More information : SE 4860 4290. Roman town of Tadcaster. (Calcaria). (1)
Shown as a minor settlement and Roman name accepted. (2)
The identification of Tadcaster as the Roman Calcaria depends on three factors:- Its distance, 10 Roman miles from York in the
direction of Manchester, agrees with the Antonine Itinerary distance of 9 miles (3). (3-3a)
The place-name -Tada, 1066, and various forms of Tate-, Tata-, Tad-, castre or caster from 1086 onwards. The 1066 form is probably an abbreviation and the name is accepted as a CEASTER name with a DA personal name prefix. The Roman Calcaria (used by Bede, c.730) means`limestone' (there were Medieval quarries for the stone at Tadcaster which was also a river-port for despatching stone to York). (4)
Speight mentions that single Roman coins, but no hoards, have been found particularly in digging graves in the churchyard. One of
Tacitus was in the vicar's possession and others from Hadrian to
Constantine in the possession of J Varley, found near the church and Castle Hill and about the Appelgarth. Several burials have been found at different places in the town. Speight also describes
supposed Roman pottery vessels found in the river in 1893-1901 but they appear to have been Medieval. He refers to Roman coins, urns, pottery, etc. as being found on Castle Hill (see SE 44 SE/6, and also see SE 44 SE/8 and 10). (5)
The archaeological evidence from Camden refers to Roman coins being frequently dug up and mentions traces of surrounding ditches with the site of an old castle. This latter probably refers to the motte and bailey (see SE 44 SE/6) frequently mis-identified as part of the Roman earthworks (see SE 44 SE/16). (6)
No evidence of Roman earthworks was seen in Tadcaster. A small museum in the town exhibits 21 Roman coins, ranging from A.D. 218-392, found in the vicinity of Castle Hill and the church, and several Roman potsherds dredged at various times from the river. A number of local place-names - `Roman Moat', at SE 4866 310, `Camp Close' at SE 484 429, presumably reflect recent popular antiquarian interest. (7)
Name `CALCARIA' accepted for 4th edition Romano-British Map. (8)
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