Archaeological Sites in Leicestershire - Fosse Way, Moira Furnace, Ratae Corieltauvorum, Raw Dykes, Knaptoft, Jewry Wall, Hallaton Treasure (Paperback)

Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: The Fosse Way was a Roman road in England that linked Exeter (Isca Dumnoniorum) in South West England to Lincoln (Lindum Colonia) in the East Midlands, via Ilchester (Lindinis), Bath (Aquae Sulis), Cirencester (Corinium) and Leicester (Ratae Corieltauvorum). It joined Akeman Street and Ermin Way at Cirencester, crossed Watling Street at Venonis (High Cross) south of Leicester, and joined Ermine Street at Lincoln. The word Fosse is derived from the Latin fossa, meaning ditch. For the first few decades after the Roman invasion of Britain in AD 43, the Fosse Way marked the western frontier of Roman rule in Iron Age Britain. It is possible that the road began as a defensive ditch that was later filled in and converted into a road, or possibly a defensive ditch ran alongside the road for at least some of its length. The Fosse Way is the only Roman road in Britain to retain its original Latin name. Most others were named by the Saxons, centuries after the Romans left Britain. It is remarkable for its extremely direct route: from Lincoln to Ilchester in Somerset, a distance of 182 miles, it is never more than six miles from a straight line. Many sections of the Fosse Way form parts of modern roads and lanes, and parish, district or county boundaries. Several place names on the route have the suffix -cester or -chester, which is from the Latin castra meaning military camp. Some settlements are named after the road itself, such as Fosse-, or -on-Fosse, while others have a more generic form, such as Street, Strete, -le-Street, Stratton, Stretton, Stratford, and Stretford, from the Latin strata, meaning paved road. The route runs from in Exeter to in Lincoln. Between Lincoln and Leicester the A46 follows the route of the Fosse Way. The A46 deviates from... More: http://booksllc.net/?id=189710