Roman road discovered in Manchester city centre
"The Romans knew what they were doing when it came to engineering," said Mr Mottershead, explaining they found multiple levels and repairs of the road, which was basically made out of compacted gravel.He said it was well preserved, with "no potholes in it".He said a range of Romano-British artefacts had been found, dating from the late 1st to the 3rd and possibly even the early 4th century AD, showing the length of time the vicus - which means civilian settlement - was in Manchester.The road would have been the main northern exit route from the former Roman fort nearby, a Civic spokesperson said.Industrial hearths and domestic artefacts including pottery and decorative glassware have also been discovered on the site.
Ian Miller from the Greater Manchester Archaeological Advisory Service said: "It's certainly the best Roman archaeology I've seen in the city centre for 20 years and probably more than that."He said the Roman road was "really well-preserved", which was remarkable given it was only 400mm beneath the surface in a busy city.The site is near to the Roman fort of Mamucium, which was established around 78 AD and much of which was excavated in the 1970s, Mr Miller added.It is also close to Roman excavations further south of the site which uncovered parts of the Roman settlement in the 1970s and 1980s.
Mr Miller said that "in some respects, the latest excavation was the missing piece of the jigsaw that will hopefully link to those two together".He said it should provide more information about what sort of buildings were in the area, just outside the Roman fort, and to re-examine the discoveries of the 1970s.The dig has taken place as part of a development on the site being carried out on behalf of Allied London. Mr Mottershead said the uncovered artefacts would eventually go on display in the city, after they had been analysed.
Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
Roman road discovered in Manchester city centre
A well-preserved Roman road is among the finds uncovered by archaeologists in a city artefacts have been found in Manchester just below street level on Liverpool Road, near excavating the site said it was one of the most significant Roman discoveries in the city in more than 20 Mottershead, an archaeologist with Civic who carried out the dig, told BBC Radio Manchester it was an "absolutely astonishing find", adding: "I haven't seen anything this significant in Castlefield for 20 years at least." "The Romans knew what they were doing when it came to engineering," said Mr Mottershead, explaining they found multiple levels and repairs of the road, which was basically made out of compacted said it was well preserved, with "no potholes in it".He said a range of Romano-British artefacts had been found, dating from the late 1st to the 3rd and possibly even the early 4th century AD, showing the length of time the vicus - which means civilian settlement - was in road would have been the main northern exit route from the former Roman fort nearby, a Civic spokesperson hearths and domestic artefacts including pottery and decorative glassware have also been discovered on the site. Ian Miller from the Greater Manchester Archaeological Advisory Service said: "It's certainly the best Roman archaeology I've seen in the city centre for 20 years and probably more than that."He said the Roman road was "really well-preserved", which was remarkable given it was only 400mm beneath the surface in a busy site is near to the Roman fort of Mamucium, which was established around 78 AD and much of which was excavated in the 1970s, Mr Miller is also close to Roman excavations further south of the site which uncovered parts of the Roman settlement in the 1970s and 1980s. Mr Miller said that "in some respects, the latest excavation was the missing piece of the jigsaw that will hopefully link to those two together".He said it should provide more information about what sort of buildings were in the area, just outside the Roman fort, and to re-examine the discoveries of the dig has taken place as part of a development on the site being carried out on behalf of Allied London. Mr Mottershead said the uncovered artefacts would eventually go on display in the city, after they had been analysed. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
BBC News
4 days ago
- BBC News
Manchester firefighters tackle blaze at Tulketh Industrial Estate
Firefighters have been tackling a large blaze at an industrial Manchester Fire & Rescue Service (GMFRS) said it was called to Tulketh Industrial Estate, off Kenyon Lane in Manchester, shortly before 01:30 fire engines were deployed to the blaze at one which has advised residents living nearby to keep doors and windows closed, said: "Crews remain in attendance to extinguish the fire and make the surrounding area safe." Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
The Guardian
4 days ago
- The Guardian
Clash of cultures: exhibition tells story of when Vikings ruled the north of England
When Anglo-Saxons buried their jewellery in an attempt to keep it safe from marauding Vikings, it is unlikely they envisaged their treasures would be dug up a millennium later and studied by their descendants. Nor would they have expected the items to sit alongside everyday objects owned by their Scandinavian oppressors as part of the largest exhibition of Viking-age artefacts in the UK, aiming to tell the story for the first time of the invaders' power base in the north of England. 'This is the finest collection of objects from Viking-age England that you can see on display in a museum in this country,' says Dr Adam Parker, curator of archaeology at York Museums Trust. Viking North, which opens on Friday, focuses on the settlement of the Viking Great Army, as it is known, which arrived in the north of England from Scandinavia in AD866 and spent two centuries controlling the territory. Among the exhibits are examples of the Vikings' great wealth, some of which appeared to be raided from holy sites, such as an Anglo-Saxon silver-gilt bowl with Christian symbolism on it found buried with a Viking warrior. Religious symbolism was important – after seeing Christians wearing crosses around their necks, Vikings took to wearing pendants in the shape of Thor's hammer from their own pagan beliefs. A recent discovery of one on display for the first time is a 'little microcosm of this whole exhibition' says Parker, as it combines fashions from different parts of the world. 'It's showing a coming together of cultures, it's a development in cultural change, it represents the creation of Anglo-Scandinavian identity in the north in the ninth and 10th centuries AD, in an object,' he said. But not every piece of jewellery found was of high value at the time. Another piece in the exhibition is made of copper and is gilded to look like gold. Parker says: 'It's a cheap object designed to look expensive – if you like, the Viking version of Claire's Accessories.' What makes the upcoming exhibition particularly interesting, says Parker, is that it is primarily 'a story of geopolitical change and a clash of cultures'. It features an interactive graphic video showing what the Vikings' temporary settlements would have looked like in the north of England as the settlers expanded into the new territory. This is based on emergent research, some of which has not yet been published, into how the Vikings would have lived outside the main urban centres, such as York, known by the Vikings as Jorvik. Though the invaders' pillaging of monasteries for treasure – and their killing of anyone who stood in their way – is common knowledge, the exhibition also sheds light on another dark part of Viking history, one that is not widely talked about. 'I think we need to be quite open about this, that we don't think about the Vikings as a slave-owning society, but slavery and captured people is one of the fundamental exports of England after the Viking raids,' Parker says. One exhibit is a carving from a grave that appears to show an Anglo-Saxon woman being captured and enslaved, likely into a forced marriage. There would have 'undoubtedly' been people enslaved in the north of England who were sold and eventually ended up in the Middle East, says Parker. Part of a large hoard of Islamic coins on display from what is now Iraq are one clue to the forced migration that took place despite the missing biographies of enslaved people. 'It's nearly impossible for us to identify them archaeologically,' says Parker. 'There are some historical sources that talk about the presence of enslaved people – they had no rights, they didn't have great outcomes of life, as you know – but it's part of history that's completely hidden to us, and so taking the opportunity to try to represent that again is quite important for us.' Viking North is at the Yorkshire Museum in York from Friday 11 July 2025
