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{{short description|Ancient Roman city in present-day York, England}}
{{For|the 1736 publication of this name|Francis Drake (antiquary)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox ancient site
  |name = Eboracum
  |alternate_name = Eburacum
  |image = [[File:2009-04-13 ConstantineTheGreat York.jpg|250px]]
  |caption = Modern [[Statue of Constantine the Great, York|statue of Constantine the Great]] outside [[York Minster]]
  |map_type = England
  |map_alt = 
  |map_size =
  |coordinates = {{coord|53|57|42|N|01|04|50|W|display=inline,title}}
  |location = [[York]], [[North Yorkshire]], [[England]]
  |region = [[Roman Britain|Britannia]]
  |type = Fortification and settlement
  |builder = [[Quintus Petillius Cerialis]]
  |built = 71
  |epochs = [[Roman Empire|Roman Imperial]]
  |archaeologists = [[Leslie Peter Wenham]]
}}
{{RomanMilitary}}
'''Eboracum''' ({{IPA|la-x-classic|ɛbɔˈraːkũː|lang|link=yes}}) was a [[castra|fort]] and later a [[coloniae|city]] in the [[Roman province]] of [[Roman Britain|Britannia]]. In its prime it was the largest town in northern Britannia and a provincial capital. The site remained occupied after the decline of the [[Western Roman Empire]] and ultimately developed into the present-day city of [[York]], in [[North Yorkshire]], England.

Two Roman emperors died in Eboracum: [[Septimius Severus]] in 211&nbsp;AD, and [[Constantius Chlorus]] in 306&nbsp;AD.

The first known recorded mention of Eboracum by name is dated {{circa| 95–104&nbsp;AD}}, and is an address containing the settlement's name, ''Eburaci'', on a wooden [[stylus]] tablet from the Roman fortress of [[Vindolanda]] in what is now [[Northumberland]].<ref name="Hall">{{harvnb|Hall|1996|p=13}}</ref> During the Roman period, the name was written both ''Eboracum'' and ''Eburacum'' (in nominative form).<ref name="Hall">{{harvnb|Hall|1996|p=13}}</ref>

The name ''Eboracum'' comes from the [[Common Brittonic]] ''*Eburākon'', of disputed meaning. One view is that it meant "[[Taxus baccata|yew]] tree place",<ref>{{harvnb|Hall|1996|p=27}}</ref> if Proto-Celtic ''*ebura'' meant "yew" (cf. Old Irish ''ibar'' "yew-tree", {{langx|ga|iúr}} (older ''iobhar''), {{langx|gd|iubhar}}, {{langx|cy|efwr}} "[[Rhamnus frangula|alder buckthorn]]", {{langx|br|evor}} "alder buckthorn"), combined with the proprietive suffix ''*-āko(n)'' "having" (cf. Welsh ''-og'', Gaelic ''-ach'')<ref name="DELAMARRE 159">[[Xavier Delamarre]], ''{{Lang|fr|Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise}}'', éditions errance 2003, p. 159.</ref> (cf. ''efrog'' in [[Welsh language|Welsh]], ''eabhrach/iubhrach'' in [[Irish Gaelic]] and ''eabhrach/iobhrach'' in [[Scottish Gaelic]], by which names the city is known in those languages).<!--cn?--> Other linguists, such as [[Andrew Breeze]]<ref name="Breeze 2019">{{cite journal |last=Breeze |first=Andrew |author-link=Andrew Breeze |title=Doubts on Irish Iubhar “Yew Tree” and Eburacum or York |journal=Вопросы ономастики <!--Questions of Onomastics--> |volume=16 |issue=3 |year=2019 |pages=205-211 |url=https://elar.urfu.ru/bitstream/10995/81306/1/vopon_2019_3_015.pdf}}</ref> and [[Peter Schrijver]], dispute the etymological connection of ''*eburos'' and "yew"; Schrijver suggests that ''*eburos'' meant "[[Sorbus aucuparia|rowan]]", and that ''*iwo'', giving Welsh ''yw'' and Old Irish ''éo'', was the only Proto-Celtic word for "yew".<ref name="Schrijver 2015">{{cite book |last=Schrijver |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Schrijver |chapter=The meaning of Celtic* eburos |editor1=Oudaer, Guillaume |editor2=Hily, Gael |editor3=Le Bihan, Herve |title=Melanges en l'honneur de Pierre-Yves Lambert |location=Rennes |publisher=Tir |year=2015 |pages=65–76 |url=https://dspace.library.uu.nl/bitstream/handle/1874/350528/The_meaning_of_Celtic_eburos_Melanges_Pierre_Yves_Lambert.pdf |access-date=30 September 2025}}</ref> Schrijver has suggested that the derivation from Latin ''ebur'' ([[ivory]]) instead refers to boar's tusks.<ref name="Schrijver 2015"/> The name was [[Latin]]ized by replacing the Celtic neuter nominative ending ''-on'' by its Latin equivalent ''-um'', a common use noted also in Gaul and Lusitania ([[Ebora Liberalitas Julia]]). Various place names, such as [[Évry, Essonne|Évry]], [[Ivry-sur-Seine|Ivry]], [[Ivrey]], [[Ivory, Jura|Ivory]] and [[Ivrac]] in France would all come from ''*eburacon / *eburiacon''; for example: [[Ivry-la-Bataille]] (Eure, ''Ebriaco'' in 1023–1033), [[Ivry-le-Temple]] (''Evriacum'' in 1199),<ref>{{harvnb|Nègre|1990|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=rsNpi7IVulEC&dq=Ivry+Ernest+N%C3%A8gre&pg=PA213 213]}}</ref> and [[Évry, Essonne|Évry]] (Essonne, ''Everiaco'' in 1158).<ref>{{harvnb|Nègre|1990|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=rsNpi7IVulEC&dq=Evry+Ernest+N%C3%A8gre&pg=PA212 212]}}</ref><ref name="DELAMARRE 159"/>

