Roman York: Excavations of 1925
In the course of last summer the York Roman Excavations Committee invited me to direct some excavations at the east corner of the Roman fortress as a preliminary to more extensive work in the future. It was supposed that the remains of a bastion—similar to the Multangular Tower in the Museum Gardens—might be found under the mound upon which the city wall is built. Before exploring that possibility, however, we decided (1) to see what evidence would be given by a section through the north-east rampart close to the east corner; (2) taking advantage of the fact that a yard off Bedern was available for excavation, to supplement our first section by cutting a trench across the south-east defences where they have parted company with the later mound, city wall and moat, and where, therefore, one might hope to get a profile of the Roman ditch; and (3), guided by the results so obtained, to examine the east corner for traces of the rounded turn and internal angle-tower of the pre-bastion type of fortification. It was after those evidences had been secured that we proposed, if there was still time, to trench outside the corner and prove (or disprove) the existence of the supposed bastion.