Produced by Ron Swanson
[Frontispiece: Roman Britain shewing the chief Roman Roads.]
THE TOWNS OF ROMAN BRITAIN
By the
Rev. J. O. Bevan,
M.A., F.G.S., Assoc. Inst. C.E., F.S.A.;
Fellow of the College of Preceptors and Examiner, Sometime Prizeman,
Exhibitioner and Foundation Scholar of Emmanuel College, Cambridge.
Author of
"_The Genesis and Evolution of the Individual Soul_"
"_Egypt and the Egyptians_"
"_University Life in the Middle Ages_"
"_Handbook of the History and Development of Philosophy_"
"_Archaeological Map of Herefordshire_"
and numerous other Works.
London
Chapman & Hall, Ltd.
1917
[All Rights Reserved]
THE WESTMINSTER PRESS
411A HARROW ROAD
LONDON W
PREFACE
The Author writes the last line of this book with a sigh at the
incompleteness of his work. He is conscious he has touched but the
fringe of the mantle covering the form of the silent Muse of History,
but his efforts will be justified if he succeeds in persuading even a
single student to persevere and lead the fair Clio to disclose the
full story of which broken whispers are here recorded. No one can
doubt the fascination of this page of our nation's development,
dealing as it does with the dawn of that day of which, please God,
the complete effulgence will shine more and more to the perfect end.
In this brochure attention has been chiefly directed to the _towns_
of Roman Britain, as it would have required a volume of stupendous
size to formulate a record of sites associated with isolated
settlements, camps, burrows, "and bowers," or grounds whereon sports
were conducted. Again, there are spots of interest more or less
connected with Roman occupation, in tradition or in fact, such as
Alderney,[1] Porchester,[2] Glastonbury, Avebury, Arbow Low in
Derbyshire, Stripple Stones, on Bodmin Moor, in Cornwall, the
hill-fort in Parc-y-meirch Wood, Dinorben, Denbighshire. The line we
have been compelled to draw necessarily excludes such as these. The
present work is intended to furnish a compendious guide to readers
who desire to study the fruits of the Roman occupation, to trace out
the roads they laid down, and to possess themselves of the position
and essential features of the centres where they congregated for
commerce, pleasure, or defence. The Author has long been attracted to
the elucidation of the early history of Britain, and this feeling was
intensified by the work he undertook some years ago in connection
with the compilation of an Archaeological Map of Herefordshire, on
lines laid down by the Society of Antiquaries. His experience at that
time made him aware how such an undertaking might serve to quicken
the curiosity, and to whet the expectation of the student of old time
as to the wonderful secrets which await the skilful use of such
humble implements as the shovel and the pick in almost any quarter of
our island home.
[Footnote 1: Alderney (Ald, _old_; Ey, _island_). This, the most
northerly of the four Channel Islands seems to have been known to the
Romans as _Riduna_. Remains of ancient dwellings have been found
there.]
[Footnote 2: To the north of Portsmouth Harbour is situated
Porchester Castle, a ruined Norman fortress, occupying the site of
the _Portus Magnus_ of the Romans.]
The Author desires to convey his acknowledgments to Messrs. Philip
and Son, Ltd., of Fleet Street, for their kindness in permitting him
to make use of the blocks for the two Maps which appear in this
volume.
CHILLENDEN RECTORY,
CANTERBURY.
_Nov., 1916_.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
Table of Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Introduction
Historical Sketch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Early History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Main Divisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Roman Britain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Remains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Introduction of Christianity . . . . . . . . 10
Influence of Roman Occupation . . . . . . . . 11
Roman Roads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Roman Influence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
List of Roman Towns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Aldborough (_Isurium Brigantum_) . . . . . . 19
Aldeburgh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Bath (_Aquae Solis_, or _Sulis_) . . . . . . 19
Caerleon (_Isca Siluvum_) . . . . . . . . . . 22
Caerwent (_Venta Silurum_) . . . . . . . . . 24
Caistor Castle (_Venta_) . . . . . . . . . . 24
Canterbury (_Durovernum_) . . . . . . . . . . 24
Cardiff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Chester (_Caerleon Vawr_) . . . . . . . . . . 28
Chesterford (_Iceanum_) . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Chichester (_Regnum_) . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Cirencester (_Corininum_) . . . . . . . . . . 30
Colchester (_Camolodunum_) . . . . . . . . . 30
Corstopitum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
The Wall of Hadrian . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
The Wall of Antonine . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Dorchester (Dorsetshire) (_Durnovaria_) . . . 35
Dorchester (Oxfordshire) (_Dorcinia_) . . . . 36
Dover (_Dubris_) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Exeter (_Caer Isca_; _Isca Damnoniorum_) . . 38
Gloucester (_Glevum_) . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Isle of Wight (_Vectis_) . . . . . . . . . . 39
Kenchester (_Magni_) . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Lancaster (_Castra ad Alaunam_) . . . . . . . 40
Leicester (_Ratae_) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Lincoln (_Lindum Colonia_, or _Lindocolina_) 41
London (_Augusta_) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Lympne (_Lemanae_) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Maldon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Manchester . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Portsmouth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Reculver (_Regulbium_) . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Richborough (_Rutupiae_) . . . . . . . . . . 50
Rochester (_Durobrivae_) . . . . . . . . . . 51
Silchester (_Calleva Atre-batum_) . . . . . . 51
St. Albans (_Verulamium_) . . . . . . . . . . 52
Winchester (_Venta Belgarum_) . . . . . . . . 54
Wroxeter (_Uriconium_, or _Viroconium_) . . . 55
York (_Eboracum_) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Appendix A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Appendix B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Appendix C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Appendix D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
TABLE OF MAPS.
