York (Eboracum) - Museum and Fort

Established as a base to support further northward expansion, the legionary fortress of York (Eboracum or Eburacum) grew into one of the most important cities in late Roman Britain, eventually being made capital of the province of Britannia Inferior. For a few years it hosted the Imperial Court, sitting at the very heart of the Empire. Two emperors died there and it was in York where Constantine the Great began (unofficially) a reign that would see Christianity established as Rome's state religion and the far-away city of Constantinople begin its thousand year life as the empire's eastern capital.   

Unlike Roman towns such as Silchester, York was never abandoned, continuing as a significant settlement into Viking and medieval times. As a result, relatively little the city's Roman fabric survives intact - and even less can be easily viewed. The main exception is a well-preserved section of the fort defences including the Multangular Tower, described below. 

The good news is that the paucity of in-situ remains is more than compensated for by the Roman collection in the Yorkshire Museum ***, the quality and breadth of which underlines the city's status and significance. Take the Statue of Mars (below) for example; very few sites in Roman Britain have produced sculpture of this calibre. I'll come back to it in a bit.

Yorkshire Museum - statue of Mars (4th century CE) from York

Location and Access

The Yorkshire Museum and nearby Roman defences lie in the Museum Gardens, a park laid out around the ruins of the medieval St Mary's Abbey (which is also worth a look). The gardens are open free of charge every day between 0900 and 1800. The Yorkshire Museum is here and the Multangular Tower is here. York is extremely well served by public transport: the Yorkshire Museum is a ten minute walk from the main railway station over the Lendal Bridge along (appropriately enough) Station Road and then Museum Road. If driving, the nearest car park is at Marygate. It's not cheap.

Admission to the Yorkshire Museum is charged (times and prices here). It is closed on Mondays. Access for people with mobility difficulties is usually possible, although there were problems with the lift at the time of my visit. The main Roman collection is on the ground floor.

Background and Context

It was the Emperor Vespasian (69-79 CE) who ordered the expansion of Roman control into the north of Britain, leading to the famous (or perhaps infamous) Ninth Legion (Legio IX Hispana) establishing a fort around 71 CE where the River Foss meets the River Ouse. This was built on higher land between the two rivers (York has a continuing history of flooding so even a slight rise was an advantage), occupying a strategic position with two main benefits - the rivers could be crossed here and, even better, the River Ouse was navigable to this point, allowing the fort to be supplied by ship. 

Yorkshire Museum - floor tile made by the Ninth Legion in York (1st cent. CE)

As the fort became more established, a civilian settlement grew up nearby. The earthwork and timber defences were strengthened by stone around 107-108 CE. The Ninth Legion was transferred away to meet its murky end in the eastern empire (not in Scotland as suggested in the well-known childrens' book), being replaced by the Sixth Legion (Legio VI Victrix). York became one of the three forts holding a permanent legionary garrison during the Roman period, the others being Chester and Caerleon. 

Further rebuilding of the fort walls took place in the early 3rd century under the emperor Septimius Severus (193-211 CE). This was the first of two periods where the city hosted the imperial court - both of which ended up badly for the sitting emperor. Severus died in York during a campaign into Scotland with his son Caracalla. (Caracalla went on to succeed Severus as emperor, before murdering his brother and establishing some highly impressive public baths back in Rome that are well worth a visit. Here in York he was also portrayed on a rather unflattering pot that we'll meet in a bit.)

York (Eboracum) - fort wall and Multangular Tower (4th cent)

By now, York's civilian settlement was expanding, spreading to both sides of the River Ouse. In 213 the province of Britannia was split in two, with York becoming the capital of Britannia Inferior (Lower Britain). The city was also given the status of colonia around this time, although this was apparently an honorific award rather than the usual grant of settlement for retired legionary soldiers. 

The provincial reorganisation did not prevent further attacks, with York being seriously damaged around 296. This prompted yet further strengthening of the defences, with new towers being added to the wall facing the river including the Multangular Tower (above). At this time, York became the base of the Dux Britanniarum, who had been appointed as commander of land forces in Britain. A second imperial visit around this time turned out to be equally fatal for the emperor concerned; this time it was Constantius I who died in 306. His son - Constantine the Great - was duly proclaimed emperor in the city, although it took him some time (and a few battles across the empire) to secure his position.

