Roall is a Roman auxiliary fort identified through aerial photography as cropmarks on the low-lying ground near the confluence of the Aire and the Went, in the parish of Kellington (Selby district, North Yorkshire). The site lies on the projected line of the Roman road running north from Doncaster (Danum) towards Castleford (Lagentium) and York (Eboracum), and most likely belongs to the late 1st-century Flavian phase of military consolidation in northern Britain, though a continued or intermittent occupation into the 2nd century is plausible by analogy with comparable forts in the region.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
Its position helps fill a gap in the spacing of garrisons between Doncaster and Castleford, suggesting a role in policing the road, river crossings, and the marshy lowlands at the southern edge of the Vale of York during the early phases of Roman control over the Brigantes. The site contributes to our understanding of the dense network of auxiliary installations supporting the conquest and supply of the north.
The fort is known almost entirely from cropmark evidence showing the characteristic playing-card outline with ditches and probable internal features; there has been no significant published excavation, and finds, garrison identity, and precise chronology remain undetermined. Its identification rests on morphological comparison with securely dated auxiliary forts elsewhere in Yorkshire.
Roall is a Roman auxiliary fort identified through aerial photography as cropmarks on the low-lying ground near the confluence of the Aire and the Went, in the parish of Kellington (Selby district, North Yorkshire). It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a fort site from the Roman period in Britain.
Roall auxiliary fort is classified as a Roman fort — a military site in the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer. Roman Britain's archaeology encompasses thousands of sites ranging from legionary fortresses and marching camps to villas, temples and towns.
Several Roman sites lie within a short distance, including Roman Fort and Associated Features 150m South-West of Standing Flat Bridge (12.5 km), Roman Bath House, Castleford (13.7 km), Lagentium (13.8 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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