Roman fort at Doncaster, England
Introduction Tonight, I am in Doncaster , Yorkshire, northern England.This former town (pop 312,000) has recently been granted city status, the highest accolade for a community in the U.K. This city has Roman origins, the clue to which lies in the name. The 'caster' element is a corruption of the Anglo-Saxon caester which effectively mean 'Roman fort'.This name is derived from the Latin ' castrum '. Here is an artist's impression of the fort in context of the nearby River Don which contributes the first syllable of Doncaster.The 'Don' name predates the Roman period and probably mean 'water'. More information on the Roman fort The Romans successfully invaded what is now England in AD 43 and progressively worked north from their southern base. The earliest fort at Doncaster dates from AD 71. This was re-built 15 years later. The fort was partially abandoned from the AD 120s, a development which may have been influenced by the construction o...