A History of Yorkshire

The county of Yorkshire and the town of York have had many names over the centuries: Eboracum, Ebrauc, Dewyr, Northumbria, Jorvik. And each name tells us another part of the history of that region.

At the end of the last European ice age, around 8000 BC., humans first settled in the Yorkshire region on the northeast coast of England. In the Mesolithic period, around 7000 BC, evidence has been found small settlements in Yorkshire, one example being found at Star Carr, near Scarborough. During the early Bronze Age, around 2300 BC, Yorkshire families began burying their dead underneath circular mounds of dirt called round barrows, often with bronze artifacts -- examples can be found in the Wolds, the Pennine, and the Moors (all upland locations), and within the Ferrybridge Henge. The Iron Age started around 700 BC in the Yorkshire area, the best example being the remains of a settlement found on Harkerside Moor, near Swaledale.

Celtic tribes lived in the Yorkshire area in the 1st century AD: the Brigantes (a tribe living near Tyne and Humber), the Parisii (in East Riding), and the Carvetii (in Cumbria). The Brigantes were the only tribe of the three living in permanent settlements; the other two tribes led nomadic existences.

The Roman occupation of Yorkshire began in 71 AD. At first, the Romans advanced only as far north as the River Don, which, at that time, was the southern edge of the territory of the Brigantes. The Romans expanded their control north across the River Don and defeated the Brigantians at Stanwick in 74 AD. Roman military stations were set up north of the Humber, in the Pennines at Olicana (now Ilkley), Slack, and Castleshaw. Temporary military camps were built by the Romans on Cawthorne's North York Moors, and at Goathland. A line of coastal signaling stations, one of which still exists at Castle Hill, Scarborough, was also built by the Romans on the North Yorkshire coast. The city of Eboracum (now York) was established as the Roman capital of Northern Britain; in the 3rd century AD, Eboracum was made an honorary Roman colony

The Romans built roads from the already-conquered southern regions of Britain north into Yorkshire, ending at Eboracum, Derventio (now Malton), Isurium Brigantum (now Aldborough), and Cataractonium (now Catterick). The ancient Roman road system still exists as the path of many of the modern main roads in Yorkshire, including sections of the A1, the A59, the A166 and the A1079.

Hadrian's Wall was built in the 2nd century AD, stretching from the banks of the River Tyne to the shores of the Solway Firth. This long defensive wall encouraged the growth of civilian settlements in Yorkshire and other northern provinces south of the wall.

Before 80 AD, the Romans made Eboracum the military capital of Britannia Inferior, but, after Britannia was divided by the Romans in 296 AD, the Romans made Eboracum the administrative center of Britannia Secunda. In 402 AD, the Roman garrison was recalled from the city of Eboracum to deal with military problems and threats elsewhere in the Roman empire. The Roman occupation of Yorkshire was over.