Margary numbers are the numbering scheme developed by the historian Ivan Margary to catalogue known and suspected Roman roads in Britain in his 1955 work The Roman Roads of Britain. They remain the standard system used by archaeologists and historians to identify individual Roman roads within Britain. It is not known how the Romans identified the roads they built within Britain, and well-known names such as Watling Street and the Fosse Way largely date from the Anglo-Saxon period, are sometimes ambiguous or duplicated, and cover only a small proportion of the known network.
Margary's numbering system follows similar conventions to modern road numbering systems. He divided roads into three categories: Main Routes are given single-digit numbers, Principal Branches two-digit numbers and Minor Branches three digit numbers. Individual sections of longer routes are identified by adding letters to the route number, for example Dere Street (Margary 8) is divided into sections 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d and 8e. Double letters are sometimes used to indicate parallel or alternative routes. Lesser roads in particular areas are given similar numbers – for example many roads in Wales have numbers in the 60s.
Margary's cataloguing system has been criticised as being essentially arbitrary in several respects. Margary's hierarchy of routes is not necessarily that of the original designers or users of the network. Evidence for whether the Romans considered different lengths of road to form parts of a single route can be ambiguous, so the fact that they are given a single Margary number can be misleading. Margary's network also largely consists of roads built by the Romans, not necessarily roads used by the Romans, who may have continued to use native British trackways.
Margary's system is nonetheless widely used for its practicality, and the awarding of a Margary number to a route came to be considered a hallmark of authenticity among researchers in the field.
Main routes and principal branches Margary numberTraditional nameRoute1Watling StreetDover – (1a) – Canterbury – (1b) – Rochester – (1c) – London – (1d) – St. Albans – (1e) – Towcester – (1f) – High Cross – (1g) – Wall – (1h) – Wroxeter2Ermine StreetLondon – (2a) – Braughing – (2b) – Chesterton – (2c) – Lincoln – (2d) – Brough – (2e) – York3Great Road/Pye RoadLondon – (3a) – Chelmsford – (3b) – Colchester – (3c) – Baylham – (3d) – Caistor St Edmund4Port WayLondon – (4a) – Silchester – (4b) – Old Sarum – (4c) – Badbury Rings – (4d) – Dorchester – (4e) – Poole Harbour – (4f) – Exeter5Fosse WayAxmouth – (5a) – Ilchester – (5b) – Bath – (5c) – Cirencester – (5d) – High Cross – (5e) – Leicester – (5f) – Lincoln6Watling Street (West)Chester – (6a) – Wroxeter – (6b) – Leintwardine – (6c) – Monmouth – (6d) – Chepstow7Chester – (7a) – Manchester – (7b) – Ribchester – (7c) – Low Barrow Bridge – (7d) – Brougham – (7e) – Carlisle – (7f) – Crawford – (7g) – Cramond8Dere StreetYork – (8a) – Aldborough – (8b) – Catterick Bridge – (8c) – Binchester – (8d) – Corbridge – (8e) – High Rochester – (8f) – Newstead – (8g) – Dalkeith9Camelon – (9a) – Strageath – (9b) – Kirriemuir10Canterbury – Richborough11Canterbury – Upstreet12Stone StreetCanterbury – Lympne13Rochester – Hastings14London – Lewes15Stane StreetLondon – Chichester16Akeman StreetSt. Albans – (16a) – Alchester – (16b) – Cirencester17Norton – Duston18Ryknild StreetBourton-on-the-Water – (18a) – Alcester – (18b) – Wall – (18c) – Little Chester – (18d) – Chesterfield – (18e) – Rotherham19Stretton – Whitchurch21St. Albans – (21a) – Braughing – (21b) – Worsted Lodge22Braughing – Godmanchester23Akeman StreetArrington – (23a) – Cambridge – (23b) – Littleport24Via DevanaGodmanchester – Sible Hedingham25The Fen RoadUpton – Denver, Norfolk26King StreetAilsworth – Ancaster27Lincoln – Burgh-le-Marsh28Lincoln – (28a) – Doncaster – (28b) – Tadcaster – (28c) – York29South Newbould – Malton30Clapton – Great Dunmow31Bradwell on Sea32Stane StreetBraughing – Colchester33Peddars WayChelmsford – (33a) – Ixworth – (33b) – Holme next the Sea34Wixoe – (34a) – Baylham – (34b) – Peasenhall35Pulham St. Mary – Peasenhall36Stone StreetHalesworth – Woodton37Bunwell – Thetford38Halesworth – Woodton39Toftrees – Holkham41Ermin WaySilchester – (41a) – Speen – (41b) – Cirencester – (41c) – Gloucester42Silchester – (42a) – Winchester – (42b) – Bitterne43Winchester – Wanborough44Old Sarum – Mildenhall45Winchester – (45a) – Old Sarum – (45b) – Charterhouse46Badbury Rings – Kingston Deverall47Dorchester – Ilchester48Dorchester – Weymouth49Charmouth – Exeter51Ilchester – Puriton52Bath – Frome53Speen – Bath54Bath – Sea Mills55White WayCirencester – Hailes56Finmere – (56a) – Eatington – (56b) – Droitwich57Huntingdon – (57a) – Leicester – (57b) – Mancetter58Six Hills – (58a) – Grantham – (58b) – Donington60Newnham – (60a) – Caerleon – (60b) – Cardiff – (60c) – Neath – (60d) – Carmarthen61Gloucester – Mitcheldean62Sarn Helen (East)Caerleon – (62a) – Brecon – (62b) – Llandovery – (62c) – Llanfair Clydogau63Stretton Grandison – (63a) – Kenchester – (63b) – Brecon64Wroxeter – Trefeglwys66Chester – (66a) – Caer Gai – (66b) – Dolgellau67Chester – (67a) – St. Asaph – (67b) – Caerhun – (67c) – Caernarfon68Caernarfon – Caer Gai69Sarn HelenCaerhun – (69a) – Tomen y Mur – (69b) – Pennal – (69c) – Llanio – (69d) – Carmarthen70King StreetSandbach – (70a) – Warrington – (70b) – Wigan – (70c) – Preston – (70d) – Lancaster71The StreetLittle Chester – (71a) – Buxton – (71b) – Manchester72Ribchester – (72a) – Ilkley – (72b) – Tadcaster73Ingleton – Brough by Bainbridge74High StreetBrougham – Troutbeck75Carlisle – Egremont76Lockerbie – Lochmaben77Well PathCrawford – Dalswinton78Roberton – (78a) – Castledykes – (78b) – Glasgow79Peebles – (79a) – Castledykes – (79b) – Loudoun Hill80Barmby – (80a) – Durham – (80b) – Newcastle upon Tyne81Wade's CausewayYork – (81a) – Malton – (81b) – Whitby82Scotch Corner – Brougham83Willington – Durham84Maiden WayKirkby Thore – Carvoran85StanegateCorbridge – (85a) – Carvoran – (85b) – Carlisle86Military Way (Hadrian's Wall)Wallsend – (86a) – Portgate – (86b) – Carvoran – (86c) – Carlisle – (86d) – Bowness-on-Solway87Devil's CausewayPortgate – Tweedmouth88High Rochester – Whittingam89Lockerbie – Newstead90Military Way (Antonine Wall)Bridgeness – Old Kilpatrick
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