Lactodurum was a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

in the

Roman province The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...

Britannia Britannia () is the national personification of Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used in classical antiquity, the Latin ''Britannia'' was the name variously applied to the British Isles, Grea ...

. Today it is known as

Towcester Towcester ( ) is an affluent market town in Northamptonshire, England. It currently lies in West Northamptonshire but was the former administrative headquarters of the South Northamptonshire district council. Towcester is one of the olde ...

, located in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

county of

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It ...

. Towcester lays claim to being the oldest town in Northamptonshire and possibly, because of the antiquity of recent

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly ...

finds in the town, to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited settlements in the country. There is evidence that it was settled by humans since the

Mesolithic The Mesolithic ( Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymo ...

era (middle Stone Age). There is also evidence of Iron Age burials in the area.

Watling Street

In Roman times, the

Watling Street Watling Street is a historic route in England that crosses the River Thames at London and which was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the Middle Ages. It was used by the ancient Britons and paved as one of the main ...

road (now the A5) was built through the area and ''Lactodorum'', probably a garrison fort, was established on the site of the present day town. Some local people believe that the original pre-Roman settlement was about half a mile to the south of the present town, at the top of the hill at the crossing of a section of north–south road which became part of the Roman Watling Street and an east–west cattle drovers road (now a minor road called 'cow pastures'), and that there was a small trading post type of settlement there. Two candidate sites for the

Battle of Watling Street The Boudican revolt was an armed uprising by native Celtic tribes against the Roman Empire. It took place c. 60–61 AD in the Roman province of Britain, and was led by Boudica, the Queen of the Iceni. The uprising was motivated by the Romans' ...

, fought in 61AD, are located close to the town, these are

Church Stowe Church Stowe is a village in West Northamptonshire in England. It is the largest settlement in the civil parish of Stowe Nine Churches Stowe may refer to: Places United Kingdom *Stowe, Buckinghamshire, a civil parish and former village **Stow ...

which is located 7 km to the north and Paulerspury which is 5 km to the south. The fort was soon replaced by a civilian settlement which may have grown out of the surrounding ''

vicus In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (plural ) designated a village within a rural area () or the neighbourhood of a larger settlement. During the Republican era, the four of the city of Rome were subdivided into . In the 1st century BC, Augustus ...

''. Late 1st century timber buildings were replaced in stone the following century, and included a possible ''

mansio In the Roman Empire, a ''mansio'' (from the Latin word ''mansus,'' the perfect passive participle of ''manere'' "to remain" or "to stay") was an official stopping place on a Roman road, or ''via'', maintained by the central government for the use ...

''. By the mid-2nd century, there were numerous shops lining the roadsides. 3rd and 4th century private residences were decorated with tesselated pavements and painted with decorative plaster.

Town wall

Lactodorum was encompassed by a wall that was strengthened at several points by stone and brick towers. The wall was also surrounded by a ditch part of which became the Mill Leat on the east side of the town. The modern day St Lawrence's Church in Towcester is thought to occupy the site of a large Roman civic building, possibly a

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

; although there was also a

bath house Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other cr ...

in this area. Small fragments of Roman pavement can be seen next to the Church's boiler room. The Roman

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separ ...

s consisted of timber and cob buildings within small rectilinear plots, probably representing small holdings. However, there was also evidence of much industry: smithing, pottery, lead, pewter and bronze working.

References

* {{Coord, 52.131, -0.989, type:landmark_region:GB-NTH, display=title History of Northamptonshire Roman towns and cities in England Archaeological sites in Northamptonshire Towcester

Watling Street

Town wall

See also

References