More information : Excavation of a 56m long section of the Roman colonia wall, rampart and ditch at The Park in 1970-1. The wall was 5 feet wide, built of coursed limestone with a rubble limestone core. An interval tower was added to the inner face of the wall in the 2nd-3rd centuries.
In the 4th century, there was a major remodelling of the defences here, a gateway being provided, the north flank overlying the interval tower. The gateway consists of a single arched entrance 5m wide, flanked by gate towers surviving to a height of 5m. The wall to the north of the gateway was reduced to its footings and rebuilt to a width of 10 feet. South of the gate the earlier colonia wall was retained but it was also widened for a distance of at least 15m south of the gateway. The rampart stood to at least the heigth of the surviving wall, that is at least 5m. The outer ditch was recut and the berm resurfaced.
At its greatest width, some 25m, the defences sealed at least five phases of Flavian-4th century occupation. No trace of a street running parallel to the wall was found.
In the post-Roman period the Roman wall served as the Mediaeval town wall, no later modifications being noted other than wall robbing in the 13th century, perhaps to build the extension of the Mediaeval wall to the river where it ended at Lucy Tower. The Mediaeval town ditch cut the Roman causeway indicating that the gatewy was no longer functional as a main thoroughfare in the Mediaeval period, but it was not deliberately blocked with stone. The site was reburied after excavation and is scheduled. (1,2) |