OLD ROMAN CAMP

Waipa Post, Volume 44, Issue 3178, 14 May 1932, Page 3

OLD ROMAN CAMP

The possibility that Baildon, Yorkshire,, may date back to Roman times is being discussed by Baildon residents. Was this moorland village ever the home of a great sports arena? Were gladiators once seen there, and racing charioteers? is asked. Antiquaries are attempting to answer these questions following the discovery by Mr John North, of Baildon, of a large stone in the north wall of the church, on which were the Words: “A.D. 1549 spoliar.” Mr North, who is a noted antiquary, is not satisfied with the date on the stone; he says he believes it was added much later, and that the inscription itself is not complete. The word itself should be, he contends, “spoliarum,” and not “spoliar.” The spoliarum was the place in the arena where the dead gladiators were laid.