Roman Britain showing the chief Roman Roads Frontispiece
The Roman Wall To face page 31
INTRODUCTION
HISTORICAL SKETCH.
The earliest notice of Britain is in Herodotus (B.C. 480-408); but he
mentions the Tin Islands (Scilly Islands and Cornwall), only to
confess his ignorance about them. More important is a passage in
Aristotle (B.C. 384-322), who (writing a century later) is the
earliest author who mentions the British Isles by name, as he does in
the following passage: "Beyond the Pillars of Hercules (the Strait of
Gibraltar) the ocean flows round the earth, and in it are two very
large islands (Nesoi Britannikoi), called in British Albion and
Ierne, lying beyond the Keltoi." The application of the name
Britannia to denote the larger island, is due to Julius Caesar (B.C.
100-44), who is the first _Roman_ writer to mention Britain. The name
itself may be derived from Welsh, _brith_, mottled, tattooed, or from
_brithyn_, cloth, cloth-clad, as opposed to the skin-clad Celts.
The history of Britain would be a very long one if we only knew it.
It is clear that a considerable interchange of commerce was carried
on between the south-eastern parts of the island and Gaul, and that
even the remoter regions of the Mediterranean were largely dependent
upon Britain for their supplies of tin from the Cornish mines, of
lead from Somerset, and of iron from Northumberland and the Forest of
Dean.
Politically, Britain consisted of a number of independent bodies,
united in a federation of the loosest kind, in which the lead was
taken by that tribe which happened at the time to be the most
powerful or to have the bravest or most astute leader.
About B.C. 56 Caius Volusenus was sent to this country by Julius
Caesar to examine the coast preparatory to an invasion. The step was
threatened, because it was alleged that the Britons had aided and
abetted some of the Gaulish tribes in their resistance to the Roman
domination. On August 26th, B.C. 55, Caesar himself set sail from
Portus Itius, near Boulogne, with two legions, and effected a
landing, presumably near Deal. A good deal of discussion has taken
place relative to this point, and much has been said as to the action
of the winds and tides in determining his landing place. Probably he
would have made a feint at Dover and one or two other places, under
cover of which the main body would land at a spot weakly defended. At
all events, the resistance offered by the British was soon overcome,
easy terms being imposed on their submission. Soon after, Caesar
left, but early in the following summer he again invaded these shores
with five legions and two thousand cavalry. He landed in the same
neighbourhood as before, and advanced 12 miles inland to the river
Stour before meeting with the islanders. Ultimately he decisively
defeated Cassivelaunus, the leader, either near London or his
capital, Verulamium. The conqueror departed at the fall of the year,
without leaving behind any garrison, but, at the same time, taking
away hostages to ensure the carrying out of the terms imposed.
Then ensues a period during which direct Roman influence of a
dominant or military character fell into abeyance, so that one is
required to take up the tale at a much later period, viz., the
accession of Claudius, in A.D. 41. That emperor determined to carry
out the intention of Augustus to exact the promised tribute from
Britain. In 43 he despatched Aulus Plautius with four legions, who
obtained an easy victory. Claudius himself received the submission of
the tribes. In 42, Vespasian also--who afterwards became emperor in
69--was warring against the Silurian chief, Caradog, or Caractacus (a
son of Cunobelin). The latter was defeated in 50 by P. Ostorius
Scapula, and found refuge in the country of Cartismandua, queen of
the Brigantes, who, however, ultimately gave up her prisoner.
There is a tradition embodied in the Welsh Triads that Caradog and
his wife were taken to Rome, and that three hostages accompanied
them, by name Bran, Llin, and Claudia, respectively the father, son,
and daughter of the brave British chieftain. It is further surmised
that Llin and Claudia were the Linus and Claudia referred to by St.
Paul in 2 Tim. iv, 21, and that Bran, after seven years banishment at
Rome--where he embraced Christianity under the influence of the great
Apostle of the Gentiles--returned to his native land to proclaim the
new religion to the people.
In 61, Boadicea, Queen of the Iceni, revolted against the Roman yoke,
sacked London and Colchester, but was defeated near the former city,
and took poison rather than fall into the hands of the victors.
Agricola became governor in 78, and subjected to his rule the
Ordovices Nivales. Not long after, he attacked the Brigantes and
Galgacus. In 120, Hadrian was engaged in building the Roman or Pict
wall between the Tyne and Solway Frith, which has for so long borne
his name. Nineteen years later, Tollius Urbicus constructed the
rampart, called the Wall of Antonine (Antoninus Pius 86-161), along
the line of Agricola's forts, built between the Forth and the Clyde,
to overawe the wild tribes to the north. This wall is now known by
the name of Graeme's Dyke. In 207 onwards, Severus built a new wall
along the line of Hadrian's rampart. He died at York in 211. The
years 287, 288, saw the reigns of Carausius and Allectus. In 296,
Constantius Chlorus regained Britain for Rome. He also died at York
in 306. In 307 the Picts and Scots overran the country as far as
London. The General Theodosius was sent to oppose them, and drove
them back beyond Valentia, the fifth Roman division northwards. The
title of Emperor was assumed by Maximus in 383, but he was put to
death in 388. Stilicho, the general of Honorius, transferred one
legion from Britain into Gaul. This weakened the defence of the land
against the northern tribes, as the legion never returned. At this
epoch ever-growing confusion and division manifested themselves
within the Roman Empire, whereupon its hold on distant provinces grew
weaker and weaker. At one period there were as many as six Emperors
contending with one another for the sole authority; and in 410, the
year in which Rome was sacked by the Goths under Alaric, the Roman
occupation was terminated according to the terms of a letter
addressed by Honorius to the cities of Britain.
