A.D. 61 to 71, but they were almost certainly south of the Wash. An
advance, therefore, against the Brigantes of Yorkshire must have brought
them along the western branch of Ermine Street to Lincoln, as any good
map will show. To the west they had the difficult country of the Peak,
to the east the dreaded Fenland, and there is no direct road through
Nottinghamshire to York. Starting from Durobrivæ (Castor)—which was
perhaps the most easterly fort on the Nene, and as such occupied by the
Ninth Legion in A.D. 61—and taking the line of road afterwards laid down,
the army would at first bend to the north-west to avoid the immediate
neighbourhood of the fens. Along this road, still traceable, and called
in parts the “High Dyke,” there are camps at Casterton, Easton, and
Ancaster, the last of which subsequently became an important station. At
length, after traversing the high ground of the Cliff, the army would
appear on the ridge of Canwick, facing the “Lincoln Gap.” On the crest
of the opposite hill, from which they were separated by a flooded valley
then reached by the tide, lay a strong British “oppidum.” It would be
no light matter to take such a position by storm, but taken it was,
whether by force or through a timely surrender. When once occupied, this
stronghold would be turned into a military earthwork and used as a base
of operations against the Brigantes, thus becoming the nucleus of the
subsequent city. The advance into Yorkshire, if supported by a fleet,
may have been made from the north gate of the camp by the direct line
of Ermine Street to Winteringham on the Humber, for the Ouse was then
navigable as far as York. But it seems more likely that this was a land
expedition, and that the earliest road was that which leaves the main
Ermine Street four miles north of Lincoln, and under its present name
of Tillbridge Lane points direct to Littleborough on the Notts bank of
the Trent. Here a camp would be formed, which developed later into the
walled station Segelocum; here also was a ford which could soon be made
available for the passage of an army. The banks were sloped away so as to
make the descent easy to a raised causeway—paved with stones and held up
by strong stakes driven into the bed of the river. This causeway, which
was 18 feet wide, existed till 1820, when, owing to the obstruction it
caused to navigation in dry seasons, it had to be removed; but part of
the paved descent can still be seen on the farther bank. The reason why
the road from Lincoln to this ford was not more direct is that it avoided
the low land, then subject, as will be shown, to constant flooding from
the Trent.
It was perhaps not till the governorship of Agricola (A.D. 78-85), when
the country between the Humber and the Tyne was completely subdued,
that Lindum became an important fortress. In his _Life of Agricola_
Tacitus names a provokingly small number of places in Britain; but he
states that that general, in the second year of his command, “erected
garrisons and fortresses among those tribes which had hitherto considered
themselves a match for Rome.”[12] His, therefore, may have been the
vigilant eye, which first discerned the strategic value of Lindum;
but possibly it was Hadrian, or one of his commanders, who elevated
it to the rank of a “colony.” This term was applied under the Empire
to a settlement of veterans, which was held to form an integral part
of Rome, and whose government was a copy in miniature of that of the
capital. Each colony had its senate or “curia,” and annually elected two
“duumviri,” corresponding to the consuls. A portion of the neighbouring
land was assigned to each soldier, and the men were sometimes allowed,
for a time at least, to retain their arms. If we may trust the “Ravenna”
list of towns, the only “coloniæ” in Britain were Colchester, Lincoln,
and Gloucester, and this was perhaps the order of their foundation.
These colonies formed in themselves so strong a nucleus of Roman
civilisation that they were seldom or never made garrison towns. The
three headquarters of the legions—York, Chester, and Caerleon—were not
colonies;[13] and there is no trace of a colony among the military
stations on Hadrian’s Wall. The small number of these towns in Britain,
and their intimate connection with Rome, indicate the great importance
of Lindum. Another proof of this is the fact that the Foss Way, which,
at least in part, is a work of the second century, seems to have been
constructed with the express object of creating easy communication
between Lincoln and the thickly-settled district of the south-west. No
other town, except London, York, Colchester, and perhaps Cirencester, was
connected with so many highways of the first class.
