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Roman Soldiers At The Treasurer's House, York

Oops missed this. Has anyone superimposed that over the current streetmap? I can't quite figure out in my head where the place I'm thinking of is, related to that? Do any of the roads follow the line of a still existing road?

Best I can do:

York-Decumana-Roman-ghost-Fortean.png


Edge of Minster bottom left; via Decumana in yellow; Treasurer's House the dumbbell-shaped building in dark grey.

maximus otter
 
One of the clearest diagrams I've seen is from the Discovery Channel video posted upthread, which has a slightly different orientation but is very clear.
View attachment 47635
Putting your map and maximus otter's together, yes I think the street I have in mind might be a continuation of the Via Decumana? If it continued in a straight line down below Minster Yard... (just comparing your two maps to one of the city centre from Google).
 
When most people think "Roman", they think about togas, though only a tiny proportion of the Roman population would have worn them at all frequently; in fact, by the time the Romans had a serious presence in Britain, the toga would have been regarded as a PITA, and only worn, grumbling, at very posh dos.
. . .
Perhaps this lady was more attuned to Animal House than UK history?
Perhaps she saw the ghost of a frat boy?

(Do you even have frat boys over there? Maybe she saw the ghost of an American frat boy on vacation in England.)
 
Apparently, in the basements of a whole string of shops - presumably along the line of a Roman road - for years now, workers have seen the same thing Harry Martindale did. For that reason, most of the shops pay for storage space elsewhere in the town centre. This costs £, as you can imagine, but the feeling is so strong - many staff and in more than one shop on the same street, refuse to go into the cellars.
If these apparitions occurred in Stonegate, that is indeed the Via Praetoria, leading to the principia and the heart of Roman York. This is more-or-less the same route as the medieval Common Hall Lane down to the river, a now-enclosed tunnel under the Guildhall, which is supposed also to have Roman roots.
fig399.jpg

Common Hall lane is usually closed to the public, so it isn't on the tourist trail.
 
I remember either reading or listening but not 100% sure that somebody witness a Roman and orgy then one of the Roman male participants looked up in shock at the witness and then the orgy scene disappeared ...or was I reading a top shelf back in the 90s :thought:
 
If these apparitions occurred in Stonegate, that is indeed the Via Praetoria, leading to the principia and the heart of Roman York. This is more-or-less the same route as the medieval Common Hall Lane down to the river, a now-enclosed tunnel under the Guildhall, which is supposed also to have Roman roots.
fig399.jpg

Common Hall lane is usually closed to the public, so it isn't on the tourist trail.
LOL. Yes, Stonegate. Shops on right hand side as you look up from Betty's end twards Minster. But may well have been seen on other side too. Oh wow, I have never even heard of Common Hall Lane - I know where you mean though. There's some Roman bits up in the Museum Gardens as well, so maybe that linked up with it. Must have been a network of Roman streets all round where Minster now is, and down to the river, I guess. Wonder if there were still some signs of it all in Anglo Saxon times?
 
Nah we don't have frat or sorority houses but there are plenty of lads here who are whatever the UK equivalent is, of frat boy.
I am pained to report that at Son No 2's university, his halls of residence had a gentleman's society - patently not a drinking club, that was forbidden - which met at least once a month for shenanigans. To throw the authorities off the trail, they were know as the Bobsleigh Society. The young ladies of the same halls had an equivalent organisation that went by the title of the Curling Society.

Considering the opening event of each year involved the imbibing of a bottle of wine per person, I feel that they may have been flaunting the rules somewhat.:beer:
 
I am pained to report that at Son No 2's university, his halls of residence had a gentleman's society - patently not a drinking club, that was forbidden - which met at least once a month for shenanigans. To throw the authorities off the trail, they were know as the Bobsleigh Society. The young ladies of the same halls had an equivalent organisation that went by the title of the Curling Society.

Considering the opening event of each year involved the imbibing of a bottle of wine per person, I feel that they may have been flaunting the rules somewhat.:beer:
A bottle of wine you say? I can soon make one of those beauties vanish. 'Me, the 13 Duke of Wybourne in the ladies dormitory at 3am? What were they thinking!'
 
I am alway surprised that Malton doesn't have the same level of 'tales of haunting' as York. It was similarly occupied, on a river crossing and yet there's not much in the way of ghostly happenings there. It does feel a little bit as though York gets all the activity and everywhere else is just 'here be dragons.'
 
