Prehistoric There is no evidence that a prehistoric settlement occupied the site before the arrival of the Romans. However,
Stone Age activity has been recorded in the area. Two
Mesolithic flints and a flint
flake as well as a
Neolithic scraper have been discovered. A shard of late
Bronze Age pottery has also been found
in situ. In 1772 during work to widen a canal a D-shaped gold
bulla was dredged from the River Irwell; this item was subsequently lost but detailed drawings survive which show it to have been very similar to the late
Bronze Age Shropshire bulla found in 2018. Although the area was in the territory of the
Celtic tribe
Brigantes, it may have been under the control of the
Setantii, a sub-tribe of the Brigantes, when the Romans took control from the ancient
Britons.
Roman Construction of Mamucium started around AD 79 during the campaigns of
General Julius Agricola against the Brigantes after a
treaty failed. Excavations show the fort had three
main phases of construction: first AD 79, second around AD 160, and third in AD 200. The first phase of the fort was built from turf and timber. By the late 1st and early 2nd centuries, a civilian settlement (called a
vicus) had grown up around the fort. Around AD 90, the fort's
ramparts were strengthened. Mamucium was demolished some time around AD 140. it was abandoned some time between 120 and 160 – broadly coinciding with the demolition of the fort – before it was re-inhabited when the fort was rebuilt. at the Roman fort, Castlefield The second phase was built around the year 160. Although it was again of turf and timber construction, it was larger than the previous fort, measuring to accommodate extra granaries (
horrea). Around 200, the gatehouses of the fort were rebuilt in stone and the walls surrounding the fort were given a stone facing. which would have been the first in Manchester. Mamucium was included in the
Antonine Itinerary, a 3rd-century register of roads throughout the
Roman Empire. This and inscriptions on and repairs to buildings indicate that Mamucium was still in use in the first half of the 3rd century. The
vicus may have been abandoned by the mid-3rd century; this is supported by the excavated remains of some buildings that were demolished and the materials robbed for use elsewhere. The
County Archaeologist said As well as Pagan worship, there is also evidence of early Christian worship. In the 1970s, a fragment of 2nd-century
"word square" was discovered with an anagram of
PATER NOSTER. There has been discussion by academics whether the "word square", which is carved on a piece of
amphora, is actually a Christian artefact, if so, it is one of the earliest examples of Christianity in Britain.
Medieval After the
Roman withdrawal from Britain around 410, the area of Mamucium was used for agricultural purposes. listed among the 28
cities of
Britain by the
History of the Britons traditionally attributed to
Nennius.
16th–18th centuries After lying derelict for centuries, the ruins were commented on by
antiquarians
John Leland in the 16th century,
William Camden in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, and
William Stukeley In the mid-20th century, historian
A. J. P. Taylor called the surviving stretch of Roman wall "the least interesting Roman remains in Britain". The first excavation of the
vicus was carried out in the 1970s under
Professor Barri Jones. and partial reconstructions of the forts walls, including the ramparts and gateways, were opened in 1984. In 2001–05 the
University of Manchester Archaeological Unit carried out excavations in the
vicus to further investigate the site before the area underwent any more regeneration or reconstruction. The archaeological investigation of Mamucium Roman fort and its associated civilian settlement has, so far, provided approximately 10,000 artefacts. ==Layout==