As part of my ongoing mini-series on the towns of Roman Britain, I will focus in this column on Roman Lincoln (Lindum), which was founded as a legionary fortress during the reign of Nero (AD 54-68), and subsequently developed into a colonia (a settlement for retired soldiers) after AD 86 during the reign of Domitian (AD 81-96). As CA 421 comments: ‘For those of us who know the city today, it is hard to imagine a time when Lincoln was not thought of as an outstanding destination for heritage tourism’. The pages of Current Archaeology across the decades, however, reveal a hard-fought battle for its rich archaeological heritage.
King of the Castle
Unusually for my column, I will start in this instance at the most recent mention of Roman Lincoln and then work backwards chronologically through past coverage in the magazine. CA 421 (April 2025) reported on Michael J Jones’ wonderful book about his 40-plus year career exploring the city’s archaeology, and I urge all readers interested not just in Lincoln, but in the history of our discipline, to read his book. It is a fascinating insight into the ups-and-downs of 20th-century fieldwork, and a paean to the benefits of long-term investment in places and people. As a starting point of any desk-bound exploration of a city, I cannot think of better.
Moving backwards in time from there, CA 317 (August 2016) explored the area around Lincoln Castle to understand its story at a time of redevelopment to improve visitor facilities. Current Archaeology’s editor Carly dived into the medieval (especially 11th- to 12th-century) layers, but also delved deeper into this corner of Lincoln’s history, examining a row of 3rd- to 4th-century terraced houses, likely to have been the homes of traders to the settlement’s elite, which sat alongside a single higher-status family home. All of this was excavated by a joint commercial/volunteer team, working together in the best traditions of Lincoln’s archaeological community.
