Mancunium

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Mancunium is the common, but incorrect, form of Mamucium^[1], a fort in the Roman province of Britannia. Its remains are located at Castlefield, part of Manchester in the English county of Greater Manchester (formerly part of Lancashire).

Here, close to the River Medlock, in the district still named Castlefield after the fort, stood a Roman fort, garrisoned by a cohort of auxiliary soldiers, guarding the roads running north through Lancashire and east into Yorkshire. The dwellings of women-folk and traders formed a civilian vicus outside. The site is now part of the regenerated area of warehousing alongside the Rochdale canal. Remains of the fort and vicus, as well as a reconstructed gate, granaries and walls are on display to the public.

Traces of Romano-British habitation have been noted elsewhere in Manchester, especially near the cathedral.

[edit] References

1. ^ Rivet, A L F; Smith, Colin (1979). The Place-Names of Roman Britain. London: B T Batsford. 

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.