The existing remains of Lindum, though unfortunately much defaced by
continuous occupation, fully corroborate this view. In the third and
fourth centuries it was a kind of twin-city—the original “colonia,” about
37 acres in extent, occupying the brow of the hill, while the lower
town, a sort of “annex” to the first, descended its slopes to the banks
of the Witham. The original town must have been of great strength. Its
northern and southern walls were about a quarter of a mile in length,
and were each pierced by a gate—probably a double gate—through which
the Ermine Street passed and bisected the city. The eastern and western
walls were a little shorter—about 420 yards—and each had a gate in the
centre, also probably double, with guard-rooms on each side of the
central space. The walls were 10 feet thick and over 20 feet in height.
Though obviously repaired at various times, it is likely that they were
erected at the foundation of the colony, as the recent destruction of the
unwalled Camulodunum would be a stern warning to the first colonists.
A few fragments exist, none in a perfect state; but the inner face of
the northern (now strangely called “Newport”) gate is still entire,
though half buried in the soil, and is a unique monument of Roman rule
in Britain. It consists of a central arch about 16 feet wide, which had
two posterns, of which the eastern, though built over, still remains; the
other was destroyed about a century ago. The gate was formerly supposed
to have been single; but it stands 20 feet back from the neighbouring
fragments of the wall; and an old engraving, here reproduced,[14] shows
the remains of two arches on its northern side. Such double gates are a
frequent feature in the stations on Hadrian’s Wall. The south and east
gates were still standing at the end of the seventeenth century, at
least in part. But the former, which was near the brink of Steep Hill,
was pulled down soon after, though its eastern postern can still be seen
within a house; while the latter, which stood just east of the Deanery,
was only demolished in 1763. The western gate was accidentally discovered
in 1836, buried beneath the high mound of the Castle. The arch was
uncovered, and found to be of the same age as Newport; but it collapsed
a few days later from the weight of the superincumbent earth, though
fortunately not till the sketch of it here shown had been taken. From
this it appears to have been exposed nearly as low as Newport without
discovering posterns, which may have been absent from this gate, because
no military road passed through it. Yet there were signs of a return
wall, which indicate that the gate was double. The western wall followed
the line of the Castle rampart and beyond it to the waterworks reservoir;
the eastern passed under the chapter-house and the eastern transepts of
the Minster.
The Forum was in the north-western quarter of the town, for the bases
(and part of the shafts) of nineteen fine columns were found between 1878
and 1897 in Bailgate, standing in a line north and south, and fronting
the course of Ermine Street. Of these five are double and one triple,
and the space of 16 feet between two of the double columns—the sixth and
seventh from the south—doubtless represents the street between the east
and west gates; it is exactly in the line, and the side pavements were
found much worn by the foot traffic. The building on the south side of
this entrance to the Forum is thought to have been a temple; that on
the north was probably a basilica, and a part of its northern wall—now
called the Mint Wall—is still standing some 25 feet above-ground. It is
70 feet long and 3½ feet thick, and is formed of stone and of six courses
of triple bonding tiles, with intervals of 5 feet between the upper
courses. This building is supposed, from the red tint of the columns
and the charred remains found at their base, to have been destroyed
by fire. Along the centre of the city, parallel with Ermine Street,
has been found a large main sewer, with branches running into it from
right and left. The city was supplied with water by underground pipes
from two springs—one on the hill outside the western wall, the other
three-quarters of a mile away, on the Nettleham Road. From the latter the
water was conducted, by pipes cemented together, into a neatly bricked
well, called the Blind Well, which once existed a few yards north of the
Assembly Rooms, but has now been filled up.
