This scheduled monument preserves a section of Rykneld Street, one of the principal Roman roads of the Midlands, together with a Bronze Age barrow cemetery at Littleover, south-west of Derby. Rykneld Street ran from the Fosse Way near Wall (Letocetum) northward through Derby (Derventio) toward York (Eburacum), forming a critical military and economic artery. The road's agger (raised embankment) is visible in places, demonstrating the engineering investment the Romans made in their communication network.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
Rykneld Street was the strategic backbone of Roman communication in the central Midlands, linking the legionary fortress at York with the southern road network and allowing rapid movement of troops, supplies, and official communications. Its passage through Derby confirms the town's importance as a node on this arterial route. The coincidence of the road with a pre-existing Bronze Age burial landscape reflects a common Roman practice of routing roads through existing landmark zones.
The road surface and agger have been investigated at several points, revealing metalled carriageway, drainage ditches, and evidence of multiple resurfacing phases. The Bronze Age barrows associated with the monument predate the road by over a millennium but were incorporated into the wider scheduled area given their vulnerability and their relationship to the Roman landscape. Finds from the road corridor include coins, pottery, and structural debris.
This scheduled monument preserves a section of Rykneld Street, one of the principal Roman roads of the Midlands, together with a Bronze Age barrow cemetery at Littleover, south-west of Derby. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a cemetery site from the Roman period in Britain.
Section of Rykneld Street Roman road and remains of Bronze Age cemetery at Littleover is classified as a Roman cemetery — 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 Strutt's Park Roman fort (4.1 km), Roman bath house at Parker's Piece (4.2 km), Littlechester Roman site (4.4 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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Research the area around Section of Rykneld Street Roman road and remains of Bronze Age cemetery at Littleover