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About Multangular Tower, Museum Gardens
York’s Roman fortress was largely rebuilt in stone about AD 200 having been first established in AD 71 by troops of the Ninth Legion.
Around AD 300, Eboracum’s defences were further strengthened under the direction of Emperor Constantine the Great.
Large Multangular Towers were added at the angles of the stone wall that looked down onto the River Ouse.
The West Angle Tower is ten-sided, but is based on a 14-sided figure, left open on the inside to allow access from the rear to several internal floors.
Surviving to a height of 19ft, the stone structure may have originally been well over 30ft (10m) in height, much taller than the legionary fortress wall.
Only the bottom portion is Roman, identifiable by the small rectangular stone blocks, different to the upper section, reconstructed in the medieval period when cruciform arrow slits were added.
A major detail in the construction is the band of red tiles running through the middle, possibly used to bind the tower together structurally.
Multangular Tower, which acquired its name from 1683, projects from the fortress wall, allowing Roman troops to fire down on any attackers trying to scale them.
