The city of Leicester has a long history. Its abbey, which was destroyed in the Reformation, was the site of Cardinal Wolsey’s death. It was also at Leicester that Richard III spent the night before the battle of Bosworth Field. His dead body was subsequently dumped in the city’s River Soar.
Leicester has been colonized by Saxons and Vikings. Some believe it was first settled by the Celts. But archaeology shows that the first city of Leicester was established by the Romans. Beginning with a fort, they created a city, complete with roads, industries, town houses and public buildings to rival any other Roman town in Britain.
The Roman Fort
After the Roman conquest of 43AD, the earliest British frontier was established between Exeter and Lincoln. The border was marked by a series of forts, linked by one of the earliest British Roman roads, Fosse way. One of those forts was situated at Leicester.
Although the city housed a legionary detachment in the opinion of Elizabeth Blank, finds of military equipment are relatively unimpressive. Some legionaries’ bronze belt plates have been discovered along with sword pommels and scabbard hooks, dating to the period of Claudius and Nero.
The exact position of the fort cannot be conclusively established. A defensive ditch and bank formation were excavated along the River Soar, 200m from the center of the old Roman town. Using pottery, the structure was dated to the early first century AD, making it contemporary with establishment of the fort. This, coupled with its alignment at right angles to the Fosse Way makes the feature a possible, if tenuous part of the fort.
The Early Roman Town
Wherever the exact location of the fort, archaeology offers more evidence for the first Roman town. Excavations in the city center during redevelopments in the 1990s by Connor and Buckley show that a Roman style settlement began to develop in the early first century AD.
The city’s first buildings were unimpressive, consisting of timber and mud walls. Many followed the same alignments as the Iron Age buildings beneath them. Rough roads, however, were being constructed, dated by pottery found in their ditches to the earliest phase of the town’s history.
Despite this relatively unimpressive start, the fledgling town did have monumental public buildings, probably the first structures in the town to be built in stone and recognizably Roman. Excavations on the periphery of the modern city center have revealed substantial walls which survive up to half a meter in height, complete with mortar floors and possible stylobates. This suggests an important civic feature, particularly as it would have been situated at the heart of the Roman town.
Ratae Coritanorum
There is little concrete evidence to suggest that Leicester was a pre-conquest tribal center. However, from the second century AD, it became the center of administration or Civitas for the Coritani, the Celtic tribe whose lands encompassed Leicester and the surrounding area. The new tribal capital was renamed accordingly as Ratae Coritanorum.
By now, the town had a recognizable Roman form. Covering an area of 100 acres, it was laid out in classic grid pattern with metaled roads. According to ULAS excavations, these roads were well built and substantial. The Tripontium Road, the principle southern approach to Leicester was between nine and 11m wide surfaced in compacted pebbles and accompanied by drainage ditches.
At the same time, a forum and basilica were constructed as well as public utilities such as bath houses and temples. Domestic timber buildings began to give way to stone ones. Many houses had floor heating, private bath suites and fashionable decor. High proportions of glass found in excavations also suggests many of the city’s homes had glazed windows
The civitas of Leicester also occupied a strategic position on the road system of Roman Britain. It occupied a junction formed by three vital imperial routes: Fosse Way, Watling Street and Gartree Road which led to Colchester. These roads linked Leicester to many important centers of commerce. The town’s economy began to flourish as it traded local goods for luxury items from around the empire.
The Fourth Century: Continuity or Decline?
The late Roman period was an unsettled one as the Roman Empire began to decline. In Leicester, the city walls were improved and strengthened in the third and fourth centuries, possibly in response to the times.
Excavations show how much more substantial these later walls were. Foundations were nine feet wide and fronted with turf ramparts, with improved external defensive ditches. But the new walls did not just strengthen the city’s defenses. Blank describes how the new fortifications went beyond the old city walls, effectively increasing the town’s limits. This suggests that the new defenses were built to accommodate a town which had outgrown its old walls.
Despite the decline of the empire, archaeology suggests that late Roman Leicester continued to quietly prosper. There is evidence that important parts of the infrastructure, such as the roads, were still maintained. Pottery found amongst the final gravel surfaces laid on roads show the maintenance work was carried out as late as the fourth century. Trade also continued unabated. In the third century, a new market hall was built just north of the second century original to cater for the town’s growing commerce.
But by the fourth century there is evidence of decline. Many of the town’s residential areas show signs of abandonment. Some became rubbish dumps. Connor and Buckley’s excavations show how certain residential areas became used for sand and gravel quarrying. Tesserae and wall paintings found in layers relating to the period suggest high status buildings were left unrepaired and may even have been demolished.
Leicester’s life may well have continued safely behind its city walls. But it was in a diminishing state.
Sources
- Blank, E, 1970, A Guide to Leicestershire Archaeology. Leicester Museums
- Connor, A and Buckley, R 1999. Roman and Medieval Occupation in Causeway Lane, Leicester Leicester Archaeology Monographs no 5 1999: University of Leicester Archaeological Services
- Todd, M, 1991. The Coritani. Alan Sutton Publishing Ltd.
- University of Leicester Archaeological Services:
- Examining Leicester’s Southern Suburb,
- Sanvey Gate Excavations: The Town’s Defenses,
- Merlin Works, Bath Lane, Leicester: The Roman Town Defences and a possible Public Baths Building,
- Excavations at St Nicholas place
Natasha Sheldon - A writer since 2000, Natasha Sheldon holds a BA Hons in ancient history and archaeology and MA in ancient history and historiography.
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