Mamucium

Mamucium
Location within Greater Manchester
General information
Architectural style	Roman fort
Location	Manchester, England
Coordinates	53°28′33″N 2°15′03″W / 53.475962°N 2.250891°W / 53.475962; -2.250891
Completed	79

Mamucium, also known as Mancunium, was a fort in the Roman province of Britannia. The remains of the fort, protected as a Scheduled Ancient Monument, are in the Castlefield area of Manchester in North West England (grid reference SJ833977). Founded c. AD 79, Mamucium was garrisoned by a cohort of auxiliary soldiers and guarded the road running from Chester to York. A vicus, or civilian settlement made up of traders and the families of the soldiers, grew outside the fort and was an area of industrial activity.

The site lay in ruins until the Industrial Revolution when Manchester expanded and the fort was levelled to make way for new developments. It was damaged by the construction of the Rochdale Canal and the Great Northern Railway. The site is now part of the regenerated area of warehousing alongside the Rochdale Canal, part of the Castlefield Urban Heritage Park. Reconstructed remains of the fort's gatehouse, granaries, and some buildings from the vicus are on display to the public.

When the Roman fort in Castlefield was built, it was on a naturally defensible sandstone bluff, guarding a nearby crossing over the River Medlock. The fort was near a junction between at least two Roman roads. It guarded the road between the legionary fortresses of Deva Victrix (Chester) and Eboracum (York) running east to west, as well as the road between Manchester and Bremetennacum (Ribchester) to the north. In addition, Mamucium may also have overlooked a lesser road running north west to Coccium (Wigan). The fort was one of a chain of fortifications along the Eboracum to Deva Victrix road, with Castleshaw Roman fort lying 16 miles (26 km) to the east, and Condate (Northwich) 18 miles (29 km) to the west. Stamps on tegulae indicate that Mamucium had administrative links not only with Castleshaw, but also with Ardotalia, the nearest fort (12 miles), Slack and Ebchester; all the forts probably got the tegulae from the same place in Grimescar Wood near Huddersfield.