ...
to beyond the
Dee in 209; it may be doubted whether there was time in that campaign for such a work, and the road may well belong to a period before the construction of the Antonine Wall in 140.
The core network was complemented by a number of routes built primarily for commercial, rather than military, purposes.
Examples include: in
Kent and
Sussex, three certain roads leading from London to the important iron-mining area of the
Weald; and in
East Anglia, the road from Colchester to Norwich,
Peddars Way and the
Fen Causeway
Fen Causeway or the Fen Road is the modern name for a Roman road of England that runs between Denver, Norfolk in the east and Peterborough in the west.Phillips, C.W. ''The Fenland in Roman Times''. Royal Geographical Society (1970). Its path c ...
. These eastern and southern routes acquired military importance from the 3rd century onwards with the emergence of Saxon seaborne raiding as a major and persistent threat to the security of ''Britannia''. These roads linked to the coastal defensive line of
Saxon Shore forts such as
Brancaster
Brancaster is a village and civil parish on the north coast of the English county of Norfolk. The civil parish of Brancaster comprises Brancaster itself, together with Brancaster Staithe and Burnham Deepdale. The three villages form a more or ...
(''
Branodunum''),
Burgh Castle
Burgh Castle is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the east bank of the River Waveney, some west of Great Yarmouth and within the Norfolk Broads National Park. The parish was part of Suffolk until ...
(''
Gariannonum'') near
Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth (), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside town and unparished area in, and the main administrative centre of, the Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. A pop ...
,
Lympne
Lympne (), formerly also Lymne, is a village on the former shallow-gradient sea cliffs above the expansive agricultural plain of Romney Marsh in Kent. The settlement forms an L shape stretching from Port Lympne Zoo via Lympne Castle facing Lymp ...
(''
Portus Lemanis'') and Pevensey (''
Anderitum
Anderitum (also ''Anderida'' or ''Anderidos'') was a Saxon Shore fort in the Roman province of Britannia. The ruins adjoin the west end of the village of Pevensey in East Sussex, England. The fort was built in the 290s and was abandoned after it ...
'').
Construction and maintenance
Standard Roman road construction techniques, long evolved on
the Continent
Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...
, were used. A road occupied a wide strip of land bounded by shallow ditches, varying in width from 86 ''
pedes'' () on
Ermin Way
Ermin Street or Ermin Way was a Roman road in Britain. It linked Glevum (Gloucester) and Corinium (Cirencester) to Calleva (Silchester).
At Glevum, it connected to the road to Isca (Caerleon), the legionary base in southeast Wales. At Corini ...
in
Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Ber ...
to 338 ''pedes'' () on
Akeman Street
Akeman Street is a Roman road in southern England between the modern counties of Hertfordshire and Gloucestershire. It is approximately long and runs roughly east–west.
Akeman Street linked Watling Street just north of Verulamium (near mode ...
in
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primaril ...
. A trunk road in Britain would typically be in width, with a gauge of being the most common.
Watling Street
Watling Street is a historic route in England that crosses the River Thames at London and which was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the Middle Ages. It was used by the ancient Britons and paved as one of the main ...
was wide while the Fosse Way was little more than half that. Several unnamed roads were wider than Watling Street, such as the Silchester to Chichester road at .
[Hugh Davies, (2002) ''Roads in Roman Britain'' Tempus Publishing ]
In the centre a
carriageway
A carriageway (British English) or roadway (North American English) consists of a width of road on which a vehicle is not restricted by any physical barriers or separation to move laterally. A carriageway generally consists of a number of tra ...
was built on a raised ''
agger Agger may refer to:
* Agger (surname)
* Agger (ancient Rome), a type of ancient Roman rampart or embankment
* Agger (river), a river in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
* Agger nasi, an anatomical feature of the nose
* Agger Rockshelter, in Wisconsi ...
'' after stripping off soft topsoil, using the best local materials, often sand or sandy gravel. The two strips of ground between the ''agger'' and the boundary ditches were used by pedestrians and animals, and were sometimes lightly
metalled
A road surface (British English), or pavement (American English), is the durable surface material laid down on an area intended to sustain vehicular or foot traffic, such as a road or walkway. In the past, gravel road surfaces, hoggin, cobbles ...
. The ''agger'' was sometimes, but not always, bordered by deep ditches to take rainwater and keep the road structure as dry as possible.
