Excavations at Templeborough
In 1877 local historians, J D Leader and John Guest carried out archaeological excavations of part of the fort and bath house at Templeborough for the Rotherham Literary and Scientific Society. Evidence was found that the fort had been burned to the ground and rebuilt on two occasions.
A tile stamped with the stamp of Cohors IV Gallorum found on the site dates to either the time of Domitian (81 - 96) or Trajan (98 - 117).
Pottery from the reigns of Nero and the Flavian Emperors was found indicating that the fort was established early in the period of the Roman rule of Britain. Other pottery finds date from all other periods and indicates that the fort was occupied right up to the Roman withdrawal from the province. Coins also cover all periods and the latest are from the reigns of Carausius (286 - 293) and probably Constantine (307 - 337).
Steel, Peach and Tozer's steelworks acquired the site of the fort in 1916 in order to expand their works to meet the demand for steel during the First World War. The plans for the steelworks required the site to be leveled, and 10 - 15 feet of soil were removed from the area of the fort, destroying all archaeological remains. However, before the works were constructed the Roman archaeologist Sir Thomas May was invited by Rotherham Borough Council to re-excavate the fort over the course of eight months from November 1916 to July 1917.
The relics of the fort, such as they are, are in (and outside) Clifton Park Museum. The granary was rebuilt in the park behind the Museum in 1922.