Sleaford Roman Settlement

Minor Settlement

The Roman settlement at Old Sleaford lay astride the road from Durobrivae (Water Newton) and the Colonia at Lindum (Lincoln) at the point where it fords the River Slea. The Roman town of CAVSENNAE (Ancaster) lay just five miles upstream to the west, and there was a tile kiln at Heckington Fen (TF1745), five miles in the opposite direction, near the Car Dyke.

The extent of the Iron-Age and Roman settlement is currently unknown, but excavation reports show the plans of several roadside buildings, a circular corn-drier, and building materials including painted wall-plaster and sherds of window glass have been recovered from a wide area.

The finds recovered from the site include a profusion of Iron-Age coin-mould blanks, evidence of pre-Roman coin production which suggests a tribal centre of some distinction. Coin production, albeit clandestine, was continued into the Roman period, as coin-moulds were found in the area “designed to produce forgeries of tetrarchic folles”.

References for Sleaford

  • Historical Map and Guide – Roman Britain by the Ordnance Survey (3rd, 4th & 5th eds., 1956, 1994 & 2001);
  • Roadside Settlements in Lowland Roman Britain by Roger Finch Smith (B.A.R. British Series #157, 1987) p.204.

Map References for Sleaford

NGRef: TF0746 OSMap: LR130

Roman Roads near Sleaford

S (16) to Bovrne NNW (17) to Lindvm

Sites near Sleaford Roman Settlement