Aldborough Roman Site and Museum
About
Aldborough Roman Site and Museum preserves the remains of Isurium Brigantum — the principal Roman civilian town and administrative capital of the vast Brigantes tribe territory in northern Britain. The site, managed by English Heritage, stands in the quiet Yorkshire village of Aldborough near Boroughbridge, occupying part of a walled Roman town that at its peak in the third and fourth centuries AD covered approximately 55 acres and housed a population of several thousand people. It is one of the most significant and least-visited Roman archaeological sites in northern England.
The Brigantes were the largest tribe in Roman Britain, occupying a territory stretching across most of what is now northern England. After their resistance was finally crushed following Cartimandua's deposition and Venutius's revolt in the AD 70s, the Romans established Isurium as the administrative capital of the region. The town was laid out on a regular grid plan, enclosed within impressive stone walls — substantial sections of which survive to height — and equipped with the full apparatus of Roman urban life: forum, basilica, public baths, temples, private houses with mosaic floors, and eventually a Christian church.
The principal attraction today is a pair of exceptional in situ mosaic floors, the finest surviving Roman mosaics in the north of England. These are housed in protective shelters in private gardens adjacent to the village, accessible with admission to the site. The mosaics — one depicting a lion and bird design, the other a geometric pattern of great complexity — date from the late third or fourth century and testify to the prosperity and sophistication of the town's inhabitants. The small museum contains finds from the site including coins, pottery, bronzes, and architectural fragments, along with a detailed model of the town at its Roman peak.
The surrounding village of Aldborough has grown up within and on top of the Roman town, and visitors can walk the course of the Roman walls, observe where the gates stood, and appreciate the remarkable survival of a Roman grid plan in the modern street layout.
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Plan Your Visit
⏱️ Recommended Visit Duration
💡 Visitor Tips
- Combine Aldborough with a visit to the Devil's Arrows standing stones near Boroughbridge — they are freely accessible just 1.5km away across the fields and are extraordinary monuments in their own right.
- The site is very quiet and uncrowded — this is an excellent place for a peaceful exploration without the coach parties that crowd more famous Roman sites.
- The town trail leaflet (available from the museum) guides you around the Roman wall sections in the village — allow 45 minutes for the trail in addition to the museum visit.
- The nearest good café facilities are in Boroughbridge, 2.5km away. The village pub in Aldborough sometimes provides food in season.
- This site rewards visitors who have seen larger Roman remains elsewhere — the quiet village setting and in situ mosaics create a completely different experience from York or Vindolanda.
- Access from the A1(M) at Boroughbridge junction makes this an excellent stopping point for travellers on the Great North Road.
- English Heritage members should remember their cards for free admission — the site is small but the mosaics alone are worth the detour.
Highlights
The In Situ Roman Mosaic Floors
Two exceptional Roman mosaic floors remain in situ in the gardens adjacent to the museum, covered by protective shelters — the finest survivals of Roman mosaic craftsmanship in northern England. The larger mosaic features a geometric design of great complexity, with interlocking panels of meanders, hexagons and lozenges in a palette of terracotta, cream and grey.
The second mosaic depicts a lion and bird in a circular medallion, a characteristic fourth-century motif.
Viewing these mosaics, still in the rooms for which they were created nearly 1,700 years ago, is one of the most immediately powerful archaeological experiences in Yorkshire.
The Roman Town Walls
Sections of the original Roman town walls survive to significant height in several locations around the village, testifying to the scale and ambition of Isurium Brigantum. The walls enclosed an area of approximately 55 acres, making this a substantial provincial town, and their construction in the late third century AD represents a major investment by the Roman authorities.
Walking the course of the walls through the village gives a vivid sense of the original town's extent, and the contrast between the Roman masonry and the medieval and later buildings that grew up against and over it is fascinating.
The Site Museum and Roman Model
The small museum building contains a well-curated collection of objects found during excavations at the site over more than a century. Pottery, coins spanning the Roman occupation, bronze brooches and fittings, glass vessels, and building materials give a tangible sense of everyday Roman urban life.
The centrepiece is a detailed scale model of Isurium Brigantum at its fourth-century peak, reconstructing the forum, basilica, temples, bathhouse and private houses from archaeological and comparative evidence.
The model is one of the best reconstructions of a Romano-British town to be found at any site museum.
The Brigantes Tribe — Roman Britain's Largest Territory
Interpretive material at Aldborough tells the story of the Brigantes, the largest tribal grouping in Roman Britain, whose territory covered what is now Yorkshire, Lancashire, parts of the Midlands and southern Scotland. Their complex relations with Rome — initially through the client queenship of Cartimandua, whose alliance with Rome was a stabilising factor in northern Britain — and their eventual subjugation under Petillius Cerialis from AD 71 is one of the most dramatic stories in Roman Britain.
Isurium was established as the administrative capital of this vast territory, replacing the military fortress at York (Eboracum) in civilian functions.
Collections
The Aldborough collections held in the site museum document three centuries of Roman urban life at Isurium Brigantum, from the town's foundation in the AD 70s through its gradual abandonment in the late fourth and early fifth centuries. The collections include pottery, coins, personal ornaments, architectural fragments, and environmental material from excavations conducted from the nineteenth century onwards.
The star objects are the in situ mosaic floors visible in the adjacent garden shelters.
The Roman town walls and the ghost of the street plan in the modern village constitute a significant outdoor collection in their own right.
Isurium Brigantum — Capital of the Brigantes
Museum displays and interpretation panels covering the history, archaeology and everyday life of Roman Isurium, with the scale model of the town as centrepiece.
The Mosaic Shelters
Two in situ Roman mosaic floors in protective shelters in gardens adjacent to the museum — the finest Roman mosaics in northern England.
Current Exhibitions
No current exhibitions. Please check the museum website for updates.