Monument record 726/4 - Towcester Roman Town Defences

Towcester was first defended in c170 AD (the Antonine period). Earlier occupation was demolished and a wall, bank and defensive ditches were constructed around the town. The defences seem to have been refurbished in the later 4th century with the addition of projecting bastions, which have been identified in the north-east and north-west corners, as well as a wide Great Ditch. Elements of the defences have been identified archaeologically around the town and the course is now comparatively well understood. There are no surviving upstanding remains, but the earthworks of the north-west corner are a Scheduled Monument.

{1} Plan by Baker of Towcester shows area of town defences.

{2} Work superimposing various proposed lines for the Towcester town defences (Baker, Dryden, Woodfield and RCHM) appear to be in broad agreement (within about 150 metres) of the position of the south-west angle of the defences.,

{3} Woodfield summarises and reinterprets all known archaeological interventions associated with the defences of Towcester and provides a chronology for each phase. The earliest phase was the construction of a wall, bank and multiple ditches in c170 AD with refurbishment, including the introduction of at least two bastions, in the later 4th century. No clearly recognisable Saxon defences of Edward the Elder, but the 1643 Civil War defences have been identified.

{5} (Ref 3.2)A relatively large number of excavations and watching briefs across the line of the defences at Towcester most recently synthesised by Woodfield mean that its date, method of construction and course are comparatively well known. The construction of the defences during the third quarter of the second century AD had a profound impact on the topography of the town excluding substantial areas of ribbon development along the roads out of town to north, south and west from its core around the junction of the Alchester Road and Watling Street. Enclosing an area of approximately 12ha they ultimately consisted of a high earthen rampart with integral stone wall and circuits of two or more ditches outside along some of its length. Woodfield believes the rampart and stone wall to be contemporaneous integral features of the original defences but Wacher considered this unlikely. On reflection it is currently clear that a clinching archaeological argument either way still awaits discovery.
The course of the defences is fairly well understood and forms a polygonal enclosure narrow towards its northern apex but far wider towards the centre and south. Its line is best explained by its use of the existing topography of the rise between Silverstone Brook and the River Tove along its eastern and northern sides whilst still incorporating part at least of the ribbon development along the Alchester Road south-west of Watling Street.
(Ref 2.2) The construction of a substantial defensive circuit, enclosing c11.7 hectares, in the third quarter of the second century AD. The defensive zone, comprising rampart, berm and outer ditches, was c60m wide and must have had a sigificant impact on existing occupation . Indeed, from the third century AD there is some suggestion that the nature of occupation within the defended area changed at a time when settlement in suburban areas expanded. Occupation both within and outside the defended area continued well into the late fourth century AD and even the early fifth before the appearance of dark earth deposits in a number of locations seem to indicate the end of identifiable settlement. (R MacPhail’s note in Charmian’s 1992 article dates the Dark Earth to the late 2nd or 3rd century and suggests that these deposits were deliberately introduced cultivation deposits).

{7} The Roman defences were constructed in the later second century and comprised a stone wall with earth bank backing, and a series of ditches. The innermost ditch falls within the study area. It is presumed that the site of the second Roman ditch is now occupied by the post-medieval mill leat. Excavation by Audouy in 1984 demonstrated that considerable disturbance had occurred to the Roman deposits in this area, possibly by quarrying to create the medieval motte.

{10} Trial trench excavation at the TMT site, in the south-eastern corner of the defences, identified a number of ditches which may relate to the defensive line. The presence of marshy ground in this area and the presence of a cemetery in contemporary use may have meant that the alignment of the wall was not as would be expected in this part of the town.

<1> Baker G., 1830, The History and Antiquities of Northamptonshire, p.318 (unchecked) (Book). SNN77327.

<2> BORTHWICK A., 1996, LAND BETWEEN RICHMOND ROAD AND WATER LANE, TOWCESTER: ARCHAEOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS OF ....., (unchecked) (Report). SNN46539.

<3> Woodfield C., 1992, The Defences of Towcester, Northamptonshire, 13-66 (checked) (Article). SNN60159.

<4> JACKSON D.A., 1992, An Archaeological Evaluation Near The Masonic Lodge at Towcester, Northants, (unchecked) (Report). SNN54665.

<5> Taylor J.; Foard G.; Laughton J.; Steadman S.; Ballinger J., 2002, Northamptonshire Extensive Urban Survey: Towcester, Section 2.2 and 3.2 Defences (Report). SNN103132.

<6> Sims M.; Bashford R., 2004, Radstone Technology Site, Towcester, Northamptonshire, (unchecked) (Report). SNN104970.

<7> COTSWOLD ARCHAEOLOGICAL TRUST, 1992, Towcester Retail Development, Northamptonshire, Stage 1: Archaeological Assessment, (checked) (Draft). SNN70046.

<8> WACHER J.S., 1993, Town Centre Redevelopment, Towcester, Northamptonshire: An Archaeological Assessment, (checked) (Report). SNN70047.

<9> John Samuels Archaeological Consultants, 2006, An Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment of Land at 147 Watling Street, Towcester, Northamptonshire, (unchecked) (Report). SNN105760.

<10> Windell, D, 1984, Towcester, TMT Yard/Geometer Developments Ltd Site, Trial trenching (Note). SNN116970.

Record last edited

Jan 12 2026 12:39PM