Monument record MLI50574 - Ermine Street, North of Lincoln
Summary
Ermine Street, north of Lincoln.
Type and Period (1)
- ROAD (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
Protected Status/Designation
- None recorded
Full Description
Next to Watling Street this road was perhaps the most important thoroughfare in Britain, for it was designed to give direct communciation to the main centres of military occupation at Lincoln and York. It must have been designed and laid out at a very early stage in the occupation and, no doubt, this was done by the leading engineers available. It is unlikely that a direct northern track upon anything like this line had ever existed. The alignments were therefore chosen to give the most suitable and direct course almost due north from London, and this was done with great skill. {1}
There have been various excavations along the route of Ermine Street north of Lincoln, and various roads branching off it and sites associated with it. {2}
There were skeletons found beneath the agger in Hackthorn parish (see PRN 51488). {3}
It seems that most of the prehistoric and Romano-British occupation of the area was centred on a narrow belt between Ermine Street and the Lincoln edge. This could suggest that the Romano-British settlement pattern was determined more by the existence of a precursor to Ermine Street (the Jurassic Way) than it was by the road which was built (initially) for the Roman army. The average height of the agger to the north of Lincoln is up to two metres high for the first eight miles and then about 1.2 metres high. The width is approximately thirteen metres. {4}{5}
A watching brief was undertaken during groundworks on the Riseholme water mains replacement scheme. Whilst boring under the present A15 in various locations, evidence was revealed for a previous road surface, which was regarded as the Roman road. Also at the showground entrance evidence of a metalled surface leading off the A15 to the north-west was seen as being part of the Roman road thought to pass through the showground and onto Doncaster. {6}{7}
Trial trenching was undertaken during the construction of a new roundabout at the junction of Ermine Street (A15) and Till Bridge Lane (A1500). The section through the road was dug in two halves so that the road could be kept open at all times. A succession of road surfaces were uncovered, including evidence of wheel ruts, pot-hole and repairs to the road surface. The three lowest surfaces were sealed by a sherd of mid 2nd century amphora. {8}{9}
A watching brief was undertaken during groundworks on the Welton phase one watermains replacement scheme. In one of the access pits there was evidence of the Roman road surfaces uncovered. {10}{11}
An archaeological watching brief was undertaken during groundworks associated with improvements to the Norton Lane junction of the A15 at Bishop Norton (SK 9655 9162). Only one feature of possible archaeological significance was idenitifed beneath the modern road. This was an undated linear of uncertain function (PRN 55382). No further archaeological deposits were encountered. It is likely that the area had been reduced prior to the current construction works, probably removing any remains relating to the Roman road and associated features. {12}{13}
A deposit of silty sand containing limestone fragments was recorded during a watching brief in 2013, conducted to monitor the improvements made to the runway at RAF Scampton (PRN 50574a - SK 9720 8062). It is thought that the deposit could have formed part of the raised agger for Ermine Street, though this interpretation is unconfirmed. {14}{15}
Sources/Archives (15)
- <1> SLI1094 Bibliographic Reference: Margary, I.D.. 1973. Roman Roads in Britain (3rd edition). pp.194-8, 236-8, fig.7.
- <2> SLI234 Article in Serial: Green C. and Rahtz P. A.. 1959. 'Excavations of Ermine Street in Lincolnshire' in Antiquaries Journal. vol.39, pp.81-6.
- <3> SLI1357 Correspondence: RUDKIN, E.H.. 1934-38. Letters to Mr Baker and others. WILLOUGHTON. 13/07/36.
- <4> SLI1093 Bibliographic Reference: J.B. Whitwell. 1992. Roman Lincolnshire. pp.3, 12, 16, 39, 44-50, 56, 147.
- <5> SLI175 Aerial Photograph: J.K.S. St Joseph. 1945-79. Cambridge University Collection. BS6, 1948.
- <6> SLI9990 Report: Lindsey Archaeological Services. July 2002. Watching brief on the Riseholme water mains repleacement scheme. RVWM02.
