Wroxeter Roman City

Wroxeter Roman City is located in Shropshire, ca. 125 km north of Caerleon Roman Fortress in Wales. In Roman times it was called Viroconium Cornoviorum. This area was the home of the Celtic tribe the Cornovii.

In AD 58 the Roman governor Gajus Svetonius Paullinus established a fortress here which became the base of a Roman legion, Legio XIV Gemina. Eight years later, in AD 66, this legion was transferred out of the province and replaced by the 20th legion, Legio XX Valeria Victrix. In AD 90, when this legion was moved to its new base in Chester, the fort was demolished and the site was turned into the capital of the local tribe.  It is very likely that Emperor Hadrian was here during his visit to Britannia in 122. Eight years later, in AD 130, the forum was dedicated to him. At the time this was the fourth largest town in Roman Britain.

Today most of the ancient town has disappeared. But archaeologists have identified several buildings, and they have uncovered the great bath complex from AD 150.

Here is a brief description of the Roman remains:

A covered exercise hall (a basilica) which measured 20 x 75 meters was located in the north. A part of the wall on the south aisle is still standing. It is known as “The Old Work.”

The main bath halls were located in the south: frigidarium (the cold room), tepidarium (the tepid room), calidarium (the hot room), and praefurnium (the furnace).

The local market (macellum) was located in the south west corner of the site. It was a square enclosed by twelve small shops (tabernae).

Between the market and the bath halls, there was an open air sports area (palaestra) and a swimming pool (piscina).

This ancient site is the subject of an excellent guidebook written by Roger White and published by English Heritage. The book is divided into two parts. The first part presents a tour of the site, including the local museum. The second part presents the history of the site. The book ends with a bibliography and a timeline with two columns: (a) key dates in history and (b) key dates in Wroxeter’s history. The text is illustrated by numerous photos, drawings and maps. All illustrations (except two old photos and two old drawings) are in colour. All illustrations are helpful and instructive.

The photos show the current condition. They show what is visible today. The drawings are modern reconstructions. They show what a particular building (probably) looked like when it was new. The maps give us orientation: there is a map of Roman Britain (England, Wales and Scotland) in the second century AD on page 26, and there is a plan of the site on the inside of the back cover.

The first part of the book – “A Tour of Wroxeter” – is divided into several short sections including the following:

* The Basilica

* The Bath Halls

* The Latrine and the Shops

* The Market Hall

* The Forum

* The Site Museum

In the local museum you can see a short exhibition on the history of the town and some of the objects found on the site. You can also see a cast of a marble plaque with the fine inscription from AD 130 which dedicates the forum to Emperor Hadrian. Today the original is placed in Rowley’s House Museum in Shrewsbury. A picture of the plaque appears on page 24, but the author does not give us the Latin text or an English translation.

Let me make up for this omission. Here is the Latin text:

IMP CAES DIVI TRAIANI PARTHICI FIL DIVI NERVAE NEPOTI

TRAIANO HADRIANO AUG PONTIFICO MAXIMO TRIB POT XIIII

COS III PP CIVITAS CORNOVIORUM

And here is an English translation:

“The council of the Cornovii [erected this monument] to Imperator Caesar Traianus Hadrianus Augustus, the son of the divine Traianus Parthicus, the grandson of the divine Nerva, Pontifex Maximus, holding tribunician power for the 14th time, consul three times, [and] father of the fatherland.”

[Source: Roman Inscriptions of Britain, Vol. I (1965), # 288.]

In Roman times the plaque was placed over the entrance to the forum. The size of the plaque (370 x 123 cm) and the height of the letters (between 14 and 24 cm) made it highly visible to those entering the site.

[Louise Revell makes this important point in her book Roman Imperialism and Local Identities, published in 2008, page 180.]

Wroxeter Roman City is an interesting historical monument. It is worth a visit. Roger White has written an excellent guidebook about it. Read it before you go. It will help you understand and appreciate what you see. Bring it with you when you go. The plan of the site will help you identify each building and each room as you tour the ancient site.

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Roger White,

Wroxeter Roman City,

English Heritage, London, 1999, 36 pages

 

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A new edition of the guidebook for Wroxeter (48 pages), also written by Roger White,

was published by English Heritage in 2012. Here is the cover:

 

 

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