Early Roman Road Uncovered in Northern England

News January 3, 2021

(© Copyright ARS Ltd 2020)
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Northumberland Roman Road
(© Copyright ARS Ltd 2020)

NORTHUMBERLAND, ENGLAND—The Northumberland Gazette reports that researchers found traces of a Roman road in northern England during utility work. The road is thought to have been constructed before Hadrian’s Wall, an early second-century fortification stretching almost from coast to coast across northern England at the edge of the Roman Empire. “While monitoring the excavation pit, our archaeologist identified a deposit of compacted cobbles thought to be the remains of the Roman road’s foundations—it is believed to have been built by Agricola or his successors around A.D. 80,” said archaeologist Philippa Hunter. Settlements, garrisons, and roads were built in the northern Roman frontier after Gnaeus Julius Agricola was appointed Roman governor of Britain in A.D. 78, she explained. To read about ancient graffiti found in a stone quarry near Hadrian's Wall, go to "Roman Soldier Scribbles."

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