EARLY HISTORY.
Nothing very specific can be said about the settlements of the Celtic
inhabitants of these islands before the coming of Caesar. The country
must have been largely covered by forests and intersected by fens.
Different tribes occupied different centres and were nomadic
according to the season of the year. Barter was common, and there
must have been facilities for the distribution of those goods which
had their origin in Gaul. An export trade, too, was actively carried
on in regard to such metals as tin, which were borne in rude
conveyances along well-defined trackways wrought out along the
sheltered sides of hills.
Certain spots--woods, hills, wells--from their size, shape, position,
or some accidental association, were regarded as sacred, and became
the centres of religious worship, of sacrifice, and of schools of
priests. Thus we have--then, or in somewhat later times--Bangor,
Mona, or the Isle of Augury, Stonehenge, Avebury, etc.
The coming of the Romans led to the opening up of new roads, and
caused the building of walls of defence against predatory tribes. It
also accentuated the position of many of the camps, centres of
population, and strategic posts.
MAIN DIVISIONS.
In the reign of Claudius (B.C. 41-A.D. 54), the country south of the
Solway Frith and the mouth of the Tyne formed one Roman province
under a consular legate and a procurator. Ptolemy (_fl._ 139-162)
(who flourished at Alexandria, and was one of the greatest of ancient
geographers) mentions 17 native tribes as inhabiting this district.
The Emperor Severus (146-211) divided the whole into two parts,
Britannia Inferior, the south, and Britannia Superior, the north. In
the division of the country under Diocletian, Britain was made a
diocese in the prefecture of Gaul, and was governed by a vicarius,
residing at York. It was split up into five provinces, of which the
boundaries, though somewhat uncertain, are supposed to have been as
follows:
_Britannia Prima_--the country south of the Thames and of the Bristol
Channel.
_Britannia Secunda_--Wales.
_Flavia Caesariensis_--the country between the rivers Thames, Severn,
Mersey, and Humber.
_Maxima Caesariensis_--the rest of England, up to the wall of
Hadrian.
_Valentia_ (soon abandoned by the Romans), Scotland south of the Wall
of Antoninus.
To ensure the obedience of the natives, various Roman legions,
composed of Gauls, Germans, Iberians, rather than of pure Romans,
were stationed in Britain, viz., at such places as Eboracum (York),
Deva (Chester), Isca (Caerleon), and Magni, or Magna (Kenchester).[1]
[Footnote 1: In the _Itinerary_, as in the Ravenna Geographer, we
have only the form _Magnis_, presumably from a nominative _Magni_, or
_Magna_.]
ROMAN BRITAIN.
The population of Roman Britain was, in the main Celtic; the Cymric
division predominating in the south and east, the Gaidhelic in the
north and west. There existed, besides these, remnants of two earlier
races--a small dark-haired race, akin to the Basques, or Euskarian
(found in S.W. England, S. Wales,[2] and parts of the Scotch
Highlands), and a tall, fairhaired race.
[Footnote 2: See Appendices A & B.]
Under the Romans, many towns (_coloniae_ and _municipia_) were
founded. In several cases their position had been occupied, as winter
or summer quarters, by the aboriginal inhabitants; the choice of the
site being determined by the contour of the hills, the convergence of
trackways, or the proximity to the sea or rivers. Fifty-six Roman
towns are enumerated by Claudius Ptolemy (_fl._ A.D. 139-162). They
formed centres of Roman authority, law, commerce, and civilization;
the conquerors, to a very limited extent, were able to introduce
their own literature. Amongst others, the free inhabitants of
Eboracum and Verulamium enjoyed the coveted rights of Roman
citizenship. The Ravenna Geographer gives a list of towns--the names
of some of which being difficult to identify. Principally to ensure
military dominance, the conquerors made many main roads, mostly
centering in London. They also developed the land into a corn-growing
country.
The history of the towns that became Roman is known to us very
imperfectly and unevenly, in respect of elements earlier than the
conquest of A.D. 43; of the beginnings, whether official or personal;
of their size, original planning, character and composition of the
buildings, of the language, degree of civilization, and comparative
wealth of the inhabitants; of the relation of the town-life to the
life of the adjacent country-side. Further, great mystery shrouds the
particulars of their overthrow when the aegis of the Roman authority
was withdrawn. There are but few survivals of towns to the present
day, and parallels must be sought rather in Pannonia[3] and North
Africa than in the Western European Empire.
[Footnote 3: Now Illyria, a part of Hungary; finally subdued by
Tiberius, A.D. 8.]
REMAINS.