The early fourth century seems to have been a period of prosperity for the city, with town houses built and extended and opulent mosaic pavements being installed (see later). Needless to say, it didn't last, and towards the end of 300s there is evidence of decline, with buildings being abandoned and maintenance being neglected. York's geographical advantages were however too great to be thrown away: after the formal end of Roman rule the city maintained its importance, being occupied by a succession of invaders - notably the Angles and later the Vikings. 

Date of Visit

The photographs in this blog post date from my visit in 2026.

Yorkshire Museum Highlights

The Roman collection occupies three rooms on the ground floor. The variety of exhibits is extensive and overwhelming, so in this blog post I have homed in on some personal favourites - approximately in the order that they appear as you pass through the galleries. But the first item of interest is prominently displayed in the Museum's reception area - a superbly restored and reconstructed section of painted wall plaster recovered from an excavation at Catterick (below). 

Yorkshire Museum - Roman wall plaster

On reaching the Roman galleries themselves, it is Statue of Mars (pictured above and below) that immediately draws your attention: 

Yorkshire Museum - statue of Mars (4th century CE) from York

He is approximately life-size, standing around 178 cm (5' 10") excluding his feet which are sadly missing. Fashioned from gritstone, the statue was found in the 1880s at the site of St Mary's Convent, Blossom Street (not far from the main station) along with three altars, one of which was dedicated to Mars (the god of war). The figure would originally have been painted and may have held a real spear in his right hand (also missing). Although in military dress, he is not fully kitted out like a normal Roman legionary (the helmet is in a Greek style), which strengthens the case for his identification as Mars - in which case the find-site may have been in or near a temple to the god, who was a popular deity with soldiers. But even if this is wrong, he still makes an arresting presence in the centre of the gallery. 

Another (likely) image of Mars appears nearby in the form of a much smaller bronze statuette, probably dating from the 2nd or 3rd century:

Mars wasn't the only deity favoured by the troops based at Eboracum, as this dedication to the god Serapis shows:

Yorkshire Museum - dedication to Serapis (190-212 CE)

Serapis was one of a number of Eastern deities that were popular throughout the Roman empire. The emperor Septimius Severus was a particular devotee. (See my post on Reading Museum for a bit more on Serapis). Up here in York, he had an important local follower: the stone records that the dedication was made by the legate of the Sixth Legion Victrix, one Claudius Hieronymianus - who is also on record as having persecuted Christians during his spell as governor of Cappadocia (a Roman province in what is now central Turkey). The inscription (the full text and translation is at end of blog post) records the founding of a temple to Serapis in York. It was also found in the vicinity of the modern station, which seems to have been a pretty temple-heavy corner of town in Roman times. 

At the side of room 1 are displayed the tombstones of two departed ladies, the first commemorating Julia Velva (below). 

Yorkshire Museum - tombstone of Julia Velva (3rd century CE)

This gritstone slab, decorated with two pine cones, contains what appears to be a family scene. Only the top half of Julia is visible, popping up above what is probably a couch where she is reclining whilst holding a wine jug. A memory of happy days. A girl (her daughter?) sits front left holding a pet bird, while a small boy (possibly a servant or slave, although his position at the front of the composition suggests that this is her son) stands next to a small table. But the most prominent figure (hardly a surprise) is likely the man who paid for the memorial - Aurelius Mercurialis - looking rather self-important with a beard and scroll. The inscription (again, the full text and translation is at the end of blog post) tells us that he was Julia's heir, and that she lived "most dutifully 50 years".

At first sight, it's a touching family scene. But we are left in no doubt as to who's in charge.

Displayed alongside is the tombstone of Flavia Augustina (below), which tells a sad tale.

Yorkshire Museum - Memorial to Flavia Augustina (mid 3rd cent. CE)

Flavia stands on the left, with her husband Gaius Aeresius Saenus by her side and their two children in the foreground. It looks like a perfect family scene, but it is actually a fiction. We learn from the inscription (see the end of this blog post) that poor old Gaius Aeresius lost his wife and children early: Flavia died aged 39, while neither of the two children made it to age two. What we are seeing is perhaps the family that he wished for but never experienced.

More cheerfully, we move to the Ryedale Hoard, containing four small objects found by metal detectorists near Ampleforth in 2020. The most impressive is a small bronze bust (possibly a sceptre-head) of the emperor Marcus Aurelius (161-180 CE) (below).

