Roman Road from Godmanchester to Earith

Margary Number: None

Distance: 11 Miles to Earith Fen Drove. ( +1 mile to Camp Ground)

There were two largish settlements Earith, Fen Drove & Camp Ground, on the western edge of the Fens. It was natural for them therefore to have a road connection to their nearest major Roman town at Godmanchester. An airfield looks to have used the Roman agger as a foundation for its runway!

For details of the Earith settlements see Stonea and the Roman Fens, Tim Malim, p160-162, 2005.

Historic Counties: Hertfordshire & Cambridgeshire

Current Counties:Hertfordshire & Cambridgeshire

HER: Hertfordshire & Cambridgeshire

Lidar Image - Full Route from Godmanchester to Earith

The first section is really guesswork as the modern road probably overlies most of it - apart perhaps for the climb up to an old airfield. The latter has destroyed much of the route. Was this a case of utilising the Roman agger for the runway? Fortunately east of the airfield we have a long clear section almost to the southern of the two settlement, Fen Drove. Connecting the two settlements was a simple straight road.

Oblique 3D Lidar Image - Airfield to Earith

This is the best surviving stretch of the road. When I first spotted this there was no doubt that it was a Roman road.

Lidar Image and Route Map 1

Just that old cutting up the climb visible on this stretch

Lidar Image and Route Map 2

This is the long section east of the airfield

Lidar Image and Route Map 3

Simple connection between the two sites.

The canal (shown in blue) is more likely a cut-off drain as it runs along the edge of dry land and the fens. It could of course have been both but cut-off drain seems favourite.

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Last update: July 2025

© David Ratledge