Wigan History Podcast

We have Roman roads running all over the place.

A document written 2000 years ago called the Antonine Intinary listed a placed called Coccium, which we now know as Wigan.

We can see that Coccium could have been quite a major junction in the area, with roads leading north, east, south and now a Roman road has been discovered heading west towards a potential Roman Fort in Burscough!!! Which is very exciting.

Romans Forts, like the one found in Millgate, Wigan, were typical of those found up and down the country.

They were made like IKEA furniture, every single one was almost identical. They contained barrack buildings, granary stores, officers headquarters.

These would also typically be built in a strategic position, like in Millgate it was built at the highest point in Wigan center.

Typically a community / town would be built outside the Fort walls, to house soldiers families and for businesses and the like.

Although not much of the fort itself has been excavated with Wigan, other than a few suspected barrack buildings, there is much more still hiding underground.

The reasons for the last few excavations in Wigan centre have been due to major redevelopment work. Who knows what future (and planned) redevelopment work might uncover.

Cerialis to the east and Agricola to the west, when the Romans advanced "up north" they made really fast work of it, creating a pincer movement up the two coast, including presumably Wigan.

Agricola was a long serving Roman general and became Governor of Britain as well after which he finally retired from public service.

Learn about about the Romans in Wigan on the latest episode of the Wigan History Podcast.

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This is an example of a gold aureus coin, which was found in Wigan depicting Emporer Vitellius.

Giving us an idea of the time period for the Roman occupation of Wigan.

Vitellius was the last of the emporers comprising of the "Year of Four Emporers" in Rome, lasting all of 8 months in power, he was made an enemy of the state, captured and beheaded in Rome.

Find out more about the Roman history of Wigan on the latest episode of the Wigan History Podcast.

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The ROMANS are here!!!

On this episode of the Wigan History Podcast we discuss the Romans in Wigan.

Were they here? Why were they here? What did they do here? And why did they leave?

Find out all this and more by listening in on your podcast app of choice... Just search "Wigan History Podcast"

Big thanks to
for use of the song "Good Old Days"...which is supporting

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Took a walk around today, was great to see it surrounded by white.