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Description: | 54186
Caistor was the most important Roman settlement in the northern part of the Wolds, situated close to their western scarp and dominating the Ancholme valley. {15}
The interior of a small fourth century defended town. Little is known of the site and nothing has been discovered to throw any light on interior buildings. The wall line of the Roman town follows the configuration of the ground, forming an irregular polygon 160m by 255m. Within this area about two thirds is ground which has not been built on and forms gardens or allotments and suchlike open space. The scheduling of the town excludes all permanent buildings. {1}
Finds include 1st to 5th century coins, mostly late 4th century pottery and a remarkable lead casket inscribed 'cvnobarrvs fecit vivas' in three pieces, part of which is now in the British Museum and another part of which is in Lincoln museum. {2}
Various excavations have revealed parts of the town wall. {7}
An excavation was carried out in 1963 in the garden of the Grimsby Cooperative Society. An undated structure was revealed, which may relate to the Roman town. {14}
An archaeological evaluation in the rear garden of the former British Legion club, Bank Lane during 1996 (TA 1176 0132) found some hint of Roman occupation. There was one archaeological feature containing two sherds of Roman pottery and an additional 26 sherds of residual pot was found. The pottery appears to date from the third to the fourth century AD which would equate with Caistor's Roman wall defences believed to have been constructed in the fourth century. {9}{10}
The scheduling record mentions various parts of the scheduled area. Part A consists of the grounds of Caistor Grammar School but excludes the extant building although it includes the area where pre-fabricated classrooms have stood. Part B is the entrance and cemetery (now disused) of Caistor Congregation Chapel (also now derelict). Parts C, D, E and F are gardens belonging to houses in Church Street. The remains of the north bastion attached to the wall of Caistor is visible in the lowest courses of an outhouse behind the houses in Chapel Street. Parts H, I, J and K are gardens belonging to houses in Castle Hill. Parts M, N, O, P, Q, R, S and T are also gardens. Open garage space and back court yards of buildings fronting on the Market Place roughly follow the line of the Roman wall. {11}
Excavations of the foundation trench for the new west gable at Caistor Grammar School at TA 1164 0132 revealed wall running north-north-west to south-south-east which contained fourth century Roman pottery. A layer, possibly the remains of the Roman ground surface was the last deposit excavated. {12}{13}
It was suggested, by the late Ian S. Davies, that Caistor was the site of first century military occupation and a second century Roman fortress. The evidence for this did not convince professional archaeologists and this hypothesis together with other theories Mr Davies had on the Roman landscape around Caistor have not been generally accepted. A copy of Mr I. Davies's work is available at the offices of the Historic Environment Record. {16} | Subjects: | General Archaeology | Temporal: | 200 - 399 | Source: | Lincolnshire County Council | Identifier: | http://www.lincstothepast.com/Records/Re... | Go to resource |
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