6th May 2006
Was Wigan Occupied during the Roman Period?
The answer is yes. There is a large volume of evidence to prove that there was some sort of occupation in the town during the Roman period. But the exact nature of this is debatable. Wigan is thought to be the site of Coccium, which was mentioned in the Antonine Itinery (no. X). This document was compiled in the 2nd century AD and is a sort of Roman road map. The distances between settlements are measured in paces which can be translated roughly into modern miles. Coccium is described as being 20,000 double paces from Bremetenacum, (Ribchester) and 17,000 from Mamucium (Manchester), roughly 20 miles and 17 miles respectively. There is further evidence of a road from Wigan to Wilderspool, near Warrington. Wigan Archaeological Society have investigated the evidence for these roads and the results can be found on their web site.
This site, www.roman-britain.org, calls Coccium "a minor Romano-British settlement". Other sources describe it variously as a settlement, a station, a military station, a fort, a town. Until comparatively recently there had been only a few Roman finds in the Wigan district and these were relatively unimportant. In 1982, however, an excavation undertaken by Greater Manchester Archaeological Unit in the Wiend, right in the centre of town, unearthed late 1st and early 2nd century buildings, which were thought to be warehouses.
During the construction of a new shopping centre on Millgate in 2005, Coccium's importance was considerably enhanced by many important Roman finds. The most exciting of these were the remains of a large structure. It soon became clear that this was a large colonnaded building containing three hypocausts. The archaeologists, Oxford Archaeology North, concluded that the building was probably a mansio, a roadside service area reserved for travelling government officials. The three hypocausts, and an area thought to be a cold plunge, indicate the presence of Roman baths attached to the main building. Oxford Archaeology North consider these discoveries to be among the most important Roman finds in the area.
There can now be little doubt that Wigan is the site of Coccium and this was an important Romano-British Settlement.