The
metalling was in two layers, a foundation of medium to large stones covered by a running surface, often a compacted mixture of smaller flint and gravel. About one quarter of road pavements were "bottomed" with large stones, mostly in the north and west where stone was more readily available. Some high-status roads in Italy were bound together by volcanic
mortar, and a small minority of excavated sites in Britain have shown
concrete
Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wid ...
or
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...
mortar. Road surfaces in the iron-producing areas of
the Weald
The Weald () is an area of South East England between the parallel chalk escarpments of the North and the South Downs. It crosses the counties of Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex and Kent. It has three separate parts: the sandstone "High Weald" in the ...
were made from iron
slag
Slag is a by-product of smelting ( pyrometallurgical) ores and used metals. Broadly, it can be classified as ferrous (by-products of processing iron and steel), ferroalloy (by-product of ferroalloy production) or non-ferrous/base metals (by-p ...
. The average depth of metalling over 213 recorded roads is about , with great variation from as little as to up to in places, probably built up over centuries.
The main trunk roads were originally constructed by the Roman army. Responsibility for their regular repair and maintenance rested with designated imperial officials (the ''curatores viarum''), though the cost would probably have been borne by the local ''
civitas
In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (; plural ), according to Cicero in the time of the late Roman Republic, was the social body of the , or citizens, united by law (). It is the law that binds them together, giving them responsibilities () on th ...
'' (county) authorities whose territory the road crossed. From time to time, the roads would be completely resurfaced and might even be entirely rebuilt, e.g. the complete reconstruction and widening of the ''
Via Aemilia
The ( it, Via Emilia; en, Aemilian Way) was a trunk Roman road in the north Italian plain, running from ''Ariminum'' (Rimini), on the Adriatic coast, to ''Placentia'' (Piacenza) on the river ''Padus'' ( Po). It was completed in 187 BC. The ' ...
'' in northern Italy by the Emperor
Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
(reigned 37 BC – AD 14), two centuries after it was first built.
After the final withdrawal of Roman government and troops from Britain in 410, regular maintenance ended on the road network. Repairs became intermittent and based on ''ad hoc'' work. Despite the lack of any national management of the highways, Roman roads remained fundamental transport routes in England throughout the
Early
Early may refer to:
History
* The beginning or oldest part of a defined historical period, as opposed to middle or late periods, e.g.:
** Early Christianity
** Early modern Europe
Places in the United States
* Early, Iowa
* Early, Texas
* Early ...
,
High
High may refer to:
Science and technology
* Height
* High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area
* High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory
* High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift t ...
and
Late Middle Ages
The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Europe, the Ren ...
. Systematic construction of paved highways did not resume until the building of the first turnpikes in the early 18th century.
Archaeological evidence
Extant remains of Roman roads are often much degraded or contaminated by later surfacing. Well-preserved sections of structures sometimes identified as Roman roads include
Wade's Causeway in
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
, and at Blackpool Bridge in the
Forest of Dean
The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and northwest, Herefordshire to ...
, although their integrity as original Roman surfaces is not certain. In many places, Roman roads were built over in the 18th century to create the
turnpikes. Where they have not been built over, many sections have been ploughed over by farmers and some stripped of their stone to use on turnpike roads. However, there are numerous tracts of Roman road which have survived, albeit overgrown by vegetation, in the visible form of footpaths through woodland or common land, such as the section of
Stane Street crossing Eartham Wood in the
South Downs
The South Downs are a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the Eastbourne Downland Estate, East Sussex, in the eas ...
near
Bignor
Bignor is a village and civil parish in the Chichester district of the English county of West Sussex, about north of Arundel. It is in the civil parish of Pulborough.
The nearest railway station is south east of the village, at Amberley. Th ...
(Sussex). This and others like it are marked on Ordnance Survey maps with dotted lines.
Peddars Way in
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nor ...
is a Roman road converted into a long-distance footpath.