==Origins==
The [[Roman conquest of Britain]] began in 43&nbsp;AD, but advance beyond the [[Humber]] did not take place until the early 70s&nbsp;AD. This was because the people in the area, known as the [[Brigantes]] by the Romans, became a Roman [[client state]]. When Brigantian leadership changed, becoming more hostile to Rome, Roman general [[Quintus Petillius Cerialis]] led the [[Legio VIIII Hispana|Ninth Legion]] north from [[Lincoln, Lincolnshire|Lincoln]] across the Humber.<ref name=Willis35>{{harvnb|Willis|1988|pp=16–17}}</ref> Eboracum was founded in 71&nbsp;AD when Cerialis and the Ninth Legion constructed a military fortress (''[[castra]]'') on flat ground above the [[River Ouse, Yorkshire|River Ouse]] near its junction with the [[River Foss]]. In the same year, Cerialis was appointed Governor of Britain.<ref name="Hall-27">{{harvnb|Hall|1996|pp=26–28}}</ref>

A legion at full strength at that time numbered some 5,500 men, and provided new trading opportunities for enterprising local people, who doubtless flocked to Eboracum to take advantage of them. As a result, permanent civilian settlement grew up around the fortress especially on its south-east side. Civilians also settled on the opposite side of the Ouse, initially along the main road from Eboracum to the south-west. By the later 2nd&nbsp;century, growth was rapid; streets were laid out, public buildings were erected and private houses spread out over terraces on the steep slopes above the river.

==Military==

From its foundation the [[castra|Roman fort]] of Eboracum was aligned on a north-east/south-east bearing on the north bank of the [[River Ouse, Yorkshire|River Ouse]]. It measured 1,600 × 1,360 [[Ancient Roman units of measurement|''pedes monetales'']] (474 × 403 m)<ref name="Roman York4">{{harvnb|Ottaway|2004|pp=34–37}}</ref> and covered an area of {{convert|50|acre|m2}}.<ref name="Roman York4" /> The standard layout of streets running through the ''[[castra]]'' is assumed, although some evidence exists for the ''[[via praetoria]]'', ''via decumana'' and ''via sagularis''.<ref name="Roman York4" /> Much of the modern understanding of the fortress defences has come from extensive excavations undertaken by [[L. P. Wenham]].<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Wenham | first1 = L. P. | year = 1961 | title = Excavations and discoveries adjoining the south-west wall of the Roman legionary fortress in Feasegate, York, 1955–57 | journal = Yorkshire Archaeological Journal | volume = 40 | pages = 329–50 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Wenham | first1 = L. P. | year = 1962 | title = Excavations and discoveries within the Legionary Fortress in Davygate, York, 1955–58 | journal = Yorkshire Archaeological Journal | volume = 40 | pages = 507–87 }}</ref><ref>Wenham, L. P. 1965 'The South-West defences of the Fortress of Eboracum' in Jarrett, M. G. and Dobson, B. (eds.) ''Britain and Rome''. pp. 1–26</ref>