The site of a Roman town always occupied a commanding position as to
elevation, the confluence of roads, or the proximity of rivers. It
was surrounded with walls, which were pierced with gates defended by
towers and bastions. The houses of the well-off were unpretentious
outside, but were fitted inside with comfort and even elegance. The
rooms were built around a courtyard. In the villas at Brading and
Chedworth tesselated pavements have been found, and traces of baths.
Each city was furnished with a Forum, a Basilica, a Temple, and a
series of Public Baths. Outside the walls were a Theatre, an
Amphitheatre, and a Cemetery.
A goodly proportion of articles recovered constitute treasure-trove
in its purest form--objects buried, perhaps, by the owners in
expectation of a raid, and never recovered owing to the incidence of
death. Many finds have been simply fortuitous, but tombs have been
the most valuable repositories. The objects recovered therefrom are
in very different states of preservation. Fashioned iron implements
have suffered the greatest from natural decay, often merely
suggesting the fine smith's work lavished upon them; bronze articles
are the less corroded. Gold, the purest of metals, has defied the
ravages of time, and ornaments can be reproduced in the form and
semblance they possessed when they left the hands of the maker. It is
tolerably certain that women formed a part of the early Saxon and
Danish raiders; and it is no less certain that a few women, at
various times, came over with Roman soldiers or immigrants. To the
graves of women especially we look for the recovery of numberless
articles of use and adornment. Probably, at the first, there were
also surface memorials over the graves so closely jumbled together in
the cemeteries, but the violence of man and the inroads of the
weather would combine to sweep them away at an early period.
The Baths at Bath furnish the best example of the kind in England;
London also has the remains of a Bath of Roman times in the Strand.
It is stated that the church of St. Mary the Virgin at Dover is built
on the site of a Roman bath, and that the market square there
occupies the position of the Roman Agora. Pits used for tanning or
dyeing are to be seen at Silchester, and various other industrial
occupations are indicated from what may be seen at that city, at
Wroxeter, and at various other centres.
INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY.
Before Christianity was planted in Britain, the religion of its
inhabitants was Druidism. Julius Caesar described this form of
devotion as it existed in Gaul. The history of the beginnings of
Christianity in this country is obscure. Most likely the faith was
originally proclaimed in Britain by various independent agents, in
different parts of the island. There are indistinct echoes of
apostolic origin--of contact with the East and with Spain; but
probably the new doctrine was introduced by merchants from Gaul or by
soldiers in the Roman legions who were sent into the island by
Claudius Caesar under Aulus Plautius in the year 43 A.D. In the
following pages mention will be made of the martyrdom of certain of
these early saints at St. Albans and Caerleon.
It may be said that the first Christian institution in Britain,
_i.e._, the church of the garrison towns, was Roman in its origin and
atmosphere; and that the second was founded by the followers of S.
Germanus of Vienne, in France, whose Christianity was probably
derived from Ephesus. Also that the origins of Celtic Christendom
contained distinctively Greek elements. In the Romances,[4] too,
there are various obscure but significant indications of certain
influences derivable from Egyptian Christianity; but, vitally and
essentially, the Celtic Church constituted itself. Like that of
Ireland, it was tribal and monastic, not diocesan; and, in both
cases, this loose organization proved to be a source of great
weakness.
[Footnote 4: Compiled by such men as Robert of Gloucester (_temp._
Henry III).]
INFLUENCE OF ROMAN OCCUPATION.
Roman remains found in different parts of the island include
foundations of towns (such as Silchester, Wroxeter), streets,
milliaria, parts of walls and gates; baths, furnaces, flues, wooden
and leaden water-pipes (London, Bath); villas with mosaic pavements,
painted walls (London, Chedworth, near Cheltenham, Brading,
Carisbrooke); altars, votive inscriptions, sculptures, bridges,
weapons, tools, implements, pottery, domestic utensils, gold, silver,
and bronze ornaments and toilet articles, and coins.
The Romans laboured to render permanent their conquest of Britain.
They introduced their native refinement, and greatly improved British
arts. To this fact testimony is furnished by the tumuli, barrows,
earthworks, monoliths, cromlechs, cairns, and such like remains,
which are continually revealing secrets concealed ever since the
debacle which followed the departure of the Roman hosts from our
shores. Even as these words were being written, the Author read in
_The Times_ of the day an account of Nonsuch Palace at Ye Well, or
Ewell, in Surrey, in which it was stated that in the course of recent
excavations for the creation of a Japanese garden and lakes, Roman
silver coins and pottery were found, testifying to the fact that
Ewell was a Roman settlement, being, in fact, identified with
Noviomagus.[5]
[Footnote 5: About the same time, the discovery of a Roman pavement
was recorded at Filey, and of coins and a Roman bath at Templeborough
Camp, Yorkshire.]
So true is it that below us on every side there have been hidden for
centuries by the dull, heavy soil, innumerable traces of the life,
working, and death of the different races of men successively
inhabiting this island. What a wonderful story would not these
remains be able to disclose if each claimant were granted a voice,
and if each voice could unfold its own narrative!
ROMAN ROADS.