Wayside stations have been identified in Britain. Roman roads had regularly spaced stations along their length – the Roman equivalent of
motorway service area
Motorway service areas in the United Kingdom and Ireland, also known as services or service stations, are rest areas where drivers can leave a motorway to refuel/recharge, rest, eat and drink, shop or stay in an on-site overnight hotel. The va ...
s. Roughly every – the most a horse could safely be ridden hard – there would be a ''
mutatio'' (literally: "a change"), essentially stables where mounted messengers could change horses and a tavern to obtain refreshment. Cavalrymen from
auxiliary mixed infantry- and cavalry- regiments (''
cohortes equitatae'') provided most of the army's despatch-riders (''dispositi''). Relays of fresh riders and horses careering at full gallop could sustain an average speed of about . Thus an urgent despatch from the army base at York to London – , a journey of over a week for a normal mounted traveller – could be delivered in just 10 hours. Because ''mutationes'' were relatively small establishments, and their remains ambiguous, it is difficult to identify sites with certainty.
Approximately every – a typical
day's journey
A day's journey in pre-modern literature, including the Bible, ancient geographers and ethnographers such as Herodotus, is a measurement of distance.
In the Bible, it is not as precisely defined as other Biblical measurements of distance; the dis ...
for an ox-drawn wagon – was a ''
mansio
In the Roman Empire, a ''mansio'' (from the Latin word ''mansus,'' the perfect passive participle of ''manere'' "to remain" or "to stay") was an official stopping place on a Roman road, or ''via'', maintained by the central government for the use ...
'' (literally: "a sojourn", from which derive the English word "mansion" and French ''maison'' or "house"). This was a full-scale wayside inn, with large stables, tavern, rooms for travellers and even
bath-houses in the larger establishments. ''Mansiones'' also housed detachments of troops, primarily auxiliaries, who regularly garrisoned and patrolled the roads along their whole length. These would check the identities, travel permits and cargoes of road users. ''Mansiones'' may also have housed the agents of the
imperial procurator (the chief financial officer in the province) who collected the ''portorium'', an imperial toll on goods in transit on public roads that was charged at 2 to per cent of the value. The tax would be exacted when the goods crossed fixed toll points along the roads, which likely were located in or near ''mansiones''. At least half a dozen sites have been positively identified as ''mansiones'' in Britain, e.g. the excavated ''mansio'' at
Godmanchester
Godmanchester ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. It is separated from Huntingdon, to the north, by the valley of the River Great Ouse. Being on the Roman road network, the town has a lo ...
(''Durovigutum'') on
Ermine Street
Ermine Street is a major Roman road in England that ran from London ('' Londinium'') to Lincoln ('' Lindum Colonia'') and York ('' Eboracum''). The Old English name was ''Earninga Strǣt'' (1012), named after a tribe called the ''Earn ...
(near
Huntingdon
Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by John, King of England, King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cr ...
,
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to t ...
).
''Mutationes'' and ''mansiones'' were the key infrastructure for the ''
cursus publicus
The ''cursus publicus'' (Latin: "the public way"; grc, δημόσιος δρόμος, ''dēmósios drómos'') was the state mandated and supervised courier and transportation service of the Roman Empire, later inherited by the Eastern Roma ...
'' (the imperial postal and transport system), which operated in many provinces of the Roman Empire. The ''cursus'' was primarily concerned with the carriage of government or military officers, government payload such as monies from tax collection and for military wages, and official despatches, but it could be made available to private individuals with special permission and for a fee. In Britain, the
Vindolanda tablets
The Vindolanda tablets were, at the time of their discovery, the oldest surviving handwritten documents in Britain (they have since been antedated by the Bloomberg tablets). They are a rich source of information about life on the northern fro ...
, a series of letters written on wooden tablets to and by members of the garrison of Hadrian's Wall, show the operation of the ''cursus'' on the island.
Milestone
A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway line, canal or boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks; or they can give their position on the route relative to so ...
s, of which 95 are recorded in ''Roman Inscriptions of Britain''. Most of these date from the later part of the Roman period (AD250 onwards), since it was the practice to replace a road's milestones when a major repair was carried out. Milestones were usually cylindrical and in height. Most contain only the customary dedication to the current Emperor and the number of miles to a particular destination. Only three provide additional information: two are dedicated by the public works departments of a ''civitas'' (county) (''
Dobunni
The Dobunni were one of the Iron Age tribes living in the British Isles prior to the Roman conquest of Britain. There are seven known references to the tribe in Roman histories and inscriptions.
Various historians and archaeologists have examined ...
