The colonia at York (Eburacum) was the civilian settlement that developed on the southwest bank of the Ouse, opposite the legionary fortress of the VI Victrix. Originating as a canabae and trading settlement in the late 1st century, it was elevated to colonia status probably under Caracalla c. AD 211–217, and remained an important urban centre until the early 5th century. At its height it covered around 30–40 hectares and was enclosed by a defensive wall with riverside frontage, including substantial public buildings, warehouses, and quayside infrastructure.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
As one of only four known coloniae in Britain (with Colchester, Lincoln, and Gloucester), and the residence of the governor of Britannia Inferior after the Severan division of the province, Eburacum was the principal administrative and economic centre of northern Britain. It hosted imperial visits by Septimius Severus (who died there in 211) and Constantius I (who died there in 306, where his son Constantine was proclaimed emperor).
Excavations, particularly at Wellington Row, Tanner Row, and Bishophill, have revealed substantial stone townhouses with mosaics and painted plaster, a colonnaded main road, riverside warehousing, and a possible public bath complex, alongside extensive cemeteries on the approach roads yielding sarcophagi and notable tombstones (e.g. that of Julia Velva and the Ivory Bangle L
The colonia at York (Eburacum) was the civilian settlement that developed on the southwest bank of the Ouse, opposite the legionary fortress of the VI Victrix. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a settlement site from the Roman period in Britain.
Roman colonia at York is classified as a Roman settlement — a civilian 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 Eburacum (0.4 km), Multangular Tower (0.6 km), York Castle: motte and bailey castle, tower keep castle (including Clifford's Tower), and site of part of Romano-British fort-vicus and Anglian cemetery (0.6 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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