York Historic Environment Record

SE60215232] Tower [GS] (site of). (1)

A Roman interval tower (NW5 on key plan) under Dean's Park was excavated in 1926. The rear wall and part of the side walls of this tower were uncovered by Miller. The inner face of the 3 ft rear wall lay 12ft behind the inner face of the fortress wall, while the side walls, 2 1/4ft and 2 1/2 ft thick, were 13ft apart. The walls had a grouted limestone rubble core, with internal facing of undressed stone, and external facing of undressed stone to the height of 6ft at the rear of the tower (where it was covered by rampart mound) and dressed stone above. It had concrete foundations (10ins deep projecting 7 ins) on a bed of cobbles. Miller did not specify more than one structural period, it is possible that foundations of an earlier structure were used. (2)

[Towers NW6 and NW7 have not been discovered and are conjectural positions].

1 Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date) OS 25" 1937
2 An inventory of the historical monuments in the City of York. Volume I: Eburacum: Roman York 27,28 Royal Commission on Historical Monuments, England

RCHME, 1962, Inventory of the Historical Monuments in the City of York, Volume 1 Eboracum, p27,28 (Bibliographic reference). SYO62.

NMR, 2019, NMR data (Digital archive). SYO2214.