But the most interesting discovery in this quarter was that of the
milestone dedicated to the Emperor Victorinus (one of the Thirty
Tyrants), which was unearthed in 1879, and is now to be seen in the
Lincoln Museum. It was found probably on its original site, where the
cross street entered the Forum from Ermine Street. Victorinus held the
supreme power in Gaul for little more than a year, so that the erection
of this stone can be placed with certainty in A.D. 266-7.[15] This
discovery confirms the reading “Segelocum” in the _Antonine Itinerary_,
and also the distance there given. Some have thought that Carausius, the
“Menapian admiral,” who seized the reins of power in Britain twenty years
later under Diocletian, resided for some time in Lincoln. For this there
is not much evidence. His coins, of which there are 300 known types, are
common not in Lincolnshire only, but in all parts of England; and he
is more likely to have established himself in London or near the south
coast. But it is possible that the northern wall of Lindum, in which
some of his coins have been found, was repaired in his time or a little
later. Less than half a mile north of Newport Arch are to be seen remains
of an earthen rampart, with a fosse on the northern side extending about
350 yards east and west, and with entrenchments running from the corners
at right angles towards the city. Stukeley imagined that these were the
defences of the British “oppidum”; but their shape and the practical
certainty that the Britons would choose the edge of the hill leave little
doubt that they are Roman outworks, possibly enclosing a northern suburb.
But the natural direction for the enlargement of the city would be the
southern slope of the hill towards the river; and at some period—perhaps
in the third or fourth century—the eastern and western walls were
prolonged until they met a transverse wall, 50 yards from the river, at
about the centre of which is the mediæval gate called the “Stone-bow.”
Leaving the south-east corner of the original wall at the Cantilupe
Chantry, the prolonged east wall descended the hill between the Vicar’s
Court and the Bishop’s Palace (where part of it still exists), through
the Temple Gardens, with the “Were Dyke” as its fosse, to the junction of
Silver Street and Broadgate, where was a gateway, called Clasket Gate.
Thence it was continued to a bastion, once called the Tower Garth, on the
south side of St. Swithin’s Square. From this point the southern wall,
which was lately uncovered in several places, extended to the “Stone-bow”
and along Guildhall Street and Newland to its south-west corner at
the (so-called) “Lucy” Tower, whence it ascended Motherby Hill to the
western end of the original south wall at the corner of the Castle. This
later town would be nearly double the size of the original colony, and
the whole twin-city must have covered an area as large as that of Roman
Colchester (108 acres). The walling of the lower city points to a sense
of insecurity, but whether this arose from native disaffection or from
a fear of foreign invasion there is no evidence to show. It probably
contained no official buildings, and few important remains have come to
light within it, but a hypocaust was found in 1782 near the top of High
Street.
Space would fail us in enumerating the many lesser articles of interest
discovered in Lincoln. Seven tessellated pavements have been found, all
in the upper city; a perfect Roman altar, with inscription, came to light
in 1884 on the site of St. Swithin’s Tower; and at least six sepulchral
slabs have been unearthed, three of which were in memory of soldiers of
the Ninth (Spanish) Legion—perhaps an indication that to this legion,
which is not mentioned after Trajan’s reign, lands were assigned at the
foundation of the colony. Traces of interments have been found bordering
the roads on the north, east, and south of the city; those beyond the
east gate seem to be the most numerous, and in one case the remains were
enclosed in a large burial-chamber. In the immediate neighbourhood of the
city were villas of some size. At Canwick Church there is a tessellated
pavement, two feet below the floor-level, extending the whole length of
the nave; and at Greetwell, a mile and a half to the east, a substantial
residence was discovered, with many rooms and corridors, and with
pavements of artistic design.
