York is a 2000-year old continuously inhabited, historically important English city, second to London in importance for much of this time.
York is submitted for listing as a World Heritage Site as the outstanding example of urbanisation in north-western and northern Europe initiated by the Romans and developed through successive influences (Anglo-Saxon, Viking-age, Norman) to the present day. It is the pre-eminent example of such a city because the coherence of its surviving buildings and townscape, augmented by well-preserved archaeology below ground, provides an unparalleled physical record of the fusion of successive cultures. This dynamic, well-managed city contains well-preserved evidence from all periods and as such provides exceptional testimony to the evolution of the urban culture of cities in north-western and northern Europe from the Roman arrival to the present day and meets UNESCO`s Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) Criteria (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) and (vi).
Historic York forms the centre of the modern city. It sits at the southern end of the Vale of York where a glacial moraine crosses the vale from west to east and is breached by two rivers, the Ouse and the Foss: these three key natural features define the city’s topographic setting. The city developed around the strategic tidal river crossing, an inland port connected by river and sea to Europe and beyond. The c.200ha site is enclosed by the 3.5km circuit of multi-period defences together with selected extra-mural areas and approach roads. From the 1st century CE, the Roman legionary fortress, its civilian settlement and the colonia shaped the town, extended and augmented since by successive Anglo-Saxon, Scandinavian (Viking-age) and Norman developments. York Minster sits within the well-preserved defences, physically and visually dominating the site.
The site contains a diverse and well-preserved ensemble of buildings and structures dating from the 2nd to 21st centuries above-ground and an almost unparalleled set of multi-period, waterlogged, anoxic archaeological deposits below-ground. Exceptional public, corporate, ecclesiastical and private archives and internationally important museum collections are located in this outstanding compact and dynamic urban heritage site.
Source: UNESCO World Heritage Site Tentative List
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