{{Short description|Roman road built in Britain around the 1st and 2nd centuries AD}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2016}} {{Use British English|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox road |country=GBR |type=Roman |route=Fosse Way |alternate_name= Roman Road |marker_image= |map=Fosse Way.JPG |map_alt=Map showing the Fosse Way |map_notes=The route of the Fosse Way |length_mi=230 |margary=5 |time_period= Roman Britain |terminus_a=Isca Dumnoniorum |junction= Lindinis, Aquae Sulis, Corinium, Venonis, Ratae Corieltauvorum |terminus_b=Lindum Colonia }} thumb|300px|Roman Britain military infrastructure 68 AD
The '''Fosse Way''' was a Roman road built in Britain during the first and second centuries AD that linked Isca Dumnoniorum (Exeter) in the southwest and Lindum Colonia (Lincoln) to the northeast, via Lindinis (Ilchester), Aquae Sulis (Bath), Corinium (Cirencester), and Ratae Corieltauvorum (Leicester). Much of its route is still used by modern roads, lanes and byways.
== Toponymy == The word Fosse is derived from the Latin {{lang|la|fossa}}, meaning 'ditch'.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Blair |first1=Peter Hunter |title=An Introduction to Anglo-Saxon England |date=2003 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521537773 |page=256 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9eN87VsPaw0C&pg=PA256}}</ref> For the first few decades after the Roman invasion of Britain in 43 AD, the Fosse Way marked the western frontier of Roman rule in Iron Age Britain. It is possible that the road began as a defensive ditch that was later filled in and converted into a road, or perhaps a defensive ditch ran alongside the road for at least some of its length.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Fosse Way|url=http://www.rural-roads.co.uk/fosse/fosse1.shtml|publisher=Rural Roads|access-date=10 September 2016|archive-date=21 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160821014050/http://www.rural-roads.co.uk/fosse/fosse1.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Follow the Roman road, explore the Fosse Way |url=https://britishheritage.com/travel/roman-road-fosse-way |publisher=British Heritage |access-date=1 July 2024}}</ref>
==Route== The road joined Akeman Street and Ermin Way at Cirencester, crossed Watling Street at ''Venonis'' (High Cross) south of Leicester, and joined Ermine Street at Lincoln.
The Antonine Itinerary (a 2nd-century Roman register of roads) includes the section between High Cross and Lincoln, and lists intermediate points at ''Verometo'' (Willoughby on the Wolds), ''Margiduno'' (Castle Hill near Bingham), ''Ad Pontem'' (East Stoke) and ''Crocolana'' (Brough).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://roadsofromanbritain.org/iter8.html|title=Iter VIII|website=roadsofromanbritain.org|access-date=2020-04-27|archive-date=4 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190804174418/http://roadsofromanbritain.org/iter8.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
From Lincoln to Ilchester in Somerset, a distance of {{convert|182|mi}}, the route never deviates more than {{convert|6|mi|km|-1}} from a straight line.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Heath|first1=Robin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=efc_gR1QM-oC&q=Fosse+Way+straight+line&pg=PA89|title=The Lost Science of Measuring the Earth: Discovering the Sacred Geometry of the Ancients|last2=Michell|first2=John|date=2006|publisher=Adventures Unlimited|isbn=9781931882507|page=89}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Pingriff|first1=G. N.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ndmWXs_xj1UC&q=Fosse+Way+straight+line&pg=PA122|title=Leicestershire|date=2012|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781107646902|page=122}}</ref>
== Preservation==
Many sections of the Fosse Way form parts of modern roads and lanes, and parish, district or county boundaries, but some parts are now only accessible on foot.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bishop|first1=M. C.|title=The Secret History of the Roman Roads of Britain: And their Impact on Military History|date=2014|publisher=Pen and Sword|isbn=9781473837478|pages=98–99|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EtawBAAAQBAJ&q=The+Roman+Road+from+Leicester+to+Mancetter&pg=PA90}}</ref>
Several placenames on the route have the suffix ''-cester'' or ''-chester'', which is derived from Old English {{lang|ang|ceaster}} / {{lang|ang|cæster}} (ultimately from Latin {{lang|la|castra}} meaning 'military camp'). Some settlements are named after the road itself, such as ''Fosse-'', or ''-on-Fosse'', while others have a more generic form, such as ''Street'', ''Strete'', ''-le-Street'', ''Stratton'', ''Stretton'', ''Stratford'', and ''Stretford'', derived from Old English {{lang|ang|strǣt}} / {{lang|ang|strēt}} (ultimately from Latin {{lang|la|strata}}, meaning 'paved road').