I am alway surprised that Malton doesn't have the same level of 'tales of haunting' as York. It was similarly occupied, on a river crossing and yet there's not much in the way of ghostly happenings there. It does feel a little bit as though York gets all the activity and everywhere else is just 'here be dragons.'
That particular group of roman soldiers must have experienced something traumatising. Are there other roman hauntings in York?
 
That particular group of roman soldiers must have experienced something traumatising. Are there other roman hauntings in York?
Marching off to Boudicca-inflicted doom? Or was that too early?
 
If so many have seen them, I am surprised no one has set up a film/photo camera in the basement to see if they could catch it
 
The modern 'cosplayers' or as they want to call themselves, reenactors.
LOL doubt it. 20 years ago we were regularly "doing" medieval in York and don't remember any Roman re-enactors roaming about randomly in kit about apart from the odd one, bumped into on The Shambles once - and there was only one of him.

Few months back I was in a modern building in York, that has a massive picture window, waiting to do a Zoom talk in period costume - 1800s. And was walking about a bit, just before I went on. It was first storey but as I say, massive window. Realised there was a bunch of kids outside, staring open-mouthed up at the window where I was... (Kids' playground just outside).

There were two of us in this utetrly modern building but dressed as 1800 people so we decided to mess with their heads...

Someone had to bring a couple of the kids up, to prove we weren't ghosts (and walked in with them during my talk which pissed me right off). But there may well now be some of those outside-kids who are convinced they saw an 1800s' farmer's wife and a strange man in a top hat, in York, a few months back...

But lol, no. Have walked right through town in various incarnations - mainly 15thC - and never got a second glance. Everyone's used to seeing Vikings at pedestrian crossings and my mate who did Anglo Saxons and 1780s, regularly went shopping wearing her 18thC cloak in winter - never got the side-eye, even.

I'm still convinced that man we regularly see in complete 1950s' office worker get up on Goodramgate has to not be real, though! (No, actually he's very solid indeed).

What I'm trying to say is - re-enactors/living history people tend to know eachother, quite often (at least, they all know my other half, I never recognise anyone!) so we'd hear on the grapevine if a bunch of Romans were in town and we were very active at that time, and I don't recall it.

ETA: Also if they're actual battle re-enactors, they have to be well insured with public liability insurance to do what they do - so would be unlikely to be fighting with weapons even at dawn when nobody was about, least of all if in the centre of a city.
 
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I seem to remember someone in the early hours of the morning seeing people fighting near where the Davygate centre was. Im struggling to remember details but I think they were dressed in Roman garb. I heard this story over 20 years ago so some details are probably wrong!
Apparently, in Roman times it was "covered by barracks"... Is also at the end of Stonegate so it might figure that people on Stonegate have also seen the Romans. Although they're at basement level and the ones the trader reported must have been street level.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davygate
 
Not being sure about how ghosts work, I’ve been thinking about these Roman ghosts and how plausible the story is. At face value, the story is about a unit of well-drilled soldiers marching through the walls on the old road. But how did they all become ghosts? Did they choose to become ghosts? Why didn’t some say ‘Oh no, this isn’t for me thank you very much’, and make other arrangements? Would there then be gaps in the marching procession or would they organise themselves into a tight formation with the ghosts that remained? On what grounds or qualifications did the horse get to join them as a ghost?
When you think about it, bunches of ghosts like this don’t make much sense. Stone Tape makes for a better theory. Although tall tale fits a little better.
 
Not being sure about how ghosts work, I’ve been thinking about these Roman ghosts and how plausible the story is. At face value, the story is about a unit of well-drilled soldiers marching through the walls on the old road. But how did they all become ghosts? Did they choose to become ghosts? Why didn’t some say ‘Oh no, this isn’t for me thank you very much’, and make other arrangements? Would there then be gaps in the marching procession or would they organise themselves into a tight formation with the ghosts that remained? On what grounds or qualifications did the horse get to join them as a ghost?
When you think about it, bunches of ghosts like this don’t make much sense. Stone Tape makes for a better theory. Although tall tale fits a little better.
Maybe they just didn't have enough cash to pay their way across the River Styx. Or something observed a bunch of Romans all those years ago and now imitates them in order to wind the witnesses up...
 
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