The layout of the fortress also followed the standard for a legionary fortress, with wooden buildings inside a square defensive boundary.<ref>{{harvnb|Hall|1996|pp=27–28}}</ref> These defences, originally consisting of [[Sod|turf]] [[defensive wall|ramparts]] on a green wood foundation, were built by the [[Ninth Legion]] between 71 and 74&nbsp;AD. Later these were replaced by a clay mound with a turf front on a new oak foundation, and eventually, wooden battlements were added, which were then replaced by [[limestone]] walls and towers.<ref>{{harvnb|Willis|1988|pp=19–22}}</ref> The original wooden camp was refurbished by [[Gnaeus Julius Agricola|Agricola]] in 81, before being completely rebuilt in stone between 107 and 108. The fortress was garrisoned soon afterwards by the [[Legio VI Victrix|Sixth Legion]], possibly as soon as 118.<ref name="EB1911">{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Eburācum|volume=8|page=844|first=Francis John|last=Haverfield|author-link=Francis J. Haverfield|short=y}}</ref>

Multiple phases of restructuring and rebuilding within the fortress are recorded. Rebuilding in stone began in the early second century AD under [[Trajan]], but may have taken as long as the start of the reign of [[Septimius Severus]] to be completed; a period of over 100 years.<ref name="Roman York5">{{harvnb|Ottaway|2004|pp=67–69}}</ref> Estimates suggest that over 48,000 m<sup>3</sup> of stone were required,<ref name="Roman York5"/> largely consisting of [[Magnesian Limestone]] from the quarries near the Roman settlement of [[Calcaria]] ([[Tadcaster]]).<ref>{{PastScape|mnumber=54930 |mname=Calcaria Roman Town |year=2007 |access-date=15 March 2014}}</ref>

==Visiting emperors==
[[File:Constantine Musei Capitolini.jpg|upright|thumb|A bust of [[Constantine I]] from 313 to 324&nbsp;AD; [[Musei Capitolini]], Rome]]
There is evidence that the Emperor [[Hadrian]] visited in 122 on his way north to plan his great walled frontier. He either brought, or sent earlier, the Sixth Legion to replace the existing garrison. Emperor [[Septimius Severus]] visited Eboracum in 208<ref name="Roman York3">{{harvnb|Ottaway|2004|pp=79–81}}</ref> and made it his base for campaigning in [[Caledonia]] (the fortress wall was probably reconstructed during his stay and at the east angle it is possible to see this work standing almost to full height). The Imperial court was based in York until at least 211, when Severus died and was succeeded by his sons, [[Caracalla]] and [[Publius Septimius Geta|Geta]].<ref name="Roman York3" /> A biographer, [[Cassius Dio]], described a scene in which the Emperor utters the final words to his two sons on his death bed: "Agree with each other, make the soldiers rich, and ignore everyone else."<ref>Dio, Cassius. ''Historia Romana'' 76.15.2</ref> Severus was cremated in Eboracum shortly after his death.<ref name="Roman York3" /> Dio described the ceremony: "His body arrayed in military garb was placed upon a pyre, and as a mark of honour the soldiers and his sons ran about it and as for the soldier's gifts, those who had things at hand to offer them put them upon it and his sons applied the fire."<ref name="Roman York3" /> (The location of the cremation was not recorded. A hill to the west of modern York, known as [[Severus Hill]], is associated by some antiquarians as the site where this cremation took place,<ref>{{harvnb|Baines|1823|p=[https://archive.org/details/historydirector02baingoog/page/n34/mode/2up 15]}}</ref>  but no archaeological investigation has corroborated this claim.)

In the later 3rd&nbsp;century, the western Empire experienced political and economic turmoil and Britain was for some time ruled by usurpers independent of Rome. It was after crushing the last of these that Emperor [[Constantius I]] came to Eboracum and, in 306, became the second Emperor to die there. His son [[Constantine I|Constantine]] was instantly proclaimed as successor by the troops based in the fortress. Although it took Constantine eighteen years to become sole ruler of the Empire, he may have retained an interest in Eboracum and the reconstruction of the south-west front of the fortress with polygonally-fronted interval towers and the two great corner towers, one of which (the [[York city walls#Roman walls|Multangular Tower]]) still survives, is probably his work. In the colonia, Constantine's reign was a time of prosperity and a number of extensive stone town houses of the period have been excavated.

==Government==
For the [[Ancient Rome|Romans]], Eboracum was the major military base in the north of Britain and, following the 3rd&nbsp;century division of the province of [[Britannia]], the capital of northern Britain, [[Britannia Inferior]]. By 237 Eboracum had been made a [[Colonia (Roman)|colonia]], the highest legal status a Roman city could attain; there were only four coloniae in Britain, and all but Eboracum had been founded for retired soldiers.<ref name="Hall 31">{{harvnb|Hall|1996| p=31}}</ref>  This mark of Imperial favour was probably a recognition of Eboracum as the largest town in the north and the capital of Britannia Inferior. At around the same time Eboracum became self-governing, with a council made up of rich locals, including merchants and veteran soldiers.<ref>{{harvnb|Hartley|1985|p=12}}</ref> In 296 Britannia Inferior was divided into two provinces of equal status with Eboracum becoming the provincial capital of [[Britannia Secunda]].