== Route == The route runs from {{Coord|50.73|N|3.48|W|display=inline|scale:100000}} in Exeter to {{Coord|53.23|N|0.54|W|display=inline|scale:100000}} in Lincoln.
=== Lincoln to Leicester ===
Between Lincoln and Leicester the A46 follows the route of the Fosse Way.<ref>{{cite web|title=Following the Fosse Way through Nottinghamshire Archaeology and the A46|url=http://assets.highways.gov.uk/roads/road-projects/a46-newark-to-widmerpool-improvement/m120008_Following_the_Fosse_Way_through_Nottinghamshire_Archaeology_and_the_A46_proof_low.pdf|publisher=Highways Agency|access-date=10 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160916015812/http://assets.highways.gov.uk/roads/road-projects/a46-newark-to-widmerpool-improvement/m120008_Following_the_Fosse_Way_through_Nottinghamshire_Archaeology_and_the_A46_proof_low.pdf|archive-date=16 September 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> The A46 deviates at East Goscote, to follow the Leicester Western Bypass. The original alignment, which is still visible as an unclassified road called ''Fosse Way'', passes through Syston, continuing as the minor road ''Melton Road'' through Thurmaston, before merging with the A607 (the old A46) and continuing into the city centre on the old alignment, first as Melton Road, then Belgrave Road and Belgrave Gate.<ref>{{cite web|last1=McWhirr|first1=A. D.|title=The Roman Road from Leicester to Mancetter|url=https://www.le.ac.uk/lahs/downloads/MancetterPagesfromvolumeXLII-2.pdf|publisher=Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society|access-date=10 September 2016|archive-date=16 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160916175833/https://www.le.ac.uk/lahs/downloads/MancetterPagesfromvolumeXLII-2.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
The alignment terminates at the Clock Tower, and picks up again at Narborough Road (the A5460), on the other side of the River Soar.<ref>{{cite web|last1=McWhirr|first1=A. D.|title=The Roman Road from Leicester to Mancetter|url=https://www.le.ac.uk/lahs/downloads/MancetterPagesfromvolumeXLII-2.pdf|publisher=Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society|access-date=10 September 2016|archive-date=16 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160916175833/https://www.le.ac.uk/lahs/downloads/MancetterPagesfromvolumeXLII-2.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> A {{convert|19|mi|adj=on}} stretch of the road between Widmerpool and Newark-on-Trent has been upgraded to a dual carriageway which was completed in 2012. The new route deviates in several sections from the historic road line.
=== Leicester to Cirencester ===
[[Image:Fosse way from brinklow castle 6y07.JPG|right|thumb|Fosse Way from the top of Brinklow Castle, Warwickshire]]
South of Leicester, the B4114 (originally the A46 but renumbered when the M69 was opened) follows the route, apart from a short deviation near Narborough, where the original course is no longer visible. A short distance north of the A5, the B4114 diverges from the line of the Fosse Way to pass through the village of Sharnford.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Holbrook|first1=Neil|title=The Roman Period|url=http://www.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk/content/uploads/2014/11/Bristol-Gloucestershire-Archaeological-Report-No.-3r_part-3.pdf|publisher=Cotswold Archaeology|access-date=10 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150419182224/http://www.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk/content/uploads/2014/11/Bristol-Gloucestershire-Archaeological-Report-No.-3r_part-3.pdf|archive-date=19 April 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>
For {{Convert|2|mi}} the route of the Fosse Way is followed by a minor road named Roman Road which, although single track, runs along a much wider and slightly domed strip of land with deep ditches either side (the ''agger'').<ref>{{cite web|last1=Holbrook|first1=Neil|title=The Roman Period|url=http://www.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk/content/uploads/2014/11/Bristol-Gloucestershire-Archaeological-Report-No.-3r_part-3.pdf|publisher=Cotswold Archaeology|access-date=10 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150419182224/http://www.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk/content/uploads/2014/11/Bristol-Gloucestershire-Archaeological-Report-No.-3r_part-3.pdf|archive-date=19 April 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> The modern road ends at a picnic site car park, and a further {{convert|1.5|mi}} southwards can be explored on foot.
The junction of Fosse Way with Watling Street, now the A5, is at High Cross (Roman name {{lang|la|Venonis}}).<ref>{{PastScape|mname=High Cross Roman Settlement|mnumber=337719|access-date=10 September 2016}}</ref> Watling Street is the county boundary between Leicestershire and Warwickshire.
