In AD71, the Romans built a fortress in northern Britannia, thus founding the city of York. They called it Eboracum. Even though Eboracum fell into relative obscurity following the Romans’ retreat, they left significant remains behind them.
Some of these remains have survived the intervening 1600 years and can be seen today. Read on to find out where.
Yorkshire Museum
The ground floor of the Yorkshire Museum houses the “Yorkshire’s Jurassic World” and “Roman York: Meet the People of the Empire” exhibits. Roman York is full of archaeological finds and information that tells us what life was like in Eboracum.
Some of the highlights are a hoard of Roman coins, a sculpture of Emperor Constantine’s head, a mosaic floor you can walk on, and the Ivory Bangle Lady. This last one is the remains of one of six people who lived in Eboracum. These tell us a lot about the kind of people who lived in York during the Roman period, and there is a large display showing everything we know about these particular people (including facial reconstructions!).
Museum Gardens
Outside the Yorkshire Museum, the Museum Gardens house the Multangular Tower. This was a defensive tower on the western corner of the Roman fortress, built in the early 3rd century AD. Before that, there was likely a simpler tower made of turf or wood in the same place.
The present Multangular Tower is a lovely, solid looking structure with both Roman and Medieval stonework visible. There is a lovely bit of grass directly in front of it – the perfect place for photos or a picnic.
City Walls
Photo: Eboracum Fortress Gateway
Of the walls that can be seen today, nothing is Roman. However, significant sections of the walls follow the same lines as the first Roman walls. At a couple of places along the wall, there are marks showing the locations of various landmarks that are no longer there (like the fortress gateway).
The Romans made the original walls with wood, then as York became more important, the wooden walls were replaced by stone. By the time the Vikings arrived, the walls were no good for defence, so they were buried, and new walls built on top.
Bean & Gone
This coffee shop is built into the wall next to Bootham Bar. Their food and coffee are pretty standard for a British café. However, under a glass panel in the floor, you can see part of the foundations of the York’s Roman fortress.
York Minster
While the Minster itself isn’t at all Roman, it is on a site once used by the Romans. During serious engineering fixes to the foundations during the 1960s and 70s, workers uncovered many Roman and Medieval items. Now, many of these objects can be found in the undercroft museum.
Roman treasures include fragments of plasterwork, reconstructed mosaics, and a roof tile with an early Christian symbol inscribed on it. There are also displays showing what the Roman fortress that used to be here looked like and exactly where it was in relation to what is there today.
Outside, there is a relatively modern statue of the Emperor Constantine, who was in York at the time he was declared Emperor. And just across the road from the statue stands a column uncovered along with all the stuff in the undercroft.
Roman Bath Museum
Found under a pub (aptly called Roman Bath), the Roman Bath Museum is a simple display of the ruins of Eboracum’s bath house. The walkway leads visitors through parts of the caldarium and frigidarium. At the end, there is a space for dressing-up and posing with Roman-themed props (I had so much fun).
The museum is rather small and dingy, but fascinating. Among the informative signs, it is crowded with Roman artifacts and replica items, such as tiles showing the sandal-prints of Roman soldiers.