==Culture==
[[File:Statue of Mars (full length) YORYM 1998 26-1.jpg|thumb|upright|right|[[Statue of Mars, York|Statue of Mars]] from [[Blossom Street]] in York]]
As a busy [[port]] and a provincial capital Eboracum was a [[Multicultural|cosmopolitan]] city with residents from throughout the [[Roman Empire]].<ref>{{harvnb|Hartley|1985|p=14}}</ref>

===Diet===
Substantial evidence for the use of cereal crops and animal husbandry can be found in ''Eboracum''.<ref name=RomanYorkshire1>{{harvnb|Ottaway|2013|pp=137–140}}</ref> A first-century warehouse fire from [[Coney Street]], on the North bank of the [[River Ouse, Yorkshire|Ouse]] and outside the fortress, showed that [[spelt]] wheat was the most common cereal grain used at that time, followed by barley.<ref name=RomanYorkshire1 /> Cattle, sheep, goats and pigs were the major sources of meat.<ref name=RomanYorkshire1 /> Hunting scenes, as shown through Romano-British "hunt cups",<ref name=FortressPottery>Monaghan, J. 1993. ''Roman Pottery from the Fortress'' (Archaeology of York 16/7). York: York Archaeological Trust</ref> suggest hunting was a popular pastime and that diet would be supplemented through the hunting of hare, deer and boar. A variety of food preparation vessels ([[mortarium|mortaria]]) have been excavated from the city<ref name=FortressPottery /> and large millstones used in the processing of cereals have been found in rural sites outside the colonia at [[Heslington]] and [[Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire|Stamford Bridge]].<ref name=RomanYorkshire1 />

In terms of the ceremonial use of food; dining scenes are used on [[stele|tombstones]] to represent an aspirational image of the deceased in the afterlife, reclining on a couch and being served food and wine.<ref name=DiningStele>{{cite journal | last1 = Stewart | first1 = P | year = 2009 | title = ''Totenmahl'' reliefs in the northern provinces: a case-study in imperial sculpture | journal = Journal of Roman Archaeology | volume = 22 | pages = 253–274 | doi=10.1017/s1047759400020699| s2cid = 160765733 }}</ref> The tombstones of Julia Velva, Mantinia Maercia and Aelia Aeliana each depict a dining scene.<ref name=DiningStele /> Additionally, several inhumation burials from Trentholme Drive contained hen's eggs placed in ceramic urns as grave goods for the deceased.<ref>{{harvnb|RCHME|1962|p=106}}</ref>

===Religion===
[[File:Plaque with Mithraic scene YORYM 2007 6125.jpg|thumb|left|Mithraic [[tauroctony]] scene from [[Micklegate]], evidence of the cult of [[Mithras]] in Eboracum.]]
A range of evidence of [[Religion in ancient Rome|Roman religious beliefs]] among the people of Eboracum have been found including [[altar]]s to [[Mars (mythology)|Mars]], [[Hercules]], [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]] and [[Fortuna|Fortune]].  In terms of number of references, the most popular [[deities]] were the spiritual representation ([[Genius (mythology)|''genius'']]) of Eboracum and the [[Mother Goddess]].<ref>{{harvnb|RCHME|1962|p=118a}}</ref> There is also evidence of local and regional deities. Evidence showing the worship of eastern deities has also been found during excavations in York. For example, evidence of the [[Mithras]] cult, which was popular among the military, has been found including a sculpture showing Mithras slaying a bull and a dedication to [[Arimanius]], the god of evil in the Mithraic tradition.<ref>{{harvnb|Hall|1996|pp=97-101}}</ref> The Mithraic relief located in Micklegate<ref>{{harvnb|RCHME|1962|p=55}}</ref> suggests the location of a temple to Mithras right in the heart of the [[Colonia (Roman)|Colonia]].<ref>{{harvnb|Ottaway|2004|pp=114–115}}</ref> Another example is the dedication of a temple to [[Serapis]] a [[Hellenistic]]-[[Ancient Egypt|Egyptian]] God by the Commander of the [[Legio VI Victrix|Sixth Legion]], [[Claudius Hieronymianus]].<ref>{{harvnb|Hartley|1985|p=25}}</ref> Other known deities from the city include: [[Tethys (mythology)|Tethys]],<ref name="RCHME 1962">{{harvnb|RCHME|1962|pp=113a–b}}</ref> [[Veteris]],<ref name="RCHME 1962"/> [[Venus (mythology)|Venus]],<ref>{{harvnb|RCHME|1962|p=120b}}</ref> [[Silvanus (mythology)|Silvanus]],<ref>{{harvnb|RCHME|1962|p=116a}}</ref> [[Toutatis]], Chnoubis and the Imperial ''[[Numen]]''.