The method of the construction of the Roman roads largely varied with
the nature of the country traversed; but they were uniformly raised
above the surface of the neighbouring land, and ran from station to
station in a straight course, almost regardless of hills. The more
important lines were elaborately constructed with a foundation of
hard earth, a bed of large stones, sometimes two more layers of rough
stones and mortar, then gravel, lime, and clay; and, above all, the
causeway was paved with flat stones. The width was generally about
fifteen feet, and at regular intervals were posting stations. The
distance was regularly marked off by milestones (_mille passuum_--a
thousand paces). The principal roads were four in number, viz.,
Watling Street, the Fosse Way, Icknield Street, and Ermine Street.
Originally, Watling Street probably ran from London to Wroxeter. Its
northward and westward continuations proceeded from Wroxeter into
Wales; its southern continuations between London, Canterbury and the
parts about Dover seem also to have received the same name.
Drayton, in his Polyolbion, XIII (1613), says:
"Those two mighty ways, the Watling and the Fosse ... the first
doth hold her way
From Dover to the furth'st of fruitful Anglesey;
The second, north and south, from Michael's utmost mount,
To Caithness, which the farth'st of Scotland we account."
The Fosse ran from the sea-coast at Seaton, in Devonshire, (R.
Maridunum) to Leicester, with a continuation known as High Street, to
the Humber.
The Icknield Way seems to have extended from east to west from
Icilgham, or Icklingham, near Bury St. Edmunds, underneath the chalk
ridge of the Chilterns and Berkshire Downs, to the neighbourhood of
Wantage, thence to Cirencester and Gloucester.
The Ermine Street ran north and south through the Fenland from London
to Lincoln.
Besides the four great lines there were many scarcely subordinate
ones. There were, _e.g._, several Icknield Streets. Akeman Street ran
from Bath, north-east by Cirencester, through Wych-wood Forest and
Blenheim to Alcester and Watling Street. A high-road ran from Exeter
to the Land's End in continuation of the Fosse. Another route ran
from Venta Silurum to St. David's Head; another to the Sarn Helen up
the western Welsh coast to Carnarvon (Welsh, _sarn_--a road).
ROMAN INFLUENCE.
To a certain extent the conqueror enters into the entail of the
conquered. Nevertheless he must obey the conditions of life which the
natural features, or the climate of the country of which he has
possessed himself, have compelled the aborigines to adopt.
Occasionally, as in the case of Greece and Rome, the conquered
enslave their masters in regard, at all events, to literature and
art; but this did not obtain in the case before us, for the Roman
occupation of Britain was largely military, and the Britons had
little enough to impart either in literature or art. It is
observable, however, that the Romans either did not seek to impose,
or were unable to impose, their religious ideas on the Britons. In
this connection it must be remembered that the composition of the
Roman legions was largely cosmopolitan.
The moral and religious influence brought to bear upon the native
Britons by reason of the Roman occupation of close on four centuries
can easily be overestimated. A section of the people in the vicinity
of Roman towns were humanized and civilized, but the sequel proved
that (to a certain extent) the fibre of the hardy and courageous
Briton deteriorated and his faculty of resource and fighting
diminished; so that when he was deserted by his Roman masters and
deprived of his leading strings, he fell a prey--though not until
after a protracted and sanguinary struggle--to the Pict and Scot and
Saxon, who were able to combine for the attack, and who were
regardless of ease and privation and love of life. Although the days
of this old time are far away, and the face of the land has changed,
this lesson is not without warning to the ignorant, indifferent,
pleasure-loving sections of our England of the twentieth century, and
this lesson is even now being brought home to us in no uncertain way
in our death-grip with a cruel and relentless foe.
LIST OF TOWNS
Here follows an alphabetical list of the Roman towns described in the
following pages:
Aldborough (Yorkshire), Aldborough (Suffolk), Bath, Caerleon,
Caerwent, Caistor, Canterbury, Cardiff, Chester, Chesterford,
Chichester, Cirencester, Corstopitum, Dorchester, Dover, Exeter,
Gloucester, Isle of Wight, Kenchester, Lancaster, Leicester, Lincoln,
London, Lympne, Maldon, Manchester, Portsmouth, Reculver,
Richborough, Rochester, Silchester, St. Albans, Winchester, Wroxeter,
York.
LIST OF TOWNS
ALDBOROUGH--(A.S. burh, buruh, byrig--an earthwork) is situated in
the West Riding of Yorkshire, 16 miles W.N.W. of York. It is now
remarkable only for its numerous ancient remains.
It was the Isurium Brigantum (the capital of the Brigantes) of the
Romans, and here and there in the neighbourhood the remains of
aqueducts, spacious buildings, and tesselated pavements have been
found, as well as numerous implements, coins and urns. The Museum
Isurianum is in the grounds of the Manor House.
ALDEBURGH, or ALDBOROUGH--is situated in the county of Suffolk, 25
miles E.N.E. of Ipswich.
The borough was incorporated by a charter of Edward VI, and in former
times was a place of considerable extent, but the old town known to
the Romans was gradually submerged by the encroachments of the sea.
BATH.--107-1/2 miles W. by S. of London. On the banks of the Avon.
Aquae Solis, corrupted by the Anglo-Saxons to Akemannes-ceaster--the
invalids' city--reached by the Akemannes Way.
For many centuries it has been known by its truly descriptive name of
Bath.
Tradition says it was founded by the British King Bladud, 863 B.C.;
but there is no real evidence of an early British settlement, though
the hot springs must have been known from the beginning. However, the
name of Aquae Solis is thought to point to a British goddess, Sol or
Solis, somewhat equivalent to the Roman Minerva. It was never a Roman
military station, being used apparently solely as a Spa.
