History of St Neots - Roman

Roman

During the Roman period, from the mid 1st century to the mid-5th century, the nearest large settlement was at Godmanchester, with another at Sandy. A Roman road joined the two and passed close to present-day St Neots, and there are traces of other roads as well. Apart from two villas and some earthworks, until recently, only scattered Roman remains had been found, mostly coins and pottery in Eynesbury. However, excavations east of the railway line on what was known as Love's Farm in 2005-6 have revealed a farming settlement the extent and character of which will be known only when the finds have been assessed, which may take some time. There is little evidence of large scale settlement in Roman times, but the area around St Neots was certainly used for farming and was crossed by roads and tracks. Romans and Britons lived and worked here, but probably not in a town.

Read more about this topic:  History Of St Neots

Famous quotes containing the word roman:

    “Semantically, taste is rich and confusing, its etymology as odd and interesting as that of “style.” But while style—deriving from the stylus or pointed rod which Roman scribes used to make marks on wax tablets—suggests activity, taste is more passive.... Etymologically, the word we use derives from the Old French, meaning touch or feel, a sense that is preserved in the current Italian word for a keyboard, tastiera.”
    —Stephen Bayley, British historian, art critic. “Taste: The Story of an Idea,” Taste: The Secret Meaning of Things, Random House (1991)

    “The Roman Road runs straight and bare
    As the pale parting-line in hair
    Across the heath.”
    —Thomas Hardy (1840–1928)

    “It’s no accident that of all the monuments left of the Greco- Roman culture the biggest is the ballpark, the Colosseum, the Yankee Stadium of ancient times.”
    —Walter Wellesley (Red)