Not long after I first moved to Lincolnshire, and on my very first visit to the county capital, Lincoln. I made a beeline for the Newport Arch. I had prior to this, only ever seen it in photos, and usually black & white ones in books on Roman history.

Built in the 3rd C, it formed the north gate of the upper city section of Lindum Colonia. Enlarged, and yes, much messed about with (it continued a Medieval city gate) those arches you see are Roman, and the center one is the oldest arch in the UK still used by road traffic!

Though, this is not without risks. As twice HGV lorry drivers have tried to hasten its end by failing to check to see if they fit through it beforehand!

Despite its much denuded state. Archaeological excavations have over time allowed historians to build up a decent picture of what it looked like. This picture borrowed from @SocLincsHist shows the lower courses of the West most bastion exposed in 1955.

Many people aren't aware of the fact that this rounded western bastion. 1 of 2 towers facing North out of the city was consolidated and can still be seen in a little fenced-off area behind the Newport Arch Chinese restaurant next door.

Every time I visit Lincoln, my route into the city takes me under this Arch. And without fail my mind whirs with the possibilities. So finally got around to getting a model built. So I could see it in-situ

Now we are locked down, Lincoln seems an impossibly long way off right now. So I'm reduced to using images pinched form Streetview. Something I'll remedy when we are the other side of current events.

With a version (I'm going to endlessly tweak this I suspect) done, I'm looking hungrily at the other portals of Lindum Colonia.
#Lincolnshire #Lincoln