Editing Doncaster (section)

===Roman===
Possibly inhabited earlier, Doncaster grew up on the site of a [[Roman fort]] of the 1st century CE, at a crossing of the [[River Don, South Yorkshire|River Don]]. The 2nd-century [[Antonine Itinerary]] and [[Roman withdrawal from Britain|early-5th-century]] ''[[Notitia Dignitatum]]'' (''Register of Dignitaries'') called the fort '''{{lang|la|Danum}}'''. The first section of road to the Doncaster fort had probably been built since the early 50s, while a route through the north [[Derbyshire]] hills was opened in the later 1st century, possibly by Governor [[Gnaeus Julius Agricola|Gn. Julius Agricola]] in the late 70s. Doncaster provided an alternative land route between [[Lindum Colonia|Lincoln]] and [[Eboracum|York]], while the main route [[Ermine Street]] involved parties breaking up to cross the [[Humber]] in boats. As this was not always practical, the Romans saw Doncaster as an important staging post. The [[Roman road]] appears on two routes recorded in the [[Antonine Itinerary]]. The itinerary includes the same section of road between Lincoln and York and lists three stations between these two [[Roman colonia|coloniae]]. Routes 7 and 8 (''{{lang|la|Iter}}&nbsp;VII & VIII'') are entitled "the route from York to [[Londinium|London]]".

Several areas of intense archaeological interest have been identified in the town, although many such as [[St Sepulchre Gate]] remain hidden under buildings. The Roman fort is thought to have lain on the site now taken by [[St George's Minster, Doncaster|St George's Minster]], beside the [[River Don, South Yorkshire|River Don]]. The Doncaster garrison units are named in a ''Register'' produced near the [[Roman withdrawal from Britain|end of Roman rule in Britain]]: it was the home of the Crispinian Horse, presumably named after the tribes living near [[Crispiana]] in [[Pannonia Superior]] (near present-day [[Zirc]] in western [[Hungary]]), but possibly after [[Crispus]], son of [[Constantine the Great]], who was headquartered there while his father was based in nearby [[Eboracum|York]]. The ''Register'' names the unit as under the command of the "[[Dux Britanniarum|Duke of the Britons]]".

In 1971 the [[Danum shield]], a rectangular Roman shield dating to the 1st or 2nd century CE, was recovered from the site of the Danum fort.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Buckland |first1=Paul |title=A First-Century Shield from Doncaster, Yorkshire |journal=Britannia |date=1978 |volume=9 |pages=247–269 |doi=10.2307/525941 |jstor=525941 |s2cid=162342730 |issn=0068-113X}}</ref>

An inscribed altar, dedicated to the [[Matres]] by Marcus Nantonius Orbiotalus, was found at St Sepulchre Gate in 1781.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://romaninscriptionsofbritain.org/inscriptions/618 |title=RIB 618. Altar dedicated to the Mother Goddesses |publisher=Roman Inscriptions of Britain |access-date=17 February 2021 |archive-date=20 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820212632/http://romaninscriptionsofbritain.org/inscriptions/618 |url-status=live}}</ref> This was donated to the [[Yorkshire Museum]] in 1856.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/stream/handbooktoantiqu00welliala#page/34/mode/2up |title=Handbook of the Antiquities in the Grounds and Museum of the Yorkshire Philosophical Society |date=1881 |author1=[[Charles Wellbeloved]] |publisher=[[Yorkshire Philosophical Society]] |pages=34–35}}</ref>
[[File:MedievalDoncaster.gif|right|thumb|Map showing the boundary of the fortified Medieval township of Doncaster with four Gates]]