Possible Roman Roads

There are many suggested Roman roads in and around Hertfordshire but what are depicted on my county map below are believed to be the genuine ones. Below I will consider some of those that didn't make it to the map.

Historic Counties: Hertfordshire

Current Counties:Hertfordshire

HER: Hertfordshire

SIx Hills, Stevenage - Possible Roman road

The Six Hills are a collection of Roman burial mounds situated alongside the old Great North Road on Six Hills Common in Stevenage. They are a Scheduled Ancient Monument and form the largest surviving Roman barrow group in England. Thought to date from around 100AD but dating evidence is scanty at best. The old Great North Road is now swallowed up by Stevenage.

Image: Peter O'Connor (Creative Commons Licence)

Six Hills Possible Roman Road - Lidar and OS First Edition Mapping

The old Great North Road through Stevenage passes alongside the barrows which can hardly be a coincidence. This road appears to branch off the Baldock to At Albans Roman road (two options) and head south through Stevenage. The destination was probably Watton on the St Albans to Braughing Road but I could see no supporting evidence.

Oblique 3D Lidar Image - Six Hills

Roman cemeteries were placed alongside roads so there is some support for the Great North Road being based on a Roman road and it is through Stevenage made up of straight alignments..

Verdict: There is just not enough secure dating evidence to form an opinion.

Viatores Roman Roads

The Viatores were a group of 8 Roman road researchers based around St Albans who, in the late 50s and early 60s, recorded around 30 "new" Roman roads in the South-East Midlands - see map right.

It is easy to be critical now but all they had to go on back then were humps and bumps in fields, old tracks and field boundaries. With the advent of aerial photography and Lidar the majority of their roads simply do not stand scrutiny. My map at the top of this web-page is believed to represent the genuine Roman roads of Herfordshire.

Verdict: The majority of their "roads" can be safely discounted.

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Last update: March 2025

© David Ratledge