5 January 2026
The East Midlands sits at the crossroads of some of the most significant Roman highways ever constructed in Britain. From the Fosse Way, which linked Exeter to Lincoln in a remarkably straight line, to Ermine Street, running north from London through the heart of the region, these ancient routes shaped settlement patterns that persist to this day. Historic England continues to document and protect many of these routes, which are increasingly revealed through modern technologies such as LiDAR scanning.
For local historians and archaeology enthusiasts in the East Midlands, understanding these roads provides a vital key to unlocking the region's earliest recorded past. The Roman network was not merely a series of tracks; it represented a sophisticated system of engineered highways, carefully surveyed and constructed to facilitate the rapid movement of troops, goods and information across the province of Britannia.
The Fosse Way Through the East Midlands
The Fosse Way remains one of the most iconic Roman roads in the country, and it passes directly through the heart of the East Midlands. Running from the south-west of England to Lincoln, the road served as an early frontier of the Roman province around 47 AD before the conquest pushed further north and west. In Leicestershire, long stretches of the modern road network still follow the original Roman alignment, a testament to the quality of the surveying carried out nearly two thousand years ago.
Along its route through the region, the Fosse Way connected a string of settlements and staging posts. Archaeological excavations at several points along the road have revealed evidence of roadside inns, workshops and small trading communities that grew up to serve travellers. These discoveries help to paint a picture of a busy and commercially active region, well connected to the wider Roman world.
Ermine Street and the Route North
Ermine Street, the great road running north from London to York via Lincoln, is another defining feature of the East Midlands landscape. The road entered the region from the south, passing through what is now Northamptonshire before continuing north through Lincolnshire to the colonia at Lincoln. This was one of the most important military and administrative roads in Roman Britain, and its route can still be traced through the modern road network, particularly along sections of the A1.
The significance of Ermine Street extended well beyond the Roman period. During the medieval era, much of the route continued to function as a major thoroughfare, and it remained central to the region's transport infrastructure until the development of the turnpike system in the eighteenth century.
New Discoveries Through Technology
In recent years, the availability of freely accessible LiDAR data has transformed understanding of the Roman road network. This technology, which uses laser scanning to create highly detailed elevation maps of the ground surface, has allowed researchers to identify the surviving remains of road embankments, terraces and drainage ditches, even in areas where no trace is visible at ground level. Across the East Midlands, this has led to the identification of previously unknown road sections and corrections to the established mapping of known routes.
Community groups and individual researchers have played an important part in this process, and several related articles have appeared in the East Midlands History and Heritage magazine over the years. By combining LiDAR analysis with traditional fieldwalking and documentary research, local historians have been able to build a much more detailed picture of how the Roman road network functioned within the region. These collaborative efforts demonstrate the value of bringing together modern technology and grassroots historical investigation.
The Roman roads of the East Midlands remain a living part of the landscape. Whether walking a footpath that follows an ancient alignment or driving along a modern A-road built on Roman foundations, residents and visitors continue to use routes that were first laid out nearly two millennia ago. Understanding this infrastructure is essential for anyone seeking to appreciate the depth and continuity of human activity across the region.