In the three centuries between Ptolemy, who first mentions the city,
and the abandonment of Britain by Rome, Lindum is named but once—in the
_Antonine Itinerary_. But it seems likely that Adelfius, one of the
three British prelates at the Council of Arles, was its bishop in 314.[16]
With regard to the roads radiating from Lindum, it will be convenient
to deal first with those to the north. From Newport Gate, Ermine Street
continues to the Humber for thirty miles in a direct line—absolutely
straight, indeed, for five-sixths of the distance. Mr. Codrington
assumes without reason that this road was earlier than that already
mentioned, which crossed the Trent and passed by way of Doncaster and
Castleford to York.[17] Present appearances certainly justify his view,
for the latter road now seems merely a branch of the former. But this
may not always have been the case. Originally the first four miles may
have been nearer the edge of the high ground through Burton and North
Carlton into Tillbridge Lane; but when the direct Ermine Street was
constructed this portion would not be repaired, and therefore would be
completely disused, as the increase in distance by the new road would be
trifling. It is a curious fact that the only section of Ermine Street
between London and the Humber included in the _Antonine Itinerary_ is
that between Lincoln and Godmanchester; the route from Lincoln to York
in two Iters (V. and VIII.) is by the Doncaster road, which is longer
than Ermine Street by several miles if York were the objective, but which
rather points directly to Isurium—supposed by some to have been the
Brigantian capital.[18] The presumption should surely be that the shorter
route, which involved the crossing of a broad estuary, would be a later
construction of more settled times. In the parish of Scampton, adjoining
the Doncaster road, and about a mile and a half north-west of the point
where it branches from Ermine Street, was discovered in 1795 a large
Roman villa, with forty rooms and thirteen tessellated pavements—one
of a very beautiful design. The whole building covered a space 70 yards
square, and included two courtyards, thus differing somewhat in plan from
the great villas of the south-west.
Ermine Street from Lincoln to the Humber is one of the finest of Roman
highways—clearly traceable to-day for almost the whole distance. In a
stretch of thirty miles there must have been a middle station, which
was certainly in Hibaldstow; but since remains have been found here on
both sides of the great “Way,” its exact site is uncertain. At the farm
of Gainsthorpe, about 200 yards to the west, is a remarkable cluster of
ruined habitations, which has never been properly explored: excavation
here, and in a large camp a little to the north on the east side of
Ermine Street, promises to yield fruitful results. From this point there
would naturally be a by-road to Caistor, ten miles due east across the
Ancholme valley, but no traces of it are on record. A pavement has been
found in Hibaldstow, and two more at Storton in Scawby—the next parish
to the north. The line of the road passes through Broughton, three
miles west of Brigg, where various remains have been discovered; and
the country round it, as it approaches the Humber, abounded in rural
residences of the better class. At Roxby, a mile and a half to the west,
a good pavement was found in 1709; and about forty years later, three
more of very superior design were discovered below the Cliff House in
Winterton, one of which had a bust of Ceres in the centre. A fourth near
the same spot, with a figure of Apollo, was unearthed in 1797; and in a
garden at Horkstow, more than three miles east of this site, was found
a pavement with three compartments, in which are depicted the Fates,
Orpheus playing the lyre to the animals, and a chariot race. Among the
remains found at Winterton are many coins, spear-heads, a brass eagle,
and a potter’s kiln; while another kiln was found at Santon in Appleby,
a few miles to the south. This district—as also the chalk ridges of the
Eastern Wolds—seems to have been favourable for the manufacture of the
coarse grey and stone-coloured pottery, so common on Roman sites in the
county. The Ermine Street ended at a promontory overlooking the Humber
in the parish of Winteringham, below which was an ancient haven called
Flashmire, now silted up. This point is a little east of the Roman
“station” of Brough on the opposite shore, so that boats could make the
crossing of under two miles with the inflowing tide. In the dry summer of
1826, when the water was low, a paved causeway or jetty—like that leading
to the Trent at Littleborough—was exposed on both the Lincolnshire and
Yorkshire banks. Stukeley says that, when the “station” at Winteringham
was ploughed up in 1700, extensive remains were found—as of stone
foundations, pavements, and streets made of gravel and sea-sand. About
four miles south-west of this point, and half-way to the Roman Camp at
Barton, lies South Ferriby. Here is an ancient well-spring, near which
at various times interesting articles have been found—some, perhaps,
votive offerings to the local goddess of the spring. These objects, now
principally in the Hull Museum, include cinerary urns of all kinds,
fireplaces, coins, and a remarkable collection of bronze _fibulæ_—many
harp-shaped (two with the Gaulish maker’s name, “Aucissa”) and others
flat, with the disc in the shape of a fish or sandal. From Winteringham
there may have been a branch-way to Barton—seven miles to the east. At
Alkborough, about four miles westward, there is a strong camp, about
one hundred yards square, overlooking the junction of the Trent and
the Humber. Its Roman origin is disputed, and the area has never been
carefully excavated.
