MANCHESTER (Mamucium)		Quality of Remains
		Ease of Access
		Atmosphere & Setting

History:

The first known fort of Mamucium (also known as Mancunium) dates from the Flavian period, though finds at the site have attested a more-or-less continuous presence throughout the rest of the Roman occupation. The date the timber fort was replaced in stone is not known, though it may have been at the end of the 2nd Century when the barrack blocks are known to have burnt down. Certainly the stone remains date from at least the Severan period. The small civilian vicus outside the fort seems to have flourished, though remaining small, at the confluence of several major roads.

Occupation:

Apparently rebuilt in stone by the 6th Legion, Manchester records the presence of a detachment from Raetia and Noricum (though a detachment of whom is not clear), the 1st Cohort of Frisiavones, the 1st Cohort of Baetasians and the 3rd Cohort of Bracara Augusta, none of whom can be dated with certainty.

Remains and Visit:

Manchester's roman remains are not well signed, though they lie very close to Deansgate station. Just a walk down the steps from the station and you will find yourself in Castlefield, among the remains. Thou a great deal of excavation has been carried out, the only original consolidated remains to be seen are those of several houses in the Vicus. However, the site is well worth visiting for its reconstructions, which include one of the fort's gates, a stretch of wall and the base of one of the granaries.

Images:

Vicus buildings	Reconstructed gate	Reconstructed wall	Reconstructed granary	Aerial view (c/o Google Earth)