Modern statue of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great outside York Minster
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Alternate name | Eburacum |
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Location | York, North Yorkshire, England |
Region | Britannia |
Coordinates | 53°57′42″N 01°04′50″W / 53.96167°N 1.08056°WCoordinates: 53°57′42″N 01°04′50″W / 53.96167°N 1.08056°W |
Type | Fortification and settlement |
History | |
Builder | Quintus Petillius Cerialis |
Founded | 71 |
Periods | Roman Imperial |
Site notes | |
Archaeologists | Leslie Peter Wenham |
Eboracum (/iːˈbɒrəkəm/ or /ˌiːbɔːˈrɑːkəm/) was a fort and city in the Roman province of Britannia. In its prime it was the largest town in northern Britain and a provincial capital. The site remained occupied after the decline of the Roman Empire and ultimately evolved into the present-day city York, occupying the same site in North Yorkshire, England.
Two Roman emperors died in Eboracum: Septimius Severus in 211 AD, and Constantius Chlorus in 306 AD.
The first known recorded mention of Eboracum by name is dated c. 95–104 AD and is an address containing the Latin form of the settlement's name, Eburaci, on a wooden stylus tablet from the Roman fortress of Vindolanda in what is now the modern Northumberland. During the Roman period, the name was also written in the form Eboracum and Eburacum.