Roman Carlisle
Unearthing the Cumbrian city's Roman past.
Mike McCarthy has spent more than twenty years unearthing Carlisle’s Roman past. He has overseen numerous archaeological excavations in the city, which was once the main administrative centre for the western sector of Hadrian’s Wall.
Unsurprisingly, the city - Luguvalium to the Romans - is rich in archaeology. Yet, of all the excavations so far tackled by Mike it is the current one, beneath the city’s Castle Green, that has stirred the most interest. Buried beneath a section of dual carriageway, and the neat lawns that lie to the front of Carlisle Castle, is the heart of what was once a sizeable Roman fort, built by the invaders shortly after they arrived in AD72-73.
Its excavation is a feature of the Carlisle Gateway City millennium project, which aims to create an underground exhibition ‘Gallery’, linked to Tullie House, the local art gallery and museum.
The excavation itself - in an area measuring some 50 by 20 metres - is within the ‘footprint’ of a project to build an access ramp and staircase to the Gallery, beneath the Castle Way dual carriageway.
It has yielded fascinating evidence of a rather ‘scruffy’ Roman lifestyle.
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