The Fosse Way follows the B4455 across Warwickshire, through Street Ashton, Stretton-under-Fosse, Brinklow, Bretford, Stretton-on-Dunsmore, Princethorpe and the site of a Roman town near Chesterton,<ref name="Chesterton">Warwickshire Scheduled Historic Monument [http://timetrail.warwickshire.gov.uk/detail.aspx?monuid=WA798 Chesterton ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070314225156/http://timetrail.warwickshire.gov.uk/detail.aspx?monuid=WA798 |date=14 March 2007 }}</ref> until it joins the A429 near the boundary with Gloucestershire. The route then follows the A429 through Stretton-on-Fosse, Moreton-in-Marsh, Stow-on-the-Wold, Northleach and Fossebridge, to Cirencester, where it crosses Akeman Street and Ermin Way.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bingham|first1=Jane|title=The Cotswolds: A Cultural History|date=2010|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780195398755|pages=11–12|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AiSkGUrSrEMC&q=Fosse+Way+Akeman+Street+Ermin+Way+Cirencester&pg=PA11}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Welsford|first1=Alan|title=Cirencester a History and Guide|date=2012|publisher=Amberley|isbn=9781445611242|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=njOIAwAAQBAJ&q=Fosse+Way+Akeman+Street+Ermin+Way+Cirencester&pg=PT9}}</ref>
=== Cirencester to Bath ===
thumb|right|A section of the Fosse Way as a byway north of the M4 South of Cirencester the Fosse Way follows a short section of the A433, then goes cross country. The route crosses the River Thames and under the first South Wales railway – the Golden Valley line – which was constructed via Gloucester. The road continues, later forming the county boundary between Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, across Cotswold Airport near Kemble, then becomes fragmented sections of country lanes; two sections on this stretch are byways rather than maintained roads, and at points on these routes it widens to as much as {{convert|60|ft|m|-1}}.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Roman road known as the Foss(e) Way runs from Exeter to Lincoln, with sections running north-east and south-west from Cirencester.|url=http://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=5113&resourceID=108|website=Heritage Gateway|publisher=Gloucestershire County Council|access-date=10 September 2016|archive-date=20 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160920064346/http://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=5113&resourceID=108|url-status=live}}</ref>
It passes near the Iron Age hillfort called Bury Camp and becomes another section of the county boundary, crossing the second South Wales railway – the South Wales Main Line – next the site of an old chapel and spring at Fosse Lodge in Dunley, and then crossing the M4. Thereafter it passes through The Shoe and Nettleton Shrub where remains of a posting-station have been found, and arrives at Batheaston, where it turns due west to follow the River Avon into Bath.<ref>G. M. Boumphrey, ''Along the Roman Roads'', Allen & Unwin, London, 1935</ref>
=== Bath to Ilchester === [[File:Fosse way excavation 1903.jpg|thumb|Excavated segment of the Fosse Way at Radstock, showing its construction in cross-section]] Between Bath and Shepton Mallet the line of the Fosse Way follows parts of the A367, through Clandown, Radstock, Westfield and Stratton-on-the-Fosse. It runs across open country and farm tracks parallel to the A37 north of Shepton Mallet, near the Iron Age hillfort of Maesbury. At Beacon Hill, south of Oakhill, it crossed the Roman road along the Mendip ridgeway from Old Sarum to the lead and silver mines at Charterhouse. The Fosse Way passes through the eastern suburbs of Shepton Mallet on a short stretch of the A361 to Cannard's Grave, where its route becomes the A37.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Gathercole|first1=Clare|title=Shepton Mallet|url=http://www1.somerset.gov.uk/archives/hes/eus/sheptonmallet_eus.htm|website=Somerset Urban Archaeological Surveys|publisher=Somerset County Council|access-date=10 September 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160321051450/http://www1.somerset.gov.uk/archives/hes/eus/sheptonmallet_eus.htm|archive-date=21 March 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
The Fosse Way follows the A37 through Street-on-the-Fosse and Lydford-on-Fosse on a direct route to Ilchester. The route leaves the A37 north of the A303 junction just north of Ilchester, and follows a track (previously part of the A37 from before the by-pass opened and broken by the present-day A372 and A303), before picking up the B3151 through the town. It leaves the B3151 onto Ilchester's High Street, then follows West Street and Roman Road, a minor road that was formerly part of the A303, towards the present-day A303 west of town.
