More than a millennium before the English city of York and several centuries before the Scandinavian capital of Jórvík stretched, in the heart of the future British Yorkshire, the Roman colony of Eboracum.
The current city has been proud for years of the richness of its heritage.
But this one is mainly medieval, so much so that Eboracum struggles to exist between the splendid motte castle of York and its beautiful Gothic cathedral.
This is why the municipality plans to create a "Roman quarter" in order to better highlight the ancient past of York.
The center at the heart of the project, however, raises an outcry from archaeologists and British heritage defenders.
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Supposed to be set up on York's West Bank, the center in question has dreamed big.
In place of three current buildings, a ten-storey complex could grow, comprising a museum-attraction called Eboracum, associated with nearly 2,300 m2 of office space, an 88-room hotel and 153 accommodations.
The Jorvik Viking Centre, the existing museum dedicated to York's Scandinavian past, should serve as a model for the Eboracum museum centre, which intends to double in size this medieval center inaugurated in the 1980s. A good tourist model, no doubt , since it has welcomed 20 million visitors in 35 years.
An ambitious excavation program
The project was submitted in January 2022 for consideration by York City Council, a year after a first version failed.
The group of real estate developers behind this development project, associated with the local archaeological operator, York Archaeological Trust (YAT), claims to be able to create more than 600 jobs and generate 315 million pounds sterling (378 million euros). approximately) for the local economy over thirty years.
But before laying the first stones, it will be necessary to dig.
A large-scale archaeological site, concentrated on a third of the site for two years, should thus make it possible, according to the spirit of the developer, to bring to light vestiges suitable for being highlighted within their future setting dedicated to the ancient Eboracum.
Artist's impression of the interior of the future Roman Museum of York.
The promoter of the project speculatively counts on prodigious discoveries, like the mosaic presented in the foreground.
York Archaeology/Rougier Street Developments
Archaeologist David Jennings, one of the YAT officials in charge of the project, hopes in particular to find traces of a camp of Roman legionnaires, installed on this side of the Ouse, the river that crosses the modern city.
Excavations carried out in the years 1980-1990 in the district had thus revealed the mention of a centurion, Sollius Julianus, also cited at Hadrian's Wall, some 115 kilometers further north.
“We hope to be able to uncover elements that will make the link between the old Roman road, the economy of the city or even the eating habits of the inhabitants”
, explains the researcher to the British weekly
The Observer
.
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The excavation program nevertheless causes the consternation of the specialists of Historic England, the organization in charge of the preservation of English heritage, and those of the Council for British Archaeology, a structure for the promotion of archaeological research.
Thus it seems strange to them to base such an important development plan on the risky fortune of an excavation... which could just as well not bring to light anything sensational.
The procedure runs backwards from the traditional cycle of a preventive search.
The 'Roman Quarter' project on York's Left Bank could inject nearly €378 million into the local economy over the next 30 years, says the developer.
York Archaeology/Rougier Street Developments
Scientific and ethical preventions
“The concept of this project is to say, 'We want a museum, so to make it happen, we're going to dig a very big hole looking for artifacts that we can display. And to fund it all, we're going to erect a building over it,''
joked
The Observer
Neil Redfern, director of the Council for British Archeology.
The British heritage specialist continues:
“We know the York Archaeological Trust well, it is a good archaeological unit.
But there was an error in judgment in this story.”
On Twitter, Neil Redfern still regrets that archeology and the museum center project are manipulated to justify this major urban development project.
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The Council for British Archeology has flagged York City Council as
"unsuitable" for the
"Roman Quarter"
scheme
.
“Would this ten-storey building be considered a positive addition for York, without its museum?”,
Argued the organization in a letter addressed in March to York Council, reported by the BBC.
Historic England also responded with a letter sent to the City Council.
“This project is confused and incoherent
, crushed the influential organization, quoted by the regional daily newspaper
The Press
.
If, as is claimed, it is a single site, then the whole site should be surveyed in order to identify areas with high archaeological potential.
This will allow to fully understand the consequences of the development project and to formulate the most suitable rescue measures.”
The City of York must deliver its opinion on the second version of the project for this ancient district in the coming months.
