Historic Roman Site - York Minster, York, Great Britain.
N 53° 57.699 W 001° 04.904
30U E 625849 N 5980958
The site of a significant event in Roman History. At York Minster Constantine the Great was proclaimed Emperor in the year AD.306 at the Roman Basilica, which is now beneath York Minster Cathedral, York, Great Britain.
Waymark Code: WMK66X
Location: North East England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 02/19/2014
Views: 9
Opposite the south door of York Minster there stands a great Roman column nearly 8m high. It was found by archaeologists digging in 1967 to 1972 underneath the Minster tower. The column had originally been one of sixteen supporting the roof of York’s greatest Roman building, the basilica of the fortress headquarters.
"The basilica was about 70m long and stood as high, perhaps, as the Minster nave. This is where a legionary commander, or even
an emperor, could address his troops and it is quite likely that in this very hall, Constantine the Great was proclaimed Emperor in the year 306." Text Source: (
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"Constantine came to Britain with his father, the emperor Constantius, in 305. Constantius died in July the following year in York.
The system of succession at the time demanded that another Caesar should become emperor but the soldiers in York immediately proclaimed Constantine their leader. It proved to be a pivotal moment in history. He is known as Constantine the Great for very good reasons." Text Source: (
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"Outside the south door of York Minster, there is a statue of a seated man. He looks pensively at the sword he holds, point down, in his left hand. The tip has broken off. The sword has become a cross. The man represented is Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus, who was, on 25 July 306, declared Emperor of Rome within a few yards of his modern statue. He was the man who converted Rome to Christianity, the man who would be declared both a saint and a god after his death.
On the base of the statue are the words “Constantine. By this sign conquer”. This refers to one of the defining moments in the history of Western civilisation: the vision that led Constantine to victory at the battle of Saxa Rubra, when his forces defeated those of one of his rival emperors, Maxentius. This in turn led to Constantine’s acceptance of Christianity and his imposition of it on the whole Roman Empire." Text Source: (
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