The remains of the Roman Baths were first uncovered in 1755, when the
Duke of Kingston pulled down the old priory to form the Kingston
Baths. The remains disclosed included a bath, hypocaust, channels and
pipes for the passage of water and hot air, and tesselated pavements.
But very little use was made of the discovery for, though some
antiquaries took an interest in it, and a few relics were removed and
preserved, the spot was filled in and the site covered with buildings
for another 120 years. In 1878, however, public interest was aroused,
a number of houses were removed, and a large area (of which that
opened in 1755 was only a small part) was cleared, with the result
that an extensive system of baths in a remarkable state of
preservation was laid bare.
The great bath, some 70 feet long and 28 feet wide, was found to be
floored with lead two-thirds of an inch thick, in a perfectly sound
condition. The service-pipe being cleared out, the bath still held
water as it had done 1,500 years before.
What a find this lead floor would have been to the builders of the
houses above it had they but laid their foundations a few inches
deeper! It would have gone the same way as Alfred's coffin at
Winchester.
Several other baths--one circular--and hypocausts were opened out,
and--perhaps as interesting as anything--the culvert was discovered
for drawing off the waste water, an excellent piece of masonry, and
high enough for a man to stand upright in it. The remains of these
old Baths of the Romans are not mere traces of walls, intelligible
only to the antiquary, but are the actual basins, capable still of
use, and one can ascend by the same steps and tread the same pavement
as did the Roman bather of old.
On the Romans leaving Britain, the baths were for a long time
deserted, and were soon buried under alluvium by the flooding of the
river; but the hot springs never ceased to pour forth their abundant
stream. The waters are impregnated with calcium and sodium sulphates
and sodium and magnesium chlorides, and we must not forget the metal
which called forth Mr. Weller's description: "I thought they'd a very
strong flavour o' warm flat-irons." They are in greater vogue than
ever now that radium has been found to be one of the constituents.
Bath was a place of resort even in Saxon times; for our
forefathers--before the days of goloshes, mackintoshes and
umbrellas--must have been sad sufferers from rheumatic affections.
It is also clear that the brine-springs, or _wyches_, of Droitwich,
in Worcestershire, were also known to the Romans, as well as Spas in
other parts of the country. That there was a Roman station at
Droitwich is evidenced by the remains of a villa, containing
interesting and valuable relics, discovered some years ago during the
construction of the Oxford and Wolverhampton Railway.
CAERLEON, IN MONMOUTHSHIRE.
This is the Isca Silurum of the Romans. It is situated on the right
bank of the Usk, and is the Old Port, in contradistinction to the New
Port, some 3-1/2 miles distant, lower down the river. Caerleon seems
to be a corruption of _Castrum Legionis_. The place was one of the
great fortresses of Roman Britain, and constituted the station of the
Second Augustan Legion in the first century A.D. It ranked as a
Colony, and as the capital of Britannia Secunda during the period of
Roman domination. Its position was favourable for the coercion of the
wild Silures. No civil life or municipality seems to have grown up
outside its boundaries; like Chester, it remained purely military.
There remain fragments of the walls, and outside these limits there
is a grass-grown amphitheatre, 222 ft. by 192 ft., in which the tiers
of seats are distinctly visible. The hamlet on the opposite bank
preserves in a modified form the Roman name of _Ultra Pontem_. It is
probable that the connecting bridge was a pontoon similar in
character to that which survived to the close of the last century.
The local Museum is rich in objects of archaeological interest.
On the hill-side, which formed the burial place of the ancient city,
fragments of slabs and memorial urns are even now often exhumed.
Giraldus Cambrensis, or Gerald de Barry, Archdeacon of Brecknock
(1147-1220), borrowing from Geoffrey of Monmouth (1130-1140, Bishop
of St. Asaph, author of _Chronicon sive Historia Britonum_), says
that "its splendid palaces, with their gilded roofs, once emulated
the grandeur of Rome," which testimony we receive with a certain
amount of incredulity; nevertheless, it bears witness to the
reputation it enjoyed in his day.
The city is connected with the romance of King Arthur and the Knights
of the Round Table. It is said that hither Arthur came at Pentecost
to be crowned, and that here he often took council with Dubric, or
Dubritius, "the high saint."
The keep of a castle is mentioned in Domesday Book, the ruins of
which, now limited to a solitary bastion on the river's side, were
very extensive, even in Leland's time (1506-1552). Caerleon was a
place of great ecclesiastical importance and the seat of an
archbishopric. It is noticeable as the place of martyrdom, according
to Giraldus Cambrensis, of two saints, Aaron and Julius. Their bodies
were buried in the city, each afterwards having a church dedicated to
him. There is good reason for regarding these as historical
personages, but as Caerleon-upon-Dee was also called "the City of the
Legions," there is some doubt whether their martyrdom occurred at the
former, now called Chester, or at the latter, which still retains its
British name.
Around the church of S. Cadoc there are abundant remains to show the
important centre Caerleon-upon-Usk constituted in Roman times. There
is a tradition that its bishop was one of three who attended the
Council held at Arles, in 314, to discuss the validity of
ecclesiastical orders conferred by such bishops as in time of
persecution had delivered up to be burnt their sacred writings.
CAERWENT.--This place is on the Chepstow side of Caerleon, near
Severn Tunnel Junction.
