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Hill forts · East Midlands

Lindum Colonia

In or near Lincoln.

Free admission🐾 Dog-friendly👪 Family-friendly

Lindum Colonia — Roman settlement in Lincoln, United Kingdom.

Lindum Colonia, hill forts in Lincolnshire

Wikimedia Commons contributors — see linked file page for photographer and licence licence

Plan your visit

Typical visit
1 h–2 h
Nearest railway station
Lincoln · 0.9 km
  • Free entry
  • Family-friendly
  • Dog-friendly

Getting there & planning your visit

To visit Lindum Colonia, the nearest railway station is Lincoln, located 0.9 km away. Entry is free, but please note that the site is not wheelchair accessible. The postcode for sat-nav is LN2 1PX.

Directions on Google Maps →

About

Lindum Colonia is a hill fort in the United Kingdom. Wikidata describes it as: "Roman settlement in Lincoln, United Kingdom". Coordinates: 53.2339°, -0.5381°.

Photo gallery

From the Wikipedia article

Lindum Colonia was the Roman settlement which is now the City of Lincoln in Lincolnshire. It was founded as a Roman Legionary Fortress during the reign of the Emperor Nero (58–68 AD) or possibly later. Evidence from Roman tombstones suggests that Lincoln was first garrisoned by the Ninth Legion Hispana, which probably moved from Lincoln to found the fortress at York around c. 71 AD. Lindum was then garrisoned by the Second Legion Adiutrix, which then went on to Chester in 77–78 AD. Probably under the reign of Domitian and most likely after 86 AD, the fortress became a colonia, a settlement for retired soldiers sanctioned by the Emperor. The colonia now developed and a second enclosure, often referred to as the Lower Colonia was added between the Upper Colonia and the River Witham. Evidence has been uncovered for the Forum, baths, temples, buildings and shops of the colonia which was enclosed by walls. The walls of the Upper Colonia started to be built in the earlier part of the 2nd century, while the Lower Colonia was walled in either the late 2nd or early 3rd centuries. The Roman settlement also spread to the south of the river Witham in the area known as the Wigford. In the early 3rd century with the re-organisation of the Roman Empire, a case can be made that Lindum Colonia had become the provincial capital of Britannia Secunda and possibly a Bishop from Lincoln was present at the Council of Arles in 314 AD. In the 4th century Lincoln continued to develop and there is increasing evidence for Christianity. After the departure of the Romans in the 5th century Lindum declined in size and population, although archaeological evidence suggests some degree of continuity.

Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.

Background

History

| caption = Groundplan of the walls and gates of Lindum Colonia, over a modern map of Lincoln. | legendBox=Lindum Colonia ^Legionary Fortress and Colonia,175px100px1px, 4px4px | legendItem1=Walls of the Upper Fortress,11 | legendItem2=Walls of the lower expansion,14,48 | legendItem3=Roman Road,12,62 | legendItem4=Major Roman building,13,82 | mark-coord11= | shape11=box | mark-size11=25x3 | shape-color11=dark red,80 | mark-title11=none | mark-coord14= | shape14=box | mark-size14=25x3 | shape-color14=hard brown,80 | mark-title14=none | shape-angleD=0 | label-sizeD=11 | shape-outlineD=grey,0 | mark-coord12= | shape12=box | mark-size12=25x5 | shape-color12=dark grey,40 | mark-title12=none |…

Architecture

The Romans conquered this part of Britain in AD 48 and shortly afterwards built a legionary fortress, possibly south of the River Witham. This was soon replaced, around the year 60, by a second fort for the Ninth Legion, high on a hill overlooking the natural lake formed by the widening of the River Witham (the modern day Brayford Pool) and at the northern end of the Fosse Way Roman road. That pool is very likely to have given Lincoln its name.

Description

, where there was a water storage tank]] Roman Lincoln had a very sophisticated water supply. It was fed by the ‘‘Roaring Meg’’ spring to the North East of the city and then ran parallel with the Nettleham Road towards the N.E corner of the Upper Colonia. The ceramic pipes were encased in concrete that provided a waterproof seal and allowed the water to pass through the pipes under pressure. The course of the aqueduct had been well known from the start of the 18th century. William Stukeley had shown the line of the aqueduct on his plan of Lincoln in 1722. The Lincoln antiquary Thomas Sympson had written in the mid 18th century, "There must have been some contrivance for raising the water a…

Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Coordinates
53.2339, -0.5381
County
Lincolnshire
District
Lincoln
Parish
Lincoln, unparished area
Postcode
LN2 1PX
Parliamentary constituency
Lincoln
Nearest railway station
Lincoln0.9 km

Sources

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Frequently asked questions

Where is Lindum Colonia?
Lindum Colonia is in Lincolnshire, the East Midlands, United Kingdom (postcode LN2 1PX), in the parish of Lincoln, unparished area.
What is Lindum Colonia?
Lindum Colonia — Roman settlement in Lincoln, United Kingdom.
How do I get to Lindum Colonia?
The nearest railway station is Lincoln, about 0.9 km away. Drivers can use postcode LN2 1PX.
Is Lindum Colonia free to visit?
Yes, Lindum Colonia is free to enter.
How do I get to Lindum Colonia?
The nearest railway station is Lincoln, about 0.9 km away. Drivers can navigate to postcode LN2 1PX.