Isurium Brigantum

Mosaic depicting the She-wolf with Romulus and Remus, from Aldborough, (c.300 AD),Leeds City Museum(16025914306)

IsuriumorIsurium of theBrigantes(Latin:Isurium Brigantum) was aRomanfortandtownin theprovinceofBritanniaat the site of present-dayAldboroughinNorth Yorkshire,England,in theUnited Kingdom.Its remains—theAldborough Roman Site—are in the care ofEnglish Heritage.

TheRoman roadthrough the town formed a leg of bothDere Street—connectingEboracum(York) to theAntonine Wall—and the Roman equivalent ofWatling Street,which here connected Eboracum withLuguvalium(Carlisle). The modern village retains part of the Roman street plan and the church stands on the site of the forum.

History

Mosaic floor, in situ.

Isurium Brigantum, one of the northernmost urban centres of the Roman Empirewas probably founded in the late first century or early second century. The Romancivitaswas the administrative centre of theBrigantestribe, the largest and most northerly tribe in Roman Britain.Roman towns such as Exeter, Leicester, Chichester and Canterbury had the same status asIsurium.

Tacitusrecorded thatIsuerwas the seat ofVenutius,king of the Brigantes who was usurped from power by his wife,Cartismanduaand her lover Volucatus at the beginning of the first century. Cartismandua welcomed the Romans who perceived little threat from the Brigantes and the Roman army focused its occupation to the south of Brigantium.When Venutius and his followers began to attack Brigantian centres towards the end of the first century, the Roman army pushed further north. Tacitus reports the final subjugation of the Brigantes came about byJulius Agricolain 79 AD. who then constructed Isurium.

Part of a pot found in 2020, displayed in the museum

Its name is believed to be derived from the Latin name of the riverIseurnow theRiver Ure.It is likely there was a Brigantian settlement atIsuriumbefore the Roman invasion. There are many prehistoric sites along theA1corridor which partially follows the route ofWatlingandDere Streets.There are three ancient standing stones in Boroughbridge known as theDevil's Arrowsa mile distant from the site.

There is in fact no archaeological evidence to suggest that there was a Brigantian settlement called Iseur: the most likely Iron Age settlement isStanwickfurther north nearRichmondwhere Cartimandua had her base. Isurium probably became a civilian settlement between theRoecliffefort (see below) and the River Ure during the last part of the first century. The Civitas Capital was probably established in about 160 AD.

It was supposed that Isurium was the site of a 1st-centuryRoman fortwhere Watling and Dere Streets crossed theRiver Ure.Excavations in 1993 located two forts at Roecliffe nearBoroughbridgeand 1st-century finds at Aldborough most likely come from a related civilian site. Isurium Brigantum had substantial buildings from an early period; probably by the early 2nd century. Bank and ditch defences were erected later. Stone walls and four gates were added in the mid-3rd century. The visible remains are a small fraction of the Roman town. Isurium flourished for the next hundred years, with the building of elaborate private homes with fine decorativemosaicfloors. In the middle of the 4th century,bastionswere added to its defences and general unrest across theEmpireseems to have affected the town's prosperity.

Part of the wall of the Roman town

There is little evidence of occupation after theend of Roman rule in Britainand by the 7th century theAnglo-Saxonshad taken over the area.

Archaeology

The 16th-century antiquaryJohn Lelandnoted,"There be now large feeldes, fruteful of corn, in the very places where the howsing of the town was; and in these feeldes yereley be founde in ploughing many coynes of sylver and brasse of the Romaine stampe—Ther also have been found sepulchres, aqaue ductus tessalata paviamenta &.c."Two centuries after Leland,Daniel Defoewrote"Not so much ruins, especially not above ground".

In 2011, geomagnetic scanning revealed the existence of anamphitheatre,emphasising Isurium's importance as a major Roman town.

The site came to prominence during excavations taking place in 2004. A young archaeologist, Daniel Ebdon, was using a metal detector for the first time and uncovered a Roman coin. This, along with others of its kind, can be found in The Yorkshire Museum, York.

Aldborough Roman Site

Aldborough Roman Site is in the care ofEnglish Heritageand consists of a stretch of the massive town wall with its defensive towers and two in-situ mosaic pavements, once part of a Roman townhouse. Archaeological finds from the site are on display in the museum providing an insight into the lives of Roman civilians in its most northern capital.

Aldborough Roman town has been designated ascheduled monumentunder theAncient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979.

The Aldborough Roman Town Project, led byRose FerrabyandMartin Milletthas been investigating the site since 2016.In 2019 Ferraby and sound artist Rob St John created a site specific audio trail exploring the Roman town.

External links

• English Heritage: Aldborough Roman Site
• A national theatre of the north is found on summit of Studforth Hill in Aldborough