Roman Calderdale

There is considerable evidence for Roman presence in the Calderdale district

A lead figurine with a cornucopia was found in Northowram
In 1590, Roman kilns were found by miners at Grimescar
In 1597, workmen found a Roman altar at Thick Hollins
Hoards of Roman coins have been found at Elland Wood, and Stainland, and smaller quantities at Sowerby, Warley, and Heptonstall
In 1797, whilst excavating a quarry at Rastrick, there were found about 20 urns, from 4 to 15 inches in diameter, containing ashes, and fragments of burnt human bones, supposed to be Roman. The large urns were 3 ft down, and the small ones 1½ ft below the surface, and they were surrounded by a black substance which was supposed to be the remains of the fires in which the bodies had been burnt. Some of the urns were curiously ornamented but most of them fell to pieces before they could dug out. One of them was inverted, and it contained bones much better preserved than those found in the others
Around 1830, a hoard of gold coins was found at Lightcliffe. The coins included some from 184 BC, some from Imperial Rome and Caligula [37-41 AD]. There were also some British gold coins, bearing the name of Volisios. It is possible that these were left by refugees from the Claudian invasion
In 1914, a hoard of bronze Roman coins was found by the girls of Crossley & Porter Orphanage
In 1952, two men discovered a hoard of Roman coins in Scout Wood, Mytholmroyd, these included 533 silver coins
In 1963, the archæology group from Ovenden Secondary School discovered a section of Roman road on Ogden Moor

Stories of a Roman road over Blackstone Edge are probably fallacious, and those which tell of the Roman road from Manchester to Ilkley going via Calderdale are also doubtful, although it may have passed through Soyland

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Page Ref: MMR71

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