There was also a [[Christians|Christian]] community in Eboracum although it is unknown when this was first formed and in archaeological terms there is virtually no record of it. The first evidence of this community is a document noting the attendance of Bishop [[Eborius]] of Eboracum at the [[Council of Arles (314)]].<ref>{{harvnb|Hall|1996|pp=97–101}}</ref> The [[Episcopal see]] at Eboracum was called ''Eboracensis'' in Latin and Bishops from the See also attended the [[First Council of Nicaea]] in 325, the [[Council of Serdica]], and the [[Council of Ariminum]].<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15733b.htm |title =  ''Ancient See of York'' |publisher = New Advent |year = 2007 |access-date= 25 October 2007}}</ref> The name is preserved in the abbreviated form ''Ebor'' as the official name of the [[archbishop of York]].<ref name="EB1911"/>

===Death and burial===
[[File:Yorkshire Museum, York (Eboracum) (7685591950).jpg|thumb|left|Sarcophagus of Julia Fortunata, found in 1887; now in the [[Yorkshire Museum]]]]
The cemeteries of Roman York follow the major [[Roman roads in Britain|Roman roads]] out of the settlement; excavations in the Castle Yard (next to [[Clifford's Tower]]), beneath the [[York railway station|railway station]], at Trentholme Drive and the Mount<ref name="textile"/> have located significant evidence of human remains using both [[inhumation]] and [[cremation]] burial rites. The cemetery beneath the [[York railway station|railway station]] was subject to excavations in advance of railway works of 1839–41, 1845, and 1870–7.<ref>{{harvnb|RCHME|1962|pp=76–80}}</ref> Several [[sarcophagi]] were unearthed during this phase of excavations including those of Flavius Bellator<ref name=RIB674>{{harvnb|Collingwood|1965|p=Ref:674}}</ref> and Julia Fortunata.<ref name=RIB687>{{harvnb|Collingwood|1965|p=Ref:687}}</ref> Inhumation burial in sarcophagi can often include the body being encased in [[gypsum]] and then in a [[lead]] [[coffin]]. Variations on this combination exist.  The gypsum casts, when found undisturbed, frequently retain a cast impression of the deceased in a textile shroud<ref name=textile>{{harvnb|RCHME|1962|p=67}}</ref> – surviving examples of both adults and children show a selection of textiles used to wrap the body before interment, but usually plain woven cloth.<ref name=textile /> The high number of sarcophagi from Eboracum has provided a large number of these casts, in some cases with cloth surviving adhered to the gypsum.<ref name=textile /> Two gypsum burials at York have shown evidence for [[frankincense]] and another clear markers of Pistacia spp. (mastic) resin used as part of the funerary rite.<ref name=GypsumBurials>{{cite journal |author=Brettell, R. C. |date=2014 |title="Choicest Unguents": molecular evidence for the use of resinous plant exudates in late roman mortuary rite in Britain |journal=Journal of Archaeological Science |doi=10.1016/j.jas.2014.11.006 |volume=53 |pages=639–648|doi-access=free |hdl=10454/8763 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> These resins had been traded to Eboracum from the Mediterranean and eastern [[Africa]], or southern Arabia, the latter known as the "Frankincense Kingdom" in antiquity<ref>{{harvnb|Groom|1981}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=April 2020}} This is the northernmost confirmed use of aromatic resins in mortuary contexts during the Roman period.<ref name=GypsumBurials />

An excavation in advance of building work underneath the [[Yorkshire Museum]] in 2010 located a male skeleton with significant [[pathology]] to suggest that he may have died as a [[gladiator]] in Eboracum.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/12/2010/murder-beneath-the-york-museum-may-reveal-location-of-amphitheatre |title=Roman Gladiator Beneath Yorkshire Museum |author=Past Horizons |date=9 December 2010 |access-date=6 November 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140405084647/http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/12/2010/murder-beneath-the-york-museum-may-reveal-location-of-amphitheatre |archive-date=5 April 2014 |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/8731223.roman-gladiator-skeleton-found-beneath-yorkshire-museum/|title=Roman gladiator skeleton found beneath Yorkshire Museum|work=[[The Press (York)|York Press]]|date=10 December 2010|access-date=27 April 2020}}</ref>