'') and a city (Lincoln), showing the involvement of local authorities in road maintenance; and the third records that the Emperor
Caracalla
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, 4 April 188 – 8 April 217), better known by his nickname "Caracalla" () was Roman emperor from 198 to 217. He was a member of the Severan dynasty, the elder son of Emperor ...
(reigned 211–217) "restored the roads, which had fallen into ruin and disuse through old age".
Maps and Itineraries of the Roman era, designed to aid travellers, provide useful evidence of placenames, routes and distances in Britain. The most important is the
Antonine Itinerary
The Antonine Itinerary ( la, Itinerarium Antonini Augusti, "The Itinerary of the Emperor Antoninus") is a famous ''itinerarium'', a register of the stations and distances along various roads. Seemingly based on official documents, possibly ...
, dating from the later 3rd century, which contains 14 itineraries on the island.
Road naming in post-Roman Britain
The original names of the Roman roads in Britain are not known due to the lack of written and inscribed sources. This is in contrast to surviving routes in Italy and other Roman provinces within western Europe. In Britain most major such routes bear
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...
, early
Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...
or later
Middle English
Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old Englis ...
names. All were ascribed after the
end of Roman rule in Britain (during the period known as the
Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...
). This means that the toponym of a road is not based on the original Roman nomenclature for naming highways within ''
Britannia Superior
Britannia Superior (Latin for "Upper Britain") was a province of Roman Britain created after the civil war between Septimius Severus and Claudius Albinus. Although Herodian credits Severus with dividing Roman Britain into the Northern territor ...
'' or ''
Britannia Inferior
Britannia Inferior (Latin for "Lower Britain") was a new province carved out of Roman Britain probably around AD 197 during the reforms of Septimius Severus although the division may have occurred later, between 211 and 220, under Caracall ...
''.
For example, the Anglo-Saxons called the entire route from
Dover
Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maids ...
/
Portus Ritupis to
Wroxeter, via
Londinium (London):
Watlingestrate (it is one of four former Roman roads ) named as public rights of way under the
Laws of Edward the Confessor in the early 11th century.
[ ]).
The Romans may have given each section of Saxon "Watling Street" different names as the route was built sequentially over several decades in relation to the territory taken by the Romans as they subjugated Britain.
Official road names were usually taken from the Emperor in whose reign they were completed, such as the
Via Traiana
Via Appia ''(white)'' and Via Traiana ''(red)''
The Via Traiana was an ancient Roman road. It was built by the emperor Trajan as an extension of the Via Appia from Beneventum, reaching Brundisium (Brindisi) by a shorter route (i.e. via Canusi ...
from
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus ( legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
to
Brindisi
Brindisi ( , ) ; la, Brundisium; grc, Βρεντέσιον, translit=Brentésion; cms, Brunda), group=pron is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea.
Histo ...
in southern Italy was named after the
Emperor Trajan (98–117). As the Dover to London section of Watling Street was begun in the years following the
Roman invasion of Britain
The Roman conquest of Britain refers to the conquest of the island of Britain by occupying Roman forces. It began in earnest in AD 43 under Emperor Claudius, and was largely completed in the southern half of Britain by 87 when the Stan ...
in 43, it may have been known to the
Romano-Britons
The Romano-British culture arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest in AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, a ...
as the ''Via Claudia'' in honour of Emperor
Claudius
Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Drusus and Antonia Minor ...
(41–54) who led the military campaign.
The only
well-documented name which might be etymologically linked to an original Roman name is the Fosse Way between
Exeter and
Lincoln. "Fosse" may derive from ''fossa'', the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
word for "ditch". But this is likely to be attributable to a popular, rather than official,
Roman name
Over the course of some fourteen centuries, the Romans and other peoples of Italy employed a system of nomenclature that differed from that used by other cultures of Europe and the Mediterranean Sea, consisting of a combination of personal and fa ...
for the route. Generally those Roman roads in Britain which are named look to
Anglo-Saxon giants and divinities. For instance,
Wade's Causeway in
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by national parks, including most of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. It is one of four co ...
is taken from
Wade
Wade, WADE, or Wades may refer to:
Places in the United States
* Wade, California, a former settlement
* Wade, Maine, a town
* Wade, Mississippi, a census-designated place
* Wade, North Carolina, a town
* Wade, Ohio, an unincorporated communi ...
of
Germanic and
Norse mythology
Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern per ...
.