It was a military station, and important discoveries of Roman remains
have been made here.
CAISTOR CASTLE, or VENTA.--4-1/2 miles from Yarmouth. Caistor Village
is 3 miles distant.
This place occupies the site of a Roman camp, which, in conjunction
with Burgh Castle, guarded this part of the coast. No remains of the
camp now exist, but Roman urns, pottery, and coins have been found in
and near the village. A field west of the church, styled "East Bloody
Furlong" has been fixed upon as the site of the Castrum.
CANTERBURY.--Cant-wara-byrig--the burgh of the men of the headland.
(Hence, Archepiscopus Cantuariensis).
Before the invasion of Caesar, a tribe of the Belgae from Gaul had
taken possession of a large portion of South Britain, including Kent.
The principal Roman road was the Watling Street, between Dover and
London, which followed much the same course as the modern highway.
This road was joined at Canterbury by two others, proceeding
respectively from Lympne and Reculver. Two other important Roman
stations may be distinguished, Durolevum and Vagniacae, the one
probably by Faversham, the other by Springhead, near Gravesend. The
important position of modern Canterbury is affirmed by the fact that
no fewer than 16 roads and railway routes now converge upon the city.
So, too, in the olden time, it was a great nerve-centre, and the
mid-point of the important Roman fortresses of Dover, Richborough,
Reculver, and Lympne.
The Roman remains found throughout Kent are numerous and important.
There were potteries of purple or black ware at Upchurch, on the S.
bank of the Medway. Leaden coffins, elaborately ornamented glass and
bronze vessels, and gold and silver ornaments, have been found in
Roman cemeteries. The city itself occupies the site of the Roman
Durovernum (Celtic, _dwr_--water), and was established upon that ford
of the Stour at which the roads from the four harbour-fortresses
before mentioned became united into the one great military way
through Britain, which became known as Watling Street in later times.
The Romans do not seem (at least towards the end of their occupation)
to have made the city a military centre, or given it a permanent
garrison, but rather to have used it as a halting place for troops on
the march. In a commercial sense (lying, as it did, in the direct
path of all the south-eastern continental traffic of Britain) its
importance at this epoch must have been considerable. The Cathedral
stands on the site of a church founded in Roman times, and given by
King Ethelbert (together with his own palace adjacent) to Augustine
and his monks. St. Pancras (the foundations of which have now been
uncovered) was originally Ethelbert's "Idol-house"; and St. Martin's,
the sanctuary where the King's christian queen, Bertha, worshipped
under the tutelage of Bishop Luithard. The structures existing in
Ethelbert's day were destroyed, and ultimately the cathedral was
entirely rebuilt by Lanfranc (1005-1089); to this additions were made
by Anselm (1033-1109), and by succeeding builders even as late as
1495, when the addition of Goldstone's Central Tower left the
Cathedral as we have it to-day.
St. Martin's Church cannot be dismissed in a summary manner. It is
said by Bede to have been built whilst the Romans still occupied
Britain. It is dedicated to the well-known Bishop of Tours (371-397).
Certainly the nave shows evidences of Roman workmanship and plaster.
A high arch has recently been discovered in the west wall, on each
side of which is a window, apparently Roman in its origin, but which
has been subsequently lengthened out by Saxon or Norman builders. The
chancel, originally but 20 feet long, is variously conjectured to be
Roman work or to have been built by St. Augustine. There is a
square-headed Roman doorway and a round-headed Saxon one, in the
south wall; also an early English sedile, bordered by Roman tiles on
the same side, eastward.
The writer, the present Rector of Chillenden, feels a peculiar
pleasure in recalling the fact that two of the Priors took their
names from his parish, viz., Adam de Chillenden (_d._ 1274) and
Thomas de Chillenden (_d._ 1411). The name of the latter, in the
Diocesan Calendar, is distinguished by bold type, by reason of the
fact that between 1370 and 1410, the present nave and transepts of
Canterbury Cathedral, with the middle part of the present central
tower, were built upon Lanfranc's old foundations by the Convent
under his superintendence, assisted as he was by King Richard II and
Archbishops Courtenay and Arundel. The Chapel of St. Michael, the
Warriors' Chapel, was also added to by him. Moreover to him is due
the building of most of the cloisters, the great Dormitory windows,
the vaulting here and along the north alley, as also the foliated
window-like screens in the latter alley.
The house in the precincts, known as Chillenden Chambers, was used in
mediaeval times for the reception of pilgrims. It has been occupied
for some years by Dr. Walsh, Bishop of Dover.
CARDIFF.--Castle on the Taff, in the County of Glamorgan.
The position between the rivers Taff and Rhymney, as also between the
mountains and the sea, marked out this site, probably to the Romans,
certainly to the Normans, as a favourable position for a fortified
station. The remains of the Keep of the Castle still exist, and the
church of St. John has venerable memories. The buildings of the
Blackfriars and Greyfriars have long ago disappeared. The old church
of St. Mary, too, was washed away by the sea. To the west, beyond the
suburb of Canton, the foundations of Roman buildings have been
uncovered and various objects of interest found and lodged in the
National Museum.
CHESTER.--Otherwise Caerleon Vawr, or Caerlleon ar Dyfyrdwy.