==Economy==
The [[military]] presence at Eboracum was the driving force behind early developments in its [[economy]]. In these early stages, Eboracum operated as a [[command economy]] with [[workshop]]s growing up outside the fortress to supply the needs of the 5,000 troops [[garrison]]ed there. Production included military pottery until the mid-3rd&nbsp;century, military tile [[kilns]] have been found in the [[Aldwark (York)|Aldwark]]-[[Peasholme Green]] area, glassworking at [[Coppergate]], metalworks and leatherworks producing military equipment in [[Tanner Row]].<ref name="Hall 31"/>

In the [[Roman Britain|Roman]] period, Eboracum was the major manufacturing centre for [[Whitby]] [[Jet (lignite)|Jet]]. Known as ''gagates'' in Latin, it was used from the early 3rd&nbsp;century as material for jewellery<ref name="Jet1">{{harvnb|Allason-Jones|1996}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=April 2020}} and was exported from here throughout Britain and into Europe.<ref name="Roman York1">{{harvnb|Ottaway|2004|p=107}}</ref> Examples found in York take the form of rings, bracelets, necklaces, and pendants depicting married couples and the [[Medusa]].<ref name="Jet1" /> There are fewer than 25 jet pendants in the Roman world,<ref name="Jet2">{{harvnb|Allason-Jones|1996|p=25}}</ref> of which six are known from Eboracum. These are housed in the [[Yorkshire Museum]].

===Roads===
[[File:Yorkshire Museum - skeleton of a wealthy woman 1.jpg|thumb|During construction of the York to [[Scarborough Railway Bridge]] in 1901, workmen discovered a large stone coffin, close to the [[River Ouse, Yorkshire|River Ouse]]. Inside was a [[Human skeleton|skeleton]], accompanied by an array of unusual and expensive objects. This chance find represents one of the most significant discoveries ever made from Roman York.]]

The true paths of all original [[Roman roads in Britain|Roman roads]] leading out of Eboracum are not known,<ref name="RCHME Eboracum1">{{harvnb|RCHME|1962|pp=1–4}}</ref> although eleven have been suggested.<ref name="RCHME Eboracum1" /> The known roads include [[Dere Street]] leading North-West from the city through [[Clifton, York|Clifton]] towards the site of ''Cataractonium'' (modern [[Catterick, North Yorkshire|Catterick]]), [[Cade's Road]] Towards ''Petuaria'' (modern [[Brough, East Riding of Yorkshire|Brough]]), and [[Ermine Street]] towards ''Lindum'' (modern [[Lincoln, England|Lincoln]]).<ref name="RCHME Eboracum1" /> A road bypassing the south wall of the fortress, between the fortress and the [[River Ouse, Yorkshire|River Ouse]] has not been formally planned, although its path is conjectured to run beneath the [[York Museum Gardens]].<ref name="RCHME Eboracum1" />

===Rivers===
The [[River Ouse, Yorkshire|River Ouse]] and [[River Foss]] provided important access points for the importation of heavy goods. The existence of two possible wharves on the east bank of the River Foss<ref name="RCHME Eboracum2">{{harvnb|RCHME|1962|pp=64–65}}</ref> support this idea. A large deposit of grain, in a timber structure beneath modern-day Coney Street, on the north-east bank of the River Ouse<ref name="Roman York2">{{harvnb|Ottaway|2004|p=54}}</ref> suggests the existence of storehouses for moving goods via the river.

==Late Roman York==
The [[End of Roman rule in Britain|decline]] of Roman Britain in early fifth century AD led to significant social and economic changes all over Britain. Whilst the latest datable inscription referencing ''Eboracum'' dates from 237 AD, the continuation of the settlement after this time is certain.<ref name=RomanYork5>{{harvnb|Ottaway|2004|pp=140–150}}</ref> Building work in the city continued in the fourth century under [[Constantine the Great|Constantine]] and later [[Count Theodosius]].<ref name=RomanYork5 /> The locally produced [[Crambeck Ware]] pottery<ref>{{cite web |url=http://potsherd.net/atlas/Ware/CRAM |author=Potsherd |title=Crambeck Ware Pottery |year=1996 |access-date=13 December 2013}}</ref> arrived in ''Eboracum'' in the fourth century—the most famous form being intricately decorated buff-yellow "parchment ware" painted with bright shades of red. The effect of [[Constantine the Great|Constantine]]'s religious policy allowed the greater development of [[Christianity]] in [[Roman Britain]]—a bishop of York named "Eborius" is attested here and several artifacts decorated with [[Chi Rho|chi-rho]] symbols are known.<ref name=RomanYork5 /> Additionally, a small bone plaque from an inhumation grave bore the phrase {{lang|la|SOROR AVE VIVAS IN DEO}} ("Hail sister may you live in God").<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.yorkshiremuseum.org.uk/Page/ViewCollection.aspx?CollectionId=26 |author=York Museums Trust |title=Ivory Bangle Lady |year=2006 |access-date=13 December 2013 |archive-date=13 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213172435/http://www.yorkshiremuseum.org.uk/Page/ViewCollection.aspx?CollectionId=26 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Changes in the layout of both the fort and ''colonia'' occurred in the late fourth century AD, suggested as representing a social change in the domestic lives of the military garrison here whereby they might have lived in smaller family groups with wives, children or other civilians.<ref name=RomanYork5 />