- <7> SLI9991 Archive: Lindsey Archaeological Services. July 2002. Watching brief on the Riseholme water mains repleacement scheme. LCNCC 2002.99.
- <8> SLI10032 Report: Pre-Construct Archaeology. Mar 2002. Trial trenching at the junction of Ermine Street (A15) and Till Bridge Lane (A1500). ESTL01.
- <9> SLI10033 Archive: Pre-Construct Archaeology. Mar 2002. Trial trenching at the junction of Ermine Street (A15) and Till Bridge Lane (A1500). LCNCC 2001.296.
- <10> SLI10034 Report: Pre-Construct Archaeology. May 1999. Watching brief on the Welton phase 1 watermains replacement scheme. WWM99.
- <11> SLI10035 Archive: Pre-Construct Archaeology. May 1999. Watching brief on the Welton phase 1 watermains replacement scheme. LCNCC 26.99.
- <12> SLI11180 Report: Archaeological Project Services. Nov 2006. Archaeological watching brief of improvements to A15 near Norton Lane, Bishop Norton. BNNL06.
- <13> SLI11181 Archive: Archaeological Project Services. Nov 2006. Archaeological watching brief of improvements to A15 near Norton Lane, Bishop Norton. LCNCC 2006.238.
- <14> SLI14535 Report: Pre-Construct Archaeological Services Ltd. 2013. Runway Improvements, RAF Scampton. PCAS site code: RAFM 13.
- <15> SLI14536 Archive: Pre-Construct Archaeological Services Ltd. 2013. Runway Improvements, RAF Scampton. LCNCC 2013.20.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred SK 9690 8576 (1352m by 22929m) Centre |
|---|---|
| Civil Parish | FILLINGHAM, WEST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE |
| Civil Parish | GLENTHAM, WEST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE |
| Civil Parish | GLENTWORTH, WEST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE |
| Civil Parish | GRANGE DE LINGS, WEST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE |
| Civil Parish | GRAYINGHAM, WEST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE |
| Civil Parish | HACKTHORN, WEST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE |
| Civil Parish | HEMSWELL, WEST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE |
| Civil Parish | INGHAM, WEST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE |
| Civil Parish | NORMANBY BY SPITAL, WEST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE |
| Civil Parish | NORTH CARLTON, WEST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE |
| Civil Parish | RISEHOLME, WEST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE |
| Civil Parish | SAXBY, WEST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE |
| Civil Parish | SCAMPTON, WEST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE |
| Civil Parish | AISTHORPE, WEST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE |
| Civil Parish | SNITTERBY, WEST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE |
| Civil Parish | SOUTH CARLTON, WEST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE |
| Civil Parish | SPRIDLINGTON, WEST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE |
| Civil Parish | BISHOP NORTON, WEST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE |
| Civil Parish | BLYBOROUGH, WEST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE |
| Civil Parish | WADDINGHAM, WEST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE |
| Civil Parish | WELTON, WEST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE |
| Civil Parish | WEST FIRSBY, WEST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE |
| Civil Parish | WILLOUGHTON, WEST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE |
| Civil Parish | OWMBY BY SPITAL, WEST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE |
| Civil Parish | BRATTLEBY, WEST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE |
| Civil Parish | BURTON, WEST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE |
| Civil Parish | CAENBY, WEST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE |
| Civil Parish | CAMMERINGHAM, WEST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE |
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Events/Activities (6)
- Event - Survey: Field observation of part of Ermine Street on the Hackthorn/Brattleby parish boundary (ELI226)
- Event - Intervention: Junction of Ermine Street (A15) and Till Bridge Lane (A1500) (ELI5964)
- Event - Intervention: Riseholme water mains repleacement scheme (ELI5909)
- Event - Intervention: Runway Improvements, RAF Scampton (ELI11859)
- Event - Intervention: Scampton runway extension (ELI220)
- Event - Intervention: Welton phase 1 watermains replacement scheme (ELI5965)
Please contact the HER for details.
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Record last edited
Mar 21 2021 8:35PM
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