English place names continue to reflect the
settlement of Britain by the Anglo-Saxons. As these Germanic Pagan peoples advanced westward across the British isles, they encountered the decaying infrastructure of the former Roman Empire. Many settlements were founded on or near Roman roads (suffix ''-street'' e.g. Watling Street). The prefix ''strat-, strait-, streat-'' was employed to name settlements located near these former imperial highways. ''
Stretham
Stretham Locally, the is a glottal stop: or even is a village and civil parish south-south-west of Ely in Cambridgeshire, England, about by road from London. Its main attraction is Stretham Old Engine, a steam-powered pump used to drain ...
'' means "homestead or village on a Roman road" and likewise ''
Stretford
Stretford is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. It is situated on flat ground between the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal, south of Manchester city centre, south of Salford and north-east of Altrincham. S ...
'' means "
ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
on a Roman road". There are seventeen places in England named ''
Stretton''.
Main routes
The initial road network was built by the army to facilitate military communications. The emphasis was therefore on linking up army bases, rather than catering for economic flows. Thus, three important cross-routes were established connecting the major legionary bases by AD 80 as the frontier of the Roman-occupied zone advanced:
*
Exeter (''Isca'') – Lincoln (''Lindum'')
*
Gloucester (''Glevum'') – York (''Eboracum'')
* Caerleon (''
Isca'') – York via Wroxeter (''
Viroconium
Viroconium or Uriconium, formally Viroconium Cornoviorum, was a Roman city, one corner of which is now occupied by Wroxeter, a small village in Shropshire, England, about east-south-east of Shrewsbury. At its peak, Viroconium is estimated to ...
'') and Chester (''
Deva
Deva may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Deva'' (1989 film), a 1989 Kannada film
* ''Deva'' (1995 film), a 1995 Tamil film
* ''Deva'' (2002 film), a 2002 Bengali film
* Deva (2007 Telugu film)
* ''Deva'' (2017 film), a 2017 Marathi film
* Deva ...
'')
Later a large number of other cross-routes and branches were grafted onto this basic network.
After
Boudica's Revolt,
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
(''
Londinium
Londinium, also known as Roman London, was the capital of Roman Britain during most of the period of Roman rule. It was originally a settlement established on the current site of the City of London around AD 47–50. It sat at a key cros ...
'') commanded the major bridge across the
Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
connecting the final northern and western legionary bases with the Kentish ports communicating with
Boulogne
Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the C ...
(''
Gesoriacum
Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the ...
'') and the rest of the
Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
. Six core roads were constructed tying the new capital to the existing network. Ignoring their
later English names, they are as follows:
*
London – Canterbury (''
Durovernum
Durovernum Cantiacorum was a town and hillfort ( la, oppidum) in Roman Britain at the site of present-day Canterbury in Kent. It occupied a strategic location on Watling Street at the best local crossing of the Stour, which prompted a convergence ...
''). At
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of t ...
, this route split into 4 major branches to the major Roman ports:
**
Canterbury – Richborough Castle (''
Rutupiae'')
**
Canterbury – Dover (''
Portus Dubris
Dubris, also known as Portus Dubris and Dubrae, was a port in Roman Britain on the site of present-day Dover, Kent, England.
As the closest point to continental Europe and the site of the estuary of the Dour, the site chosen for Dover was ideal ...
'')
**
Canterbury – Lympne (''
Portus Lemanis'')
**
Canterbury – Reculver (''
Regulbium
Regulbium was the name of an ancient Roman fort of the Saxon Shore in the vicinity of the modern English resort of Reculver in Kent. Its name derives from the local Brythonic language, meaning "great headland" (*''Rogulbion'').
History
The f ...
'')
*
London – Chichester (''
Noviomagus''), a port
*
London – Silchester (''
Calleva Atrebatum
Calleva Atrebatum ("Calleva of the Atrebates") was an Iron Age oppidum, the capital of the Atrebates tribe. It then became a walled town in the Roman province of Britannia, at a major crossroads of the roads of southern Britain.
The modern villa ...
''). At
Silchester
Silchester is a village and civil parish about north of Basingstoke in Hampshire. It is adjacent to the county boundary with Berkshire and about south-west of Reading.
Silchester is most notable for the archaeological site and Roman town of ...
, this route split into 3 major branches:
** Silchester – Portchester (''
Portus Adurni''), a port, via
Winchester
Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...
