York Historic Environment Record

The South-West gate at Eboracum, the Porta Praetoria, is situated in St Helen's Square, under the roadway and the Yorkshire Insurance Building, (shown by excavations in the 18th and 19th century). (1) RCHME p12

RCHME, 1962, Inventory of the Historical Monuments in the City of York, Volume 1 Eboracum (Bibliographic reference). SYO62.

YAT, 1996, The Archaeology of York Vol 3 The Legionary Fortress, p247 (Serial). SYO1764.

Southern most gate of the Roman legionary fortress. During the pedestrianisation of the square in 1988 material was noted which may represent the footings of the gatehouse. The footings were also recorded in 1922 as 'cobbles grouted in lime and laid in clay' this may correspond to material observed in 1988. However, the location of the Porta Praetoria is uncertain due to inaccuracies in records and contradictory sources. The foundations were recorded at 1.84m, in addition Roman structures were found in St Helens Square in 1770 at c.2.1m. The 1988 observation did not resolve any of the problems regarding the location of the gatehouse. The exact location of the gatehouse and the street can only be identified by further archaeological work.