ULAS
University of Leicester Archaeological Services

Cumberland St

New Evidence for the Northern Town Defences of Leicester

Work at Cumberland Street, Leicester, during 1997 revealed evidence for the Roman town wall and rampart. The wall had been extensively robbed in the middle ages, but a narrow remnant had survived on the property line between the Sanvey Gate and Cumberland Street plots.

Section showing a reconstruction of the main elements of the town defences based on the Cumberland Street results. The town ditch on the left was exposed in 1938.

The dimensions of the town wall robber trench suggest that the wall would originally have been c.4.5m wide. All together a 6m long stretch of wall survived, up to 2.2m high in places. The surviving rampart showed rare evidence for its construction methods including the use of timber strapping and turf block construction. Halved logs were used as strapping, mostly at right angles to the line of the defences. These logs had been charred to protect them against rot.

Taken together with a reappraisal of previous work, it is suggested that a construction sequence for the defences is apparent. This seems to support the view that initial defences of timber and earth construction were superceded (in the ?3rd century) by a masonry phase to the defences.

The developers and architect agreed that the exposed section of town wall could be preserved in situ at the base of the new lift shaft, as shown here.

Cooper L. et al., 1998 New Evidence for the Northern Defences of Roman Leicester: An archaeological excavation at Cumberland Street. Transactions of the Leics. Archaeological and Historical Society 72, 92-109.