YORK CITY WALLS TRAIL
Roman
There have been defences around York since AD 71, when the 9th Roman Legion arrived en masse at the point where the Rivers Ouse and Foss met, and built their standard defensive structure to protect themselves against the local populace.
The Roman Defences
The first defences were very simple – soil, which was dug out of a defensive ditch, was piled up inside to form an earthen rampart which was capped by a timber palisade; this palisade had been completely replaced by a stone wall by the 3rd century AD.
Eboracum
A large and important town grew up around the fortress and on the opposite bank of the River Ouse over the following 150 years. The Romans called it Eboracum.
Multangular Tower
The most spectacular part of the Roman defences that you can see today is the lower section of the Multangular Tower, which stands in the Museum Gardens in the centre of York.