The houses and workshops
What did the archaeologists find?
The first civilians of Roman Castleford lived and worked in a row of wooden buildings along the side of the Roman road. Between the buildings and the Roman road there was a drainage ditch.
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1. The wooden houses left very little evidence behind them, as all the wood had long since decayed. In this photo taken during excavation you can see the outline of two small square buildings on the right, with yards behind them to the left.
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2. The foundations of the houses were timber beams, laid in narrow trenches to provide a solid base for the upright posts. This photo shows the beam slots and postholes that remained after the wood had rotted away.
The archaeologists’ plan
The row of narrow buildings was similar to a Victorian terrace of houses. There was a long thin yard to the rear of each building. Alleyways provided access to the back yards. The roads along the alleys were made from compacted gravel. The archaeologists found cartwheel ruts still surviving in the surface of one alley.
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3. The archaeologists found evidence of workshops in some of the back yards. The excavations uncovered wells, cisterns for collecting rainwater, hearths and an oven in the yards.
What might the street have looked like?
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4. Â’s reconstruction of the row of houses and workshops. The cart and soldier are travelling along the road in the direction of the fort.
Timeline:
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