Stratford sub Castle village website
Salisbury, Wiltshire UK
A Roman road - The Portway - Stratford sub Castle
When conditions are right, the Roman Road beneath the football field appears as a visible pale line. It appeared in May 2020.
These photographs were taken in April 2019 when the Old Sarum Landscapes Project (University of Southampton) undertook a geophysical survey revealing buildings alongside the road and even rooms within those buildings. This road was lost till 1962. It is the Portway, a name that has been applied to the London to Exeter route and smaller segments therein e.g. Silchester to Sarum, Silchester to Dorchester.
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Photographs are by author who was part of the surveying team.
With Permission of the Old Sarum Landscapes Project. All Photos and annotations by the author.
The definitive account of Roman works in this area is James, David J. 2002. Sorviodunum - A Review of the Archaeological Evidence, with a contribution by David J. Algar. The Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine Volume 95 p 1-26.
The same author has a shorter article on this website The Portway
Kerry O'Connor
February 2021
This article supplies the answer to Question No. 16 in the website's
Local History Photo Quiz.
In June 2023, the route of the roman road was once again visible. These two images were taken from Old Sarum by Mike Gill.
