Roman Rig

The Roman Rig is the name given to a series of earthworks in the north of Rotherham, in South Yorkshire [1]. They are believed to originally have formed a single dyke running from near Wincobank, in Sheffield to Mexborough [1]. Its purpose and date of construction are unknown [1]. Formerly thought to have been a Roman road, modern archaeologists think that it was built either in the 1st century AD by the Brigantian tribes as a defence against the Roman invasion of Britain or after the 5th century to defend the kingdom of Elmet from the Angles [1]. The southernmost end of the dyke is thought to have been close to Lady's Bridge at the River Don in Sheffield, but today, it becomes visible only close to the Iron Age fort at Wincobank [1]. The dyke continues in a north-easterly direction following the Don Valley to Kimberworth in Rotherham where it splits into two branches that continue roughly parallel to each other in a sweep starting to the north-east and turning east [1].