Ancaster Roman Town
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Ancaster Roman Town was a small town in the Roman province of Britannia. Its name in Latin is unknown, although it is sometimes identified with Causennis (usually thought to be Saltersford). Today it is known as Ancaster, located in the English county of Lincolnshire.
[edit] Town development
The Romans built a fort over an Iron Age settlement sometime in the 1st century. It lay on Ermine Street, a major Roman road heading north from Londinium (London) and, after the army left, expanded rapidly in the early 2nd century into a small town. A defensive stone wall was built about 225 and external towers were later added. Not much is known about life in the town, but industry included pottery production and coin forgery. There may have been a sculptor's workshop as some fine carvings have been discovered. this includes a Deae Matres sculpture and altar from a religious precinct around the present church. Excavations have also found a cemetery containing more than 250 Roman burials, including 11 stone sarcophagi. There is also a Roman marching camp to the north-west of Ancaster.
[edit] Time Team excavations
A Time Team excavation in 2002 revealed a cist bearing an inscription to the God Viridius. The dig also uncovered Iron Age to 3rd century pottery, a 1st century brooch and some of the Roman town wall.
[edit] Further reading
- Trollope, Edward (1870). "Ancaster, the Roman Causennæ". The Archaeological Journal 27: 1–15.
- Todd, Malcolm (1981). The Roman Town at Ancaster. University of Nottingham. ISBN 0950761303.
