Wakefield Museums and Castles

This piece of tile was part of a much larger roof tile. It is stamped with the letters ‘C IIII G’. This is the mark of the Roman army unit that made it.

It was standard practice for the units of the Roman army to build their own forts. They usually marked their work with stamps and inscriptions. This means that we know which army unit built and was stationed in the fort at Castleford. 

The C IIII G stands for the Fourth Cohort of Gauls. They were a unit of 480 infantry and 120 cavalry.

They were auxiliaries, meaning the soldiers were not Roman citizens but were free men from territories ruled by Rome. After serving in the army for 25 years, they became Roman citizens and could leave the army. Becoming a citizen meant they got better legal and tax rights. 

The Fourth Cohort was originally recruited in what is now northern France from the tribes of Gaul conquered by Julius Caesar. Auxiliaries were usually posted away from home. This was to stop them from becoming part of local rebellions. Over time, they began recruiting wherever they were based and lost the link with their homeland.

The troops who built Castleford were probably from tribes in southern Britain.