File:RIB 257 South Common Tombstone, Lincoln.JPG|thumb|left|Tombstone of Gaius Valerius, a standard bearer of the Ninth Legion. Found on the South Common, Lincoln (RIB 257)
Construction 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 the year 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.
Development The
Ninth Legion,
Hispana was probably moved from Lincoln to found the fortress at
York around 71 AD Then, after a probable short occupation by the Second Legion, who had moved to
Chester by 77–78 AD the Legionary fort would have been left on a care and maintenance basis. The exact date that it was converted into a
colonia is unknown, but a generally favoured date is 86 AD. 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 equestrian statues,
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 200. Between this point, and the city's peak in the early 4th century the town could maintain a population of between six and eight-thousand. 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. On the basis of Lindum's size and the patently corrupt list of British bishops who attended the
314 Council of Arles, the city is sometimes considered to have been the capital of the
province of
Flavia Caesariensis which was formed during the late-3rd century
Diocletian Reforms. However, it is now thought more likely that Lincoln would have been the administrative capital of
Britannia Secunda and that York was the capital of Flavia Caesariensis.
Decline and transformation The city and its waterways eventually fell into decline, and, by the end of the 5th century, it was virtually deserted. However, the church of continued as a place of worship until at least 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. Archaeological evidence indicates that a timber
apsidal church was probably built either in the 5th or 6th century in the centre of the old forum. This church was large enough to hold around 100 worshippers, challenging the idea that Lincoln was nearly deserted. Instead, it fits with other evidence for Lincoln retaining its central position in the post-Roman polity called
*Lindēs, which became the
Kingdom of Lindsey in the
Anglo-Saxon period. == Planning, infrastructure, trade and religion ==