Here was situated the great camp of the renowned Twentieth Legion on
the Dee, the Deva of the Roman Itinerary. It stood at the head of the
then most important estuary on this part of the coast, and at a point
where several Roman roads converged. It is doubtful whether the city
constituted a Colonia. It boasted a fine Basilica. There may still be
seen the remains of a Roman arch impinging upon the Keep, or Caesar's
Tower, in the Castle.
CHESTERFORD.--In Essex, 47-1/2 miles N. of London.
To-day the Great Eastern Railway crosses the Cam, or Granta, near a
Roman station. Great Chesterford is the ancient Iceanum, once thought
to be Camboricum. The foundations of walls enclosing about 50 acres
are known to have existed a century and a half ago. The site was
thoroughly explored between 1846 and 1848, under the superintendence
of the Hon. R. C. Neville, afterwards Lord Braybrooke. Many Roman
remains were recovered and are preserved at his seat, Audley End--one
of the finest examples of Jacobean architecture now remaining in
England. In this neighbourhood, at Heydon, two miles N.W. of
Chrishall, and in the extreme angle of Essex, there was discovered,
in 1848, a chamber cut in the chalk. It contained a sort of altar and
an abundance of Roman fibulae. Its purpose has not been clearly made
out.
CHICHESTER.
This city is built on a Roman site, near a line of road now known as
Stane Street. It is usually identified with Regnum, a town of the
Belgae, mentioned in the Antonine Itinerary. A slab of grey Sussex
marble, now at Goodwood, discovered in 1713, on the site of the
present Council House, bears an inscription which gives rise to an
hypothesis which represents Chichester as the seat of the native
king, Cogidubnus, mentioned by Tacitus as possessing independent
authority. It is further conjectured that this king was the father of
Claudia (2 Tim. iv, 21), whose husband seems to have been Pudens,
mentioned in the same verse (traditionally said to have been a Roman
Senator, who became a Governor of Britain). Cogidubnus appears to
have taken to himself the more euphonious name of his imperial
patron, Tiberius Claudius, hence, too, Claudia. It would appear from
this slab that Chichester was the abode of a considerable number of
craftsmen, and that they erected a temple to Neptune and Minerva
under the patronage of a certain Pudens--in his unregenerate days,
doubtless, if this be the same as St. Paul's Pudens. In the early
Saxon occupation, the town was destroyed by one Ella, but restored by
Cissa, hence Cissa's Castra, or Chichester; hence, also, the Bishop's
signature, Cicestriensis.
CIRENCESTER, or CORININUM.--In Gloucestershire, 93 miles W.N.W. of
London, on the river Churn, a tributary of the Thames.
This was a flourishing Romano-British town, a cavalry post, also a
civilian city. At Chedworth, 7 miles, N.E., there has been unearthed
one of the most interesting Roman villas in England.
COLCHESTER.--51 miles N.E. of London, on the right bank of the Colne,
12 miles from the sea.
Colonia Victricensis, Camolodunum, or Camulodunum. (This colony is on
the River Colne, even as another stream of the same name flows by the
colony of Verulamium).
Before the Roman conquest it was the royal town of Cunobelin, the
Cymbeline of Shakespeare. When Claudius had conquered the
south-eastern part of the island, he founded a _colonia_ here, which
may be said to be the first in time of the Roman towns of Britain.
Even now, the walls of Colchester are the most perfect Roman walls in
England. There are other remains, including the guard-room at the
principal gate. A large cemetery has been disclosed along the main
road leading out of the town. A valuable collection of sepulchral
remains has been made and placed in the local museum. The city was
refounded and ultimately developed into a municipality, with
discharged Roman soldiers as citizens, to assist the Roman dominion
and spread Roman civilization.
Under Boadicea, the Iceni burnt the town and massacred the colonists.
CORSTOPITUM, or CORCHESTER.--In Northumberland.
This important station lies half a mile west of the little town of
Corbridge, at the junction of the Cor with the Tyne, which is here
crossed by a fine bridge of seven arches, dating from 1674. It has
been suggested that the name Cor is associated with the Brigantian
tribe of Corionototae. In regard to building operations hereabouts
extensive use has been made of materials derived from Corstopitum.
This--in its day--occupied a commanding position as a Roman Station,
inasmuch as it furnished a storehouse for grain and a basis for the
northward operations carried on about the time of Antoninus Pius.
When these operations became unsuccessful, Corstopitum ceased to be a
military centre, though it still furnished a basis of civilian
occupation. The town was brought to desolation early in the fifth
century, and was never again occupied. It was only to be expected
that valuable finds should be unearthed from the remains. Many have
been found by accident, as _e.g._, in 1734, a silver dish was dug up
weighing 148 oz., and ornamented with figures of deities. Again, much
later, in 1908, there was recovered a hoard of gold coins, wrapped in
leadfoil, and thrust into the chink of a wall by a fugitive who was
fated never to return and recover his treasure. The first-rate
importance of the city in its relation to the Roman Wall, and
military operations based on Corstopitum as a centre, was only fully
revealed by systematic investigations begun in 1907. There were then
uncovered, the foundations of several structures fronting a broad
thoroughfare, one of which is the largest Roman building found to the
present in England, with the exception of the Baths at Bath. Two of
these warehouses were evidently granaries. All testified to the
importance attached to Corstopitum as a storehouse and distributing
centre.
[Illustration: The Roman Wall.]
THE WALL OF HADRIAN.