Returning once more to Lincoln, we find at least one road leaving the
east gate of the city, which is nearly identical with the present
Wragby road. This was in line with the Foss Way, but was of much less
importance. At Claybridge, about seven miles from Lincoln, a by-way
branches off south-eastwards to the fort at Horncastle; while another,
called Horncastle Lane, which is probably Roman, bends westward to the
junction of Ermine Street and Tillbridge Lane. The main way continues
north-eastward through Ludford and Ludborough to the coast, where it
ends at some remains of saltworks in the parish of Grainthorpe. Its
easterly part used to be known as “Salters’ Lane,” and it crosses the
“High Street” from Horncastle to Caistor at Ludford. It is possible
that this route and a branch-way from Ermine Street were the only roads
from Lincoln to Caistor; at least no traces of a road, or even of Roman
remains, are known to me on the direct line between the east gate and
Caistor.
No road of any importance seems to have left Lincoln by the west gate;
and the reason for this is to be found in the physical features of
the neighbourhood at the time of the Roman occupation. The part of
Lincolnshire north of the Witham is still called “Lindsey”—a name which
indicates by its final syllable that, when it was given, the district was
practically surrounded by water. On all sides but the south it is so to
this day—viz. by the sea on the east, by the Humber on the north, and by
the Trent on the west. In the Roman period—and indeed for many centuries
after—the Witham was tidal as far as the narrow “Gap” between Lincoln and
the opposite high land of Kesteven. Geologists tell us that this “Gap,”
now intersected by the Witham, was in pre-glacial ages scooped out by
the Trent, the course of which from Newark was then north-east instead
of north; and that after that river had been “captured” by the Humber
(_i.e._ diverted into its present bed by the opening of a longitudinal
valley from the north) it would always tend to revert to its original
course in time of flood. The result of this constant flooding was the
formation of a large mere, extending from the western end of the Gap
as far north as Brampton, beyond which the east bank of the Trent was
too high for the water to escape. The first syllable of Lindum no doubt
represents the Celtic word, which was applied to this large sheet of
water. Faint remains of it can still be seen in the small pool of
Brayford—just below the south gate of the lower city. The flood-water
came through five openings in a low range of sandhills between Spaldford
and Brampton; and the first work of the Roman engineers was to build
banks across these openings, and so shut out the water of the Trent. The
southernmost opening at Spaldford—the most dangerous because the highest
up the valley—was closed by a bank from 12 to 15 feet high and a mile and
a half in length.
Through the marsh which was left when the water disappeared the Romans
constructed a navigable canal, now called the Fossdyke, between the
Witham and the Trent. Its original course at the western end was,
according to Stukeley, more direct than at present—joining the Trent
not, as now, at Torksey, but about two miles farther south. From its
bed was dredged up in 1774 a small bronze statue of Mars, with a Latin
inscription. At Lincoln itself the Sincil Dyke, a drain of the “Slaker”
type—to ease off the water in time of flood—was constructed connecting
the upper and lower ends of the loop which is made by the Witham in order
to pass through the Gap. These operations certainly took place at a very
early period of the Roman occupation of Lincoln. For until they were made
effective, it would be impossible to lay the line of the Foss Way between
Lincoln and Leicester; and we know from a milestone discovered on that
road three miles north of Leicester, and dedicated to Hadrian in A.D. 120
(when he was in Britain), that the eastern part of the Foss Way—doubtless
the earliest made in order to connect Lincoln with Watling Street—was
being laid down in the first quarter of the second century. In the valley
below Lincoln, Ermine Street and the Foss Way, which were united for the
crossing, traversed the marshes of the Gap on a pile-foundation.