Time Travel: But Why?

We’ve all had a conversation with a child in which every statement you give is responded to with “but why?” As annoying as it can be, kids are great at getting to the bones of every issue, which is what this issue’s Time Travel article is all about. Our question is ‘why York?’ Why is there a city here at all, and why did the Romans pick this exact spot? Come on…

First, it would be extremely silly to suggest that all British history started with the Roman conquest in 43 CE. Check your DNA and most us will discover that our ancestors have called these Britannic shores home for several thousands of years. However, although there have been Bronze, Iron and Stone age archaeological finds dotted around the city, it’s fair to say that the Romans were the first to establish a permanent settlement here. But why here?

Bust up

For decades prior to the Roman invasion, those clever Imperials were trading and dealing with the inhabitants of Britannia. It simply wasn’t the Roman way to just impulsively invade a new land without first making the task as easy as possible. Local tribes were paid handsomely to become client Kingdoms of Rome, there to assist with trade deals and diplomacy and helping the Empire get a foothold on the island. One such tribe were the Brigantes.

Based around what is now the North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales, the Brigantes were initially accepting of Rome and helped with the main invasion. However, after a leadership change within the Kingdom, the Brigantes became a massive thorn in the Empire’s bottom, clashing with the legions and raiding Roman towns (and giving us the term ‘brigand’).

The decision was therefore made for the Roman army to push further north and establish a major fort that would be near to both Brigantian territory, and the lands held by the Parisi tribe in what is now East Yorkshire and Humberside (and if their name is familiar, it’s because relatives of theirs established a famous city in France).

A good spot

The location chosen in 71 CE to build what is now our home city exemplifies Roman tactical genius. As well as being on the boundary between the two tribes’ lands, two navigable rivers meet here at quite a tight angle. This means that any fort established between the rivers would be protected on two sides of a triangle.

The largest of those rivers, the Ouse, allowed boat access from the North Sea, despite being 40 miles inland. This would help with troop movements and allow the fortress to receive goods from across the Empire. Road access was also very good thanks to the ridge of high land on which the Roman’s built their approaching road – these days called the A64. That ridge made the road difficult to ambush – a popular tactic amongst the Celts.

The fort itself, later named Eboracum (possibly due to the abundance of yew trees in the area), was established on the flat lands between the rivers, with the northern defences (today the city walls along Gillygate and Lord Mayor’s Walk) offering a clear and uninterrupted view all the way to the Moors, some 20 miles distant. To keep an eye on the natives.

However…

Despite how perfect all this sounds, the Romans did have to put up with problems. Firstly, as we all know, the rivers in York are prone to flooding – something that blighted the Romans as much as it does residents today. In fact, following the Roman departure from York in 410 CE, the main bridge over the river lasted only 40 years before being washed away by a flood.

Also, much of the land around the fort was marshy, limiting what could be done outside of the fortress walls. Although the Normans would use these marshes to their defensive advantage almost exactly 1000 years later, for the Romans it was a problem.

Had the army’s planners made a slightly different decision, York today would look quite different. The option existed to place the fortress on the highest ground in the area, around where today The Retreat sits on Lamel Hill, off Heslington Lane. That land had been used for millennia as burial ground and an important thoroughfare and building the fortress there would have solved the marsh issue and made Eboracum more imposing.

Home

But the decision was made to build it here, and here we are today. It’s interesting to think that choices made almost 2000 years ago are still influencing how we live, from the roads we use to drive into the city, to the cost of our insurance premiums due to flooding. Still, we think those choices were pretty good.