The Roman road from Ilchester to Dorchester, Dorset continues on the line of A37 through Yeovil to the south east. Other minor Roman roads lead from Ilchester and Lydford-on-Fosse towards Street and the A39 route along the Polden Hills, leading to Roman salt works on the Somerset Levels, and ports at Combwich, Crandon Bridge and Highbridge.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Page|first1=William|title=Romano-British Somerset: Part 3, Other Locations|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/som/vol1/pp289-356|website=British History Online|publisher=Victoria County History|access-date=10 September 2016|archive-date=27 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161027060739/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/som/vol1/pp289-356|url-status=live}}</ref>
=== Ilchester to Exeter ===
After Ilchester the Fosse Way is followed by a section of the A303 under the ramparts of the Iron Age hillfort of Ham Hill, occupied by the Second Legion after the conquest of the Durotriges in Dorset.<ref name="havinden">{{cite book |last=Havinden|first=Michael |title=The Somerset Landscape |publisher=Hodder and Stoughton |location=London |series=The making of the English landscape |year=1981 |pages=58–59 |isbn=0-340-20116-9}}</ref>
The alignment leaves major roads after Petherton Bridge<ref>[http://pmsa.cch.kcl.ac.uk/BLM/SO14.htm Petherton Bridge] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110824161200/http://pmsa.cch.kcl.ac.uk/BLM/SO14.htm |date=24 August 2011 }}</ref> over the River Parrett, and follows country lanes to Over Stratton and Dinnington, where in 2002 members of the Channel 4 television programme ''Time Team'' uncovered a mosaic next to the road.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/5171108.stm|title=Villa mosaic's secrets revealed|work=BBC News|publisher=BBC|access-date=2009-01-04|date=11 July 2006|archive-date=24 August 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060824171806/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/5171108.stm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/T/timeteam/2006_dinn.html|title=Dinnington, Somerset|work=Time Team|publisher=Channel 4|access-date=2009-01-04|archive-date=29 December 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091229002435/http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/T/timeteam/2006_dinn.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.somersetheritage.org.uk/record/53887|title=Roman villa, Northfield Lane, Dinnington|work=Somerset Historic Environment Record|publisher=Somerset County Council|access-date=2009-01-04|archive-date=3 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161003120053/http://www.somersetheritage.org.uk/record/53887|url-status=live}}</ref>
The route crosses a stream called Stretford Water, climbs the ridge, and follows a short section of the A30 at Windwhistle Hill. Then it turns on to the B3167 through the hamlets of Street and Perry Street, joins the A358, crosses the River Axe at what used to be called Stratford (now Weycroft), and on to Axminster.<ref>{{cite web|title=Roads of Chard|url=http://combestnicholas.org.uk/index.php/community/2-uncategorised/33-roads-of-chard|publisher=Combe St Nicholas|access-date=10 September 2016|archive-date=9 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190109013253/http://combestnicholas.org.uk/index.php/community/2-uncategorised/33-roads-of-chard|url-status=dead}}</ref>
The location of the end of the Fosse Way is uncertain. There are further alignments on the A358 at Ball's Farm and Musbury south of Axminster, which imply a Roman road continued along the Axe toward Axmouth and Seaton. These sections are labelled ''Fosse Way'' on Ordnance Survey maps.
The crossroads in Axminster was controlled by a Roman fort at Woodbury Farm, now on the southern edge of the town. The route to the west crosses the Rivers Axe and Yarty to Kilmington, continuing on segments of the A35 and local lanes to Honiton.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mvridvnvm?|url=http://roman-britain.co.uk/names/muridunum.htm|publisher=Roman Britain|access-date=10 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190109011932/http://roman-britain.co.uk/names/muridunum.htm|archive-date=9 January 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> From Honiton the route leads south-west along the old A30, to Strete Ralegh, where there is a short break, then a clear alignment along the former A30, now a minor road, towards Exeter.
== See also == * Roman Britain * Roman roads in Britannia * List of crossings of the River Thames * Fosseway Bitter
== Notes == {{reflist}}
== References == * Aston, M. & Burrow, I. (eds.) (1982). ''The Archaeology of Somerset: A Review to 1500 AD''. Taunton: Somerset County Council. {{ISBN|0-86183-028-8}}. * Margary, I. D. (1955). ''Roman Roads in Britain: Vol. 1, South of the Foss Way-Bristol Channel'', 1st ed. London: Phoenix House, 255 pp.
== External links == {{Commons category inline}} * ''Roman Roads of Britain'': Chapter 7: [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Periods/Roman/Topics/Engineering/roads/Britain/_Texts/CODROM/7*.html The Foss Way ], Thomas Codrington (1903)
Category:Roman roads in England Category:Archaeological sites in Devon Category:Archaeological sites in Lincolnshire Category:Archaeological sites in Leicestershire Category:Archaeological sites in Gloucestershire Category:Archaeological sites in Somerset Category:Archaeological sites in Wiltshire Category:Roman frontiers