Replica Roman lead ingots on display in Buxton Museum

Lutudarum was a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than city, cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares ...

in the

Roman province The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...

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, Gr ...

, in the area that is now mid-

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the no ...

. The settlement is believed to have been at either

Wirksworth Wirksworth is a market town in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England. Its population of 5,038 in the 2011 census was estimated at 5,180 in 2019. Wirksworth contains the source of the River Ecclesbourne. The town was granted a mar ...

or nearby

Carsington Carsington is a village in the middle of the Derbyshire Dales, England; it adjoins the hamlet of Hopton, and is close to the historic town of Wirksworth and village of Brassington. According to the 1991 Census, the population was 111, increa ...

, although Matlock and

Cromford Cromford is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England, in the valley of the River Derwent between Wirksworth and Matlock. It is north of Derby, south of Matlock and south of Matlock Bath. It is first mentioned in the 11th-century D ...

are other candidates. The town was recorded as ''Lutudaron'' between ''Derventio'' (Little Chester in modern

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gain ...

) and ''Veratino'' (

Rocester Rocester is a village and civil parish in the East Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England. Its name is spelt ''Rowcestre'' in the Domesday Book. It is located on the Derbyshire border. Geography The village is about north of Ut ...

) in the

Ravenna Cosmography The ''Ravenna Cosmography'' ( la, Ravennatis Anonymi Cosmographia, "The Cosmography of the Unknown Ravennese") is a list of place-names covering the world from India to Ireland, compiled by an anonymous cleric in Ravenna around 700 AD. Tex ...

's list of all known places in the world in about 700 AD. Derbyshire was important for lead-mining in

Roman Britain Roman Britain was the period in classical antiquity when large parts of the island of Great Britain were under occupation by the Roman Empire. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. During that time, the territory conquered wa ...

. Romans used lead for water pipes,

cisterns A cistern (Middle English ', from Latin ', from ', "box", from Greek ', "basket") is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by t ...

, coffins, weights and

pewter Pewter () is a malleable metal alloy consisting of tin (85–99%), antimony (approximately 5–10%), copper (2%), bismuth, and sometimes silver. Copper and antimony (and in antiquity lead) act as hardeners, but lead may be used in lower grades o ...

tableware. Numerous lead ingots (pigs) have been found in Derbyshire, four in Sussex in 1824 and nine around Hull with LVT, LVTVM or LVTVDARVM marked on them (from their clay moulds). In 1777 a lead pig found at

had the inscription IMP CAES HADRIANI AVG MET LVT (an abbreviation of Imperatoris Caesaris Hadriani Augusti Metalli Lutudarensis), which translates as 'Property of Caesar Hadrian Augustus from the Lutudarum mines'. In 1848 a lead ingot weighing over 80 kg and inscribed C.IVL.PROTI.BRIT.LVT.EX.ARG was found in 1848 at Hexgrave Park near

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market t ...

. In 1975 two such lead pigs were found near Yeaveley a mile north of the

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman R ...

(now Long Lane) that linked the Roman forts at

and Derventio. These were marked SOCORIVM LVTVD meaning the Lutudarium Company. The finds at Hull are thought to indicate that lead was sent by boat from Derbyshire down the

River Trent The Trent is the third-longest river in the United Kingdom. Its source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midlands. The river is known for dramatic flooding after storms and ...

and then the

Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary betw ...

river to the Roman port of Peturia ( Brough on Humber) for shipping elsewhere by sea. The name Lutudarum may have been derived from the Brittonic term ''Lud'' meaning ashes, referring to the heaps of waste material from lead production. Lutudarum is acknowledged as being the administrative centre of the Roman lead mining industry in Britain. Research and field work to discover its location in the

White Peak The White Peak, also known as the Low Peak, is a limestone plateau that forms the central and southern part of the Peak District in England. It is mostly between and above sea-level and is enclosed by the higher altitude Dark Peak (also kno ...

(southern limestone area of the Peak District) have focused on sites at Wirksworth and Carsington.

The Street The Street may refer to: Geographical *Wall Street in New York City's Financial District *The Street, Lawshall, Suffolk, England *The Street (Heath Charnock) The Street is a historical property on a bridleway of the same name in Heath Charnock ...

Roman road from Aquae Arnemetiae (

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the High Peak, Derbyshire, Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.Navio Roman fort (at Brough) converged on this area. Excavations in the 1980s discovered remains of a Roman settlement at Carsington, including a villa or farmstead, a group of other buildings and various artefacts, including two pigs of lead (weighing about 50 kg each). Reproductions of these lead ingots are on display in the Buxton Museum. Evidence of lead working was also found such as off cuts of lead sheets, lead slag and pits containing galena ore. The settlement was permanently flooded beneath

Carsington Water Carsington Water is a reservoir operated by Severn Trent Water located between Wirksworth and Kniveton in Derbyshire, England. The reservoir takes water from the River Derwent at Ambergate during winter months, pumping up to the reservoi ...

reservoir in 1992. No remains of Roman buildings have been found in Wirksworth, although in 1735 the Roman coin hoard 'of the five emperors' was found there. It was also a local medieval centre and is the probable junction of several Roman roads. Wirksworth is recorded in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

in 1086 with a church, three lead works and the largest population of the ancient market towns in the Peak District. The 1723 map of Brassington Moor shows The Street road from Buxton up to the Upper Harborough Field Gate, which leads onto Brassington Lane towards Wirksworth. In records from 1613 the road from Brassington to Wirksworth is called 'Highe Streete'.{{Cite web, url=http://www.wirksworthromanproject.co.uk/download/i/mark_dl/u/4012767328/4635968015/TheStreet3ed.pdf, title=The Street: A re-evaluation of the Roman road from Wirksworth to Buxton, last=Anton Shone and Dean Smart, date=27 January 2019, website=Wirksworth Roman Project, access-date=8 April 2020

References

Roman towns and cities in England History of Derbyshire Towns and villages of the Peak District Former populated places in Derbyshire Roman sites in Derbyshire