Bootham Stray Marching Camp 1

Marching or Temporary Camp

Although 18th century historians reported up to eight camps in the area to the immediate north of York, only two Roman marching camps have been recorded from the air in recent times, at Bootham Stray, a little over 1½ miles (2.5km) due north of the Roman legionary fortress. Severely damaged by ploughing, crossed by hedges and drainage ditches, these camps lie on agricultural land to the immediate west of the Bur Dike between the B1363 minor road and the eastern outskirts of the Rawcliffe suburb of York.

Bootham Stray 1, North Yorkshire

OS National Grid Reference: SE598548
Dimensions: 280 x 492 ft (85 x 150 m)
Area: c.2½ acres (1 ha)
Description: This is the more eastward of the pair, of which the complete circuit is known or can be conjectured, all four corner angles having been verified. The entire south side including a centrally-placed internal clavicula gateway is visible at ground level as a very slight earthwork, and the northern and eastern sides each including claviculae have been identified by crop and parch-marks on aerial photographs. The western side and gateway have been lost to the rigours of agriculture, but enough remains of the eastern gateway to verify that the camp faced north. The camp measures some 492 feet north-south by 280 feet east-west (150 x 85 metres), having an internal area a little under 2½ acres (around 1 hectare).

References for Bootham Stray Camps

  • Roman Camps in England – The Field Archaeology by the R.C.H.M.E.

Roman Roads near Bootham Stray Camps

None identified

Sites near Bootham Stray Marching Camp 1