(''
Venta'') and
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
(''
Clausentum
Clausentum was a small town in the Roman province of Britannia. The site is believed to be located in Bitterne Manor, which is now a suburb of Southampton.
Identification
Route VII of the Antonine Itinerary documents the Roman settlement of Cla ...
'')
**
Silchester – Old Sarum (''
Sorviodunum''), offering connections to
Exeter and
Dorchester (''
Durnovaria
Durnovaria is a suggested spelling for the Latin form of the name of the Roman town of Dorchester in the modern English county of Dorset, amended from the actually observed Durnonovaria. Upon the assumption that the name was originally Brythonic ...
'')
** Silchester – Caerleon, base of the
2nd legion, via
Gloucester
*
London – Chester, base of the
20th legion, via
St Albans
St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roman ...
(''
Verulamium
Verulamium was a town in Roman Britain. It was sited southwest of the modern city of St Albans in Hertfordshire, England. A large portion of the Roman city remains unexcavated, being now park and agricultural land, though much has been built upon ...
''),
Lichfield
Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west o ...
(''
Letocetum
Letocetum is the ancient remains of a Roman settlement. It was an important military staging post and posting station near the junction of Watling Street, the Roman military road to north Wales, and Icknield (or Ryknild) Street (now the A38). ...
''), and
Wroxeter and with continuation to
Carlisle
Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers Eden, Caldew and Petteril. It is the administrative centre of the City ...
(''
Luguvalium'') on
Hadrian's Wall
*
London – York, base of the
9th and
6th legions, via
Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Lincol ...
and with continuation to
Corbridge (''
Coria'') on
Hadrian's Wall
*
London – Colchester (''
Camulodunum
Camulodunum (; la, ), the Ancient Roman name for what is now Colchester in Essex, was an important castrum and city in Roman Britain, and the first capital of the province. A temporary "strapline" in the 1960s identifying it as the "oldest re ...
''), with
continuation
In computer science, a continuation is an abstract representation of the control state of a computer program. A continuation implements ( reifies) the program control state, i.e. the continuation is a data structure that represents the computati ...
to
Caistor St Edmund
Caistor St Edmund is a village and former civil parish on the River Tas, in Norfolk, England. The parish covers an area of and had a population of 270 people in 116 households at the 2001 Census which increased to 289 people by the 2011 Cens ...
(''
Venta'')
List of Roman Roads and modern numberings
*A.Sections of modern road that lie directly above the Roman road. Such stretches are marked "ROMAN ROAD" on Ordnance Survey Maps.
*B.Not to be confused with
Icknield Way
The Icknield Way is an ancient trackway in southern and eastern England that runs from Norfolk to Wiltshire. It follows the chalk escarpment that includes the Berkshire Downs and Chiltern Hills.
Background
It is generally said to be, wi ...
, a
pre-Roman trackway from
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-e ...
to Norfolk. Although the known road ends at
Templeborough
Templeborough (historically Templebrough) is a suburb of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The suburb falls within the Brinsworth and Catcliffe ward of Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council. The area takes its name from the remains of the ...
, it almost certainly continued to
Doncaster
Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...
(''Danum'') to join a branch of Ermine Street to York.
*C.This is not a
Saxon
The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic
*
*
*
*
peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
name, but a
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
one invented by 18th century antiquarians to define a putative route. It amounts to just a series of cross routes to reach Watling Street from Colchester.
*D. This a sinuous, linear monument that might be up to 6,000 years old in the
North York Moors national park
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north' ...
. Its stone course is only 1 mile (1.6 km) long on Wheeldale Moor but the inclusion of other stretches create a 25-mile (40 km) section. Its provenance as a Roman Road is an ongoing academic study.
See also
*
Margary numbers
Margary numbers are the numbering scheme developed by the historian Ivan Margary to catalogue known and suspected Roman roads in Britain in his 1955 work ''The Roman Roads of Britain''. They remain the standard system used by archaeologists and h ...
Notes
References
External links
*
*
*
Codrington's Roman Roads in BritainChannel 4's big Roman dig*Maps of Roman Roads in Britain
2Roman road route planner, British part based on Itinerarium Antonini
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roman Roads In Britain
Roads
A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation.
There are many types of ...
Roads in the United Kingdom