Yorkshire Museum - bust of Marcus Aurelius (Ryedale Hoard) (2nd cent CE)

Also found were a small horse and rider figure, thought to be yet another depiction of Mars (below), a knife handle in the shape of a horse and, bizarrely, a plumb bob of the type used in building projects. Connecting these four objects has proved something of an academic challenge: the Yorkshire Museum website says that "the focus of this enigmatic ritual" may be "the blessing of an act of landscape engineering". Alternatively, someone may just have buried their miscellaneous valuables in a hurry.  

Yorkshire Museum - horse and rider figure (Ryedale Hoard) (2nd cent CE)

Considerably more substantial is one of the museum's prize exhibits, the Four Seasons mosaic, which is nicely displayed in front of a reconstructed plastered wall to give the impression of a Roman room:

Yorkshire Museum - Four Seasons mosaic and wall plaster

Yorkshire Museum - Four Seasons mosaic (3rd-4th cent.)

The mosaic dates from the later Roman period (3rd-4th century) and was found at a house excavated in Toft Green (also near the modern station, not too far from where the Statue of Mars was discovered). The centre-piece is missing, but a couple of snakey traces are enough to to point to Medusa as being the focal point of the composition.

What draws the eye today are the four surrounding figures, each of which represents a season. This is a common theme for mosaics across the Roman world (see Chedworth villa for example). Autumn is shown with a curiously small rake hovering incongruously above his shoulder:

Yorkshire Museum - Autumn from the Four Seasons mosaic 

Spring is holding a bird:

Yorkshire Museum - Spring from the Four Seasons mosaic 

Winter has a dead bough ...

Yorkshire Museum - Winter from the Four Seasons mosaic

... while Summer is pictured with a bunch of grapes:

Yorkshire Museum - Summer from the Four Seasons mosaic

But all may not be entirely what it seems. It has been suggested that Summer and Autumn were altered during a Victorian restoration, and that the grapes are a modern addition, replacing fruit or flowers.

A nice touch is that you are allowed to walk on this mosaic (but no shoes are allowed), giving you a much closer view of the various images. This allows you to experience the mosaic in its proper context whilst (hopefully) protecting it from damage. (The only other place where you can do this in Britain, as far as I'm aware, is in the Dorset County Museum in Dorchester. However, the two mosaics concerned had both sustained some minor damage when I last saw them, possibly because chairs and tables are sometimes placed on them.)

I'll finish off with this bizarre pot (below) representing the Emperor Caracalla who reigned between 198 and 217 CE, initially as co-emperor with his father Septimius Severus - who apparently introduced this type of pottery to the empire. The diadem worn by the figure is the clue pointing to his imperial status, although I can't imagine that Caracalla would have been flattered by the image.

Yorkshire Museum - pot representing Caracalla (3rd cent.)

There is much more to explore in the museum, but we're now stepping outside, taking a left turn and heading for the best preserved section of the fortress walls. It's time to see some in-situ Roman masonry.

Multangular Tower & Fortress Wall

Marking a corner of the Roman fort walls, the Multangular Tower (below) is the best-preserved Roman structure in the city. As already noted, the upper section is medieval: the cross-shaped arrow slits are a bit of a giveaway. The bulk of the tower dates from the strengthening of the fort's defences under Constantine in the early 4th century. Its large size and complex footprint (compared with, for example, the bastions built during the same period at Caerwent in south Wales) emphasise York's importance during the later Roman period. It is one of eight similarly-shaped towers that were added to the fort's defences at this time.  

York (Eboracum) - Multangular Tower

To the right (south-east) of the tower is a stretch of fort wall that stands almost to its original height. Most of its facing stones are still in place, along with a central course of brickwork.

York (Eboracum) - fort wall south-east of the Multangular Tower

Returning to the Multangular Tower, you can pass through a small gateway to the left (north-east). This passes through the later medieval city wall. Once through the gate you can see to your right the interior of the Multangular Tower (below). The join between Roman and medieval masonry is even more obvious from this side.

York (Eboracum) - Multangular Tower (interior)

Beyond the Multangular Tower the back of the section of fort wall that we previously viewed from the gardens is visible (below). This is made from rough stone, as it would have been hidden by an earth bank - an arrangement that is still visible at sites including Caerwent and Silchester. Even today, the ground level is higher here than in the gardens outside the wall.  

York (Eboracum) - rear (inside) face of the fort wall south-east of the Multangular Tower

The view to the left from this point, looking away from the Multangular Tower, presents a more complex picture (below).

