Wakefield Museums and Castles

In the 1960s there was significant redevelopment work in the town. This led to the discovery of many more Roman objects.

Finds made during work to build a new bus station and bowling alley prompted a new interest in Castleford’s Roman heritage. The first systematic excavations took place. Initially, these were mainly carried out by amateur archaeologists such as the Castleford and District Historical Society.

In the late 1970s, their valuable work was continued by full-time archaeologists from the West Yorkshire Archaeological Unit. 

Volunteers excavating in Castleford

The excavations from the 1960s revealed the remains of Roman buildings and structures. They uncovered many Roman items and thousands of further fragments of objects. These allowed experts to piece together a plan of what Roman Castleford had looked like. They started to build a picture of what life was like at the time.

The finds revealed the existence of two forts and a nearby town.

The finds were donated to the museum collection to be preserved. Many are on display today at Castleford Museum. They allow us to tell the story of life in Lagentium.

The first fort, AD 71 - 86

The exact footprint of the first fort is still unknown. However, excavations have uncovered the remains of several buildings from inside the fort’s defences. Leather fragments were discovered, believed to be from soldiers’ tents. This suggests that the first Romans in Castleford didn’t have permanent sleeping areas.

There is evidence in the form of foundations and post-holes to suggest that the army did go on to construct barracks and other timber buildings. These include a granary to store the vital supplies of grain needed to feed the troops.

Archaeologists excavating near Back Bank Street discovered a large building. It is believed to be at the centre of the fort. It had several rooms arranged around a central courtyard. A building of this size in a key location could have been the army’s local headquarters. However, there was a mix of military and domestic items found at the site. Therefore, this suggests it was more likely the house of an army commander.

Foundation trenches for the timber walls of the house

A load of old rubbish?

We owe lots of what we have learned about the first fort at Lagentium to a rubbish dump!

Near to Church Street, a pile of Roman waste had been preserved due to waterlogging. Normally, organic material would have rotted away. But here, archaeologists found leather remains.

They included these remarkably well-preserved shoes.

Ancient Roman leather shoe found near Church Street, Castleford

There were a lot of leather offcuts discovered here, along with metal scraps. This suggests it may have been the site of an army workshop, or 'fabrica'.

The many other finds also provide an invaluable insight into life in the fort. There is evidence also of medical provision, army administration and soldiers’ leisure time.

A scoop or probe, possibly used in the fort's hospital

The second fort, c. AD 86

The first Lagentium fort was eventually demolished. The ground at the site was levelled in preparation to build a new set of defences.

Archaeologists have been able to identify the size, layout and location of the second fort at Lagentium. Their excavations in the 1980s uncovered evidence of the fort’s defences. This included ditches, ramparts, a gate and parts of the Roman road network. From this they have worked out that the fort stretched 8.4 acres. It reached from Back Bank Street in the north to Carlton Street in the south, and from Bradley Street in the east to Church Street in the west.

Within these defences, they have identified the site of barrack blocks, warehouses and stables.

Artist's impression of how the gate and defences might have looked

The excavations revealed the existence of many timber buildings. They also showed signs of a move within the second fort to more substantial structures. These had stone foundations and tile roofs. There was even a large granary with stone walls.

Archaeologists studied the pattern of post-holes for the timber uprights.

Excavating the vicus

Archaeological excavations have also revealed the existence of a nearby civilian town, or 'vicus'. The town would have provided the soldiers of the army garrison with goods and leisure services. Over time, it grew into a significant trading centre. It was an important staging post on the Roman Empire’s message network.

It seems to have been ideally located for this, focused mainly on the road leading to the River Aire crossing point.

Plan showing the vicus to the south west of the fort on the Roman road

Life of luxury

There is evidence of significant redevelopment work in the vicus following the army’s eventual exit from the fort. The original timber buildings were replaced with larger premises and sometimes stone structures. Archaeologists have been able to identify gravel pathways that linked the buildings to each other and to the main road. They have even uncovered rut marks from the cartwheels that travelled over them.

Unlike other Roman settlements, Lagentium continued to develop after the garrison left. It thrived as a manufacturing and commercial centre in the early 100s AD. Excavations of the vicus produced large quantities of luxury items. The finely crafted jewellery and metalwork was to a high standard. There was also imported glassware, kitchenware and tableware. This paints a picture of a civilised population that had embraced Roman lifestyles.

Many fragments of vessels known as amphorae were also discovered. This tells us that the townspeople were enjoying food and drink from the continent. Amphorae would have been used to import fish sauce and olive oil from Spain and wine from France.

An example of an ancient Roman amphora

It is also clear that Castleford had extensive trading links. Over 700 fragments of samian ware were found in a single location. Samian ware is a type of shiny red glazed crockery from France. The sheer size of this find makes it one of the most important discoveries of samian ware in Britain.

It suggests that the excavated building was most probably a shop or warehouse. From here, the surrounding area bought its sophisticated tableware for impressing dinner guests at special occasions.