Lincoln Colony

After 1066 there was more fighting to do. Once William the Conqueror took over England, he had to go about the island defeating various resistance groups. Part of his strategy was to build castles and fortresses from which his people could control rebellions and manage the counties for him.Lincoln Castle was built on top of a previous Roman fortress. The name "Lincoln" comes from the Roman Lindum Colonia, founded during the reign of Nero or later, and garrisoned originally by the Ninth Legion. The Lindum part of the colony's name was probably from an earlier Briton name, "lindon" meaning pool or lake.The castle is unique in England (but for one other) in that it has two mottes as part of its defenses. (The illustration shows the remains of a Roman wall in Lincoln.) Lincoln had a very sophisticated water supply, fed by a spring in the northeast and run through ceramic pipes that ranged from 7.5" in diameter to 4". The spring itself is in a lower elevation, so there must have been some…