The Iron Age & The Romans |
There are very few records covering Thornton and the surrounding Fylde area during the Iron Age and the subsequent Roman Occupation. Although with the discovery of an Iron Age Settlement on Bourne Hill in Thornton, maybe we will soon be able to fill in some of the blanks.
The Setantii
Very little is definitely known about the Setantii tribe who are reputed to have inhabited Lancashire, including the Fylde in ancient times. The only reference is in the 2nd Century AD in an Atlas of Britain charted by Claudius Ptolemaeus (better known as Ptolomy) who was a renowned geographer and mathematician. In it he lists the much debated entry of ‘Portus Setantiorum’ which means 'Port of the Setantii'.
At the time of the Roman invasion of Britain in 43AD the Brigantes dominated northern England under the rule of their queen Cartimandua. They were a celtic clan who were said to have spent most of their time warring between their own tribes and it is thought that the Setantii were a sept, sub-group, of the Brigantes. The Roman view was that the Setantii were savages who worshipped the sun, painted themselves blue with woad and that their priests were Druids. Although the Romans did have a tendancy to be less than polite about the local celtic tribes. The Setantii are later referred to as the Segantii which has been interpreted to mean ‘the dwellers in the country of water’.
Portus Setantiorum
Portus Setantiorum is a mysterious pre-Roman port which is now generally accepted to be situated at the mouth of the River Wyre, possibly at Rossall Point near Fleetwood. Its exact location has been hotly debated over the years. Ptolmey’s map lists the following along the coast in the order they appear: Moricambe Aestuarium (Morecambe Bay), Portus Setantiorum, then Belisama Aestuarium (the River Ribble).
If Portus Setantiorum was situated somewhere within the Wyre estuary then why have we never heard anything about it ? Perhaps it lies hidden under modern day Fleetwood, or due to the eroding of the coastline and the rising tides it has been lost to the sea.
Or does it ?
Another theory is that people are looking in the wrong place for the wrong thing. Portus Setantiorum was not a Roman port but a Setantii port and we should therefore be looking for a late Iron Age Settlement.
This is the view of Wyre Archaeology, a local Archaeological Group. They have located a large Iron Age Settlement at Bourne Hill in Thornton which they believe to be the elusive Portus Setantiorum.
Click to see their findings
Excavation on Bourne Hill - 2007
Photograph courtesy of Brian Hughes
To add weight to this theory before Thornton Marsh was drained in 1799 the shoreline was very different to the one seen today and in early maps of Lancashire the area at Burn Naze is referred to as Bergerode. This is believed to be from the Old English term beor grade meaning a refuge/shelter, or a shallow harbour. Having said that Bergerode also translates directly to Red Mountain in Dutch. This might seem a strange language for translation but it is also the only language with a straight translation for the 'Toren' in Torentun translating as Tower, and we do have a Red Marsh.
Map: original shoreline and Bourne Hill Iron Age Settlement
The Roman Road
The road runs from the Roman fort and settlement at Ribchester westwards towards to the coast. Just after it passes through Kirkham, which is a Roman fort site, it makes a sharp turn and heads towards Puddle House Farm near Poulton from where it is disappears from the map.
It almost definitely continues past this point as the Romans were not in the habit of building roads which didn’t lead anywhere and it is likely that it would eventually lead to a roman settlement, either on the coast or the River Wyre. Where it does end up is a mystery, although the road is commonly known as ‘the danes pad’ due to it being used later used by rampaging Danes to plunder the local towns. This would suggest it reached a harbour on the River Wyre somewhere. Far from the road being straight, it is in fact a large sweeping curve made up of shorter straight sections but this is probably to take advantage of the higher ground as the Fylde would have been a much boggier place 2000 years ago. Could it now be hidden under the dissued railway line as the track follows the higher ground just as you would expect a Roman Road to ?
The most popular candidates for the final destination of the Roman road to date are Fleetwood, Castle Hill in Thornton , Poulton (where a horde of roman coins has been found) or the area around Skippool.