==Rediscovery of Roman York==
The rediscovery and modern understanding of Eboracum began in the 17th&nbsp;century. Several prominent figures have been involved in this process. [[Martin Lister]] was the first to recognise that the [[York city walls#Roman walls|Multangular Tower]] was Roman in date in a 1683 paper with the [[Royal Society]].<ref>Lidster, M. 1683. 'Some Observations upon the Ruins of a Roman Wall and Multangular-Tower at York'. ''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society'' Vol 13. pp. 238–242.</ref> [[John Horsley (antiquarian)|John Horsley]]'s 1732 {{lang|la|Britannia Romana}}, or "The Roman Antiquities of Britain", included a chapter on Roman York and at least partly informed [[Francis Drake (antiquary)|Francis Drake]]'s 1736 ''Eboracum''<ref name="RCHME Eboracum3">{{harvnb|RCHME|1962|pp=xxxix–xli}}</ref>—the first book of its kind on Roman York. Drake also published accounts in the ''Philosophical Transactions'' of the [[Royal Society]].<ref name="RCHME Eboracum2" />

The Rev. [[Charles Wellbeloved]] was one of the founders of the [[Yorkshire Philosophical Society]] and a curator of the antiquities in the [[Yorkshire Museum]] until his death in 1858. He published a systematic account of Roman York titled ''Eboracum or York under the Romans'' in 1842,<ref name="RCHME Eboracum2" /> including first hand records of discoveries during excavations in 1835.<ref name="RCHME Eboracum2" /> [[William Hargrove]] brought many new discoveries to the attention of the public through published articles in his newspaper the ''Herald'' and the ''Courant''<ref name="RCHME Eboracum2" /> and published a series of guides with references to casual finds.{{fact|date=April 2025}}

The first large-scale excavations were undertaken by S. Miller from [[Glasgow University]] in the 1920s<ref name="RCHME Eboracum2" /> with a focus on the defences.

==Archaeological remains==
Substantial physical remains have been excavated in York in the last two centuries<ref>{{harvnb|RCHME|1962|pp=xvii-xix}}</ref> including the [[York city walls|city walls]], the legionary bath-house and headquarters building, civilian houses, workshops, storehouses and cemeteries.

===Visible remains===
*Remains of the Roman [[Basilica]] building, at the north side of the Principia are visible in the [[undercroft]] of [[York Minster]]. A column found during excavations and a modern statue of [[Constantine the Great]] are located outside.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Thomas, Brittany |date=2016 |title=Imperial Statues and Public Spaces in Late Antiquity: Conceptualising 'Constantine' at York as an Ancient Public Commission |editor1=Mandichs, M. J. |editor2=Derrick, T. J. |editor3=Gonzalez Sanchez, S. |editor4=Savani, G. |editor5=Zampieri, E. |department=Proceedings of the Twenty-Fifth Annual Theoretical Roman Archaeology Conference |journal=Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal |issue=2015 |publisher=[[Theoretical Roman Archaeology Conference]] |pages=177&ndash;187 |doi=10.16995/TRAC2015_177_187 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
*The multangular tower of [[York city walls]] is a multi-period structure based on the south-west corner tower of the Roman Legionary Fortress. It is within the [[York Museum Gardens]].
*The [[Roman Bath, York|Roman Bath]] pub and museum ([[St Sampson's Square]]) displays remains of the military bath-house.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.visityork.org/York-Roman-Bath-Public-House/details/?dms=13&venue=1500315 | title=Roman Bath Museum | year=2013 | access-date=31 October 2013 | archive-date=4 November 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104092911/http://www.visityork.org/York-Roman-Bath-Public-House/details/?dms=13&venue=1500315 | url-status=dead }}</ref>
*A fragment of foundations of the western curtain wall is visible through a glass floor in a cafe near [[York city walls#Bars|Bootham bar]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/13410255.Roman_remains_hidden_for_the_past_105_years_are_revealed_again__as_works_nears_completion_on_new_cafe_in_York/ |author1=Laycock, M. |title=Roman remains hidden for the past 105 years are revealed again, as works nears completion on new cafe in York |date=13 July 2015 |publisher=[[York Press]] |access-date=2018-01-18}}</ref>
*A large number of Roman finds are now housed in the [[Yorkshire Museum]].<ref name="YORKMUS">{{cite web |title=Collections Highlights: Archaeology |publisher=York Museums Trust |year=2018 |url=https://www.yorkshiremuseum.org.uk/collections/collections-highlights/archaeology/| access-date=18 January 2018 }}</ref> The [[York Museum Gardens]] have Roman [[Sarcophagus|sarcophagi]] on open display.{{fact|date=April 2025}}