York (Eboracum) - fort wall north-east of Multangular Tower

What we have here are three walls; it is the middle one that is Roman. The large wall on the left is the lower section of the medieval city wall (sitting on a modern retaining wall faced with rounded stones), while the one on the right is another non-Roman wall. When this stretch of the city wall was built, the wall of the Roman fort had already been buried under a succession of rampart banks; indeed, only its top part is now exposed. A nearby sign (below) gives a (fairly) useful cross-section explaining the relative levels - but bear in mind that this is facing the opposite way from my photo above.

York (Eboracum) - cross-section through Roman and later defences (photo of on-site signage)

The gravel path heading north-east next to the base of the medieval city wall takes you along the outer face of the Roman fort wall; you can compare the dressed stone on this side with the rougher inside face which would have been hidden by an embankment. 

The path leads to a square structure containing a barrel vault known as the Anglian Tower (below). Further on, at the end of this section of wall, the sequence of rampart banks from Roman to medieval has been displayed (in the background of the photo below). 

York (Eboracum) - Anglian Tower with rampart bank sections behind

The exact age of the Anglian Tower remains uncertain. It clearly post-dates the Roman wall and has markedly different stonework; the contrast is visible in the photo above. It appears to fill a breach in the Roman wall, but whether it is of late Roman or post-Roman date is unclear.

Exploring More of Roman York

That concludes this short tour of the Roman defences near the Yorkshire Museum. Although not covered in this blog post, there are a number of other locations in the city where Roman fabric can be inspected, although none are of the scale or quality of the remains discussed above. A helpful trail leaflet from History of York (a Yorkshire Museums project) can be downloaded here.

The main additional sites are some remains of the basilica in York Minster's Undercroft Museum and part of a bath-house at the York Roman Bath Museum in St Sampson Square (here) (disclaimer: I have not visited the second of these). The east angle tower of the fort can also be seen from the city wall walk south-east of Monk Bar (here).

Full Texts and Translations to Inscriptions Mentioned Above

Dedication to Serapis (RIB 658):

DEO SANCTO

SERAPI

TEMPLVM A SO

LO FECIT 

CL(AVDIVS) HIERONY-

MIANVS LEG(ATVS)

LEG(IONIS) VI VIC(TRIX)

Translation:

To the holy god Serapis Claudius Hieronymianus, legate of the Sixth Legion Victrix, built this temple from the ground.

Tombstone of Julia Velva (RIB 688):

D(IS) M(ANIBUS)

IVLIE VELVE PIENTISSI

ME VIXIT AN(NOS) L AVREL

MERCVRIALIS HER(ES) FACI-

VNDVM CVRAVIT VIVVS

SIBI ET SVIS FECIT

Translation: 

To the spirits of the departed (and) of Julia Velva: she lived most dutifully 50 years. Aurelius Mercurialis, her heir, had this set up, and in his lifetime made this for himself and his family.

Tombstone of Flavia Augustina (RIB 685):

D(IS) M(ANIBUS) FLAVIAE AVGVSTINAE

VIXIT AN(NOS) XXXVIIII M(ENSES) VII D(IES) XI FILIVS

SAENIVS AVG(V)STINVS VIXIT AN(NVM) I D(IES) III

[...]A VIXIT AN(NVM) I M(ENSES) VIIII D(IES) V G(AIVS) AERESIVS

SAENVS VET(ERANVS) LEG(IONIS) VI VIC(TRICIS) CONIVGI CARI

[.]SIMAE ET SIBI F(ACIENDVM) C(VRAVIT)

Translation:

To the spirits of the departed (and) of Flavia Augustina; she lived 39 years, 7 months, 11 days; her son, Saenius Augustinus, lived 1 year, 3 days, and […]a, (her daughter), lived 1 year 9 months, 5 days; Gaius Aeresius Saenus, veteran of the Sixth Legion Victrix, had this set up for his beloved wife and himself.

References

Ottaway, Patrick (2011) Archaeology in the Environs of Roman York: Excavations 1976–2005. In The Archaeology of York, The Roman Extra-Mural Settlement (ed. Hall, R.A.) 6/2. Council for British Archaeology, York. - link

Tilley, Emily (2018) Old Collections, New Questions: Researching the Roman Collections of the Yorkshire Museum. Yorkshire Museum - link

(See also the general References page of this blog).

Thanks as well to the helpful staff at the Yorkshire Museum.

Websites

Roman Inscriptions of Britain

Yorkshire Museum

History of York

Text and photographs (c) Mike Hetherington. Visits to sites described in this blog are at your own risk.