Lindum Colonia (otherwise simply Lindum or, more formally, Colonia Domitiana Lindensium) was a town in the Roman province of Britannia. Today it is known as Lincoln, located in the English county of Lincolnshire.
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Fort and name
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 AD 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. The etymology of the name is derived from the phrase 'colonial settlement of lindum'; the British Celtic word lindo meaning 'the pool' combined with the latin colonia. Lindo+colonia = Lincoln [1]
Town development
Around AD 80, the fort was converted to a colonia after the legion moved on to Eboracum (York) in the year 71. This was an important settlement for retired legionaries, established by the Emperor Domitian within the walls and using the street grid of the hilltop fortress, with the addition of an extension of about equal area, down the hillside to the waterside below.
The town became a major flourishing settlement, accessible from the sea both through the River Trent and through the River Witham. Public buildings, such as the forum (with lifesize equestrians statues) and basilica and the public baths, were erected in the 2nd century. The hilltop was largely filled with private homes, but the slopes became the town's commercial centre. They gained stone walls, like the upper region (including the Newport Arch), around AD 200. There was also an industrial suburb over the river which had pottery production facilities. The town had the best developed sewerage system in the province and a fine octagonal public fountain and part of its aqueduct have been partly uncovered. There were temples dedicated to Apollo and Mercury. Lindum became the provincial capital of Flavia Caesariensis when the province of Britannia Inferior was subdivided in the early 4th century and it sent a bishop to the Council of Arles in AD 314. The original church at St Paul-in-the-Bail may have been late Roman.
Decline
The town and its waterways eventually fell into decline, and, by the close of the 5th century, the city was virtually deserted. However, the church of St Paul continued as a place of worship until 450 and its churchyard was in use into the 6th century. When Saint Paulinus visited in 629, it was apparently under the control of a Praefectus Civitatis called Blecca. The name Lindum Colonia even survived, being shortened on the tongues of the later, English speakers, to become 'Lincoln' (see later history under Lincoln).
References
- Lincoln City and County Museum (c. 1995). A Walk about Roman Lincoln. Lincoln: Lincoln City Council.
- Ford, David Nash (1996). "The 28 Cities of Britain as listed by Nennius". Early British Kingdoms. http://www.earlybritishkingdoms.com/articles/nenniuscities.html. Retrieved 2007-02-03.
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