== See also ==
*[[History of York]]
*[[Roman Britain]]
*[[Seal of New York City]] which is inscribed ''{{Lang|la|Sigillum Civitatis Novi Eboraci}}''

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book|last=Allason-Jones|first=Lindsay|year=1996|title=Roman Jet in the Yorkshire Museum|location=York|publisher=Yorkshire Museum|isbn=9780905807171}}
*{{cite book|editor-last=Baines|editor-first=Edward|editor-link=Edward Baines (1774–1848)|year=1823|title= History, directory & gazetteer, of the county of York, Vol. II|location=Leeds|publisher=Leeds Mercury Office|url=https://archive.org/details/historydirector02baingoog|via=archive.org|access-date=15 January 2018}}
*{{cite book|editor-last=Collingwood|editor-first=R. G.|editor-link=R. G. Collingwood|year=1965|title=Roman Inscriptions of Britain, Vol I|location=Oxford|publisher=Clarendon Press}}
*{{cite book|last=Drake|first=Francis|author-link=Francis Drake (antiquary)|year=1736|title=Eboracum or the History and Antiquities of the City of York|url=https://archive.org/details/gri_33125011569627/page/n6/mode/2up|lccn=03016196}}
*{{cite book|last=Groom|first=N.|year=1981|title=Frankincense and Myrrh: a Study of the Arabian Incense Trade|publisher=Longman|isbn=9780582764767}}
*{{cite book|last=Hall|first=Richard|title=English Heritage: Book of York|orig-year=1996|edition=1st |year=1996|publisher=[[B.T.Batsford Ltd]]|isbn=0-7134-7720-2}}
*{{cite book|last=Hartley|first=Elizabeth|year=1985|title=Roman Life at the Yorkshire Museum|publisher=The Yorkshire Museum|isbn=0-905807-02-2}}
*{{cite book|last=Nègre|first=Ernest|year=1990|title=Toponymie générale de la France|language=fr|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rsNpi7IVulEC|publisher=Librairie Droz|isbn=9782600028837}}
*{{cite book |last=Ottaway |first=Patrick |author-link=Patrick Ottaway |year=2013 |title=Roman Yorkshire: People, Culture and Landscape |location=Pickering |publisher=Blackthorn Press |isbn=9781906259334}}
*{{cite book|last=Ottaway|first=Patrick|year=2004|title=Roman York|publisher=Tempus|location=Stroud|isbn=0-7524-2916-7}}
*{{cite book|author=RCHME|author-link=Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England|year=1962|title=An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in City of York, Volume 1, Eburacum, Roman York (Royal Commission on Historical Monuments England)|url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/rchme/york/vol1|via=British History Online}}
*Wellbeloved, c. 1852 (1st edition). ''A descriptive account of the antiquities in the grounds and in the Museum of the Yorkshire Philosophical Society''
*{{cite book|last=Willis|first=Ronald|year=1988|title=The illustrated portrait of York|edition=4th|publisher=Robert Hale Limited|isbn = 0-7090-3468-7}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Eboracum}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071012221218/http://www.arch.wyjs.org.uk/AdvSrv/indexRoman.asp?pg=Romanweb%2FIntroduction.html The Romans in West Yorkshire]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20131020154947/http://www.yorkshiremuseum.org.uk/Page/Index.aspx Roman collections in the Yorkshire Museum]
*[https://archive.today/20130705182420/http://www.yorkminster.org/home.html York Minster Undercroft]
*[http://www.visityork.org/York-Roman-Bath-Public-House/details/?dms=13&venue=1500315 Roman Bath Museum] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104092911/http://www.visityork.org/York-Roman-Bath-Public-House/details/?dms=13&venue=1500315 |date=4 November 2013 }}

{{Major towns of Roman Britain}}
{{Roman visitor sites in the UK}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:History of North Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Roman fortifications in England]]
[[Category:Roman towns and cities in England]]
[[Category:History of York]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in North Yorkshire]]
[[Category:70s establishments in the Roman Empire]]
[[Category:1st-century establishments in Roman Britain]]
[[Category:Roman sites in North Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Ancient Roman baths in England]]
[[Category:Roman legionary fortresses in England]]
[[Category:Coloniae (Roman)]]