Camulodunum
Sign in to saveCamulodunum ( ; ), the Ancient Roman name for what is now Colchester in Essex, was an important castrum and city in Roman Britain, and the first capital of the province. A temporary "strapline" in the 1960s identifying it as the "oldest recorded town in Britain" has become popular with residents and is still used on heritage roadsigns on trunk road approaches. Originally the site of the Brythonic-Celtic oppidum of Camulodunon (meaning "stronghold of Camulos"), capital of the Trinovantes and later the Catuvellauni tribes, it was first mentioned by name on coinage minted by the chieftain Tasciov
Key facts
- Ancient site.name
- Camulodunum
- Ancient site.alternate_name
- Camulodunon, Colonia Claudia Victricensis, Colonia Victricensis
- Ancient site.image
- The Roman Town Wall, Head Street to the Balkerne Gate 3.JPG
- Ancient site.caption
- Colchester's Roman town walls, with distinctive bands of Roman red bricks
- Ancient site.map_type
- England
- Ancient site.location
- Colchester, Essex, England
- Ancient site.region
- Britannia
- Ancient site.type
- Colonia
- Ancient site.built
- Late 1st century BC
- Ancient site.epochs
- British Iron Age to Roman Empire
- Ancient site.notes
- OS grid reference: TL995255
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
26 sectionsContents
- Camulodunon
- Iron Age ''Camulodunon''
- Pre-Boudican Roman town
- Claudian invasion
- Roman fortress and early town
- Iceni revolt
- Boudican destruction layer
- ''Colonia Victricensis'' in the second and third centuries
- Status
- Walls
- Streets
- Public buildings
- Water management
- Houses
- Cemeteries
- Industry and economy
- Pottery production
- Other activities
- Late Roman town
- Christianity in the late Roman town
- Sub-Roman period
- Roman legacy in Saxon and early medieval Colchester
- See also
- References
- Bibliography
- External links
Camulodunum ( ; ), the Ancient Roman name for what is now Colchester in Essex, was an important castrum and city in Roman Britain, and the first capital of the province. A temporary "strapline" in the 1960s identifying it as the "oldest recorded town in Britain" has become popular with residents and is still used on heritage roadsigns on trunk road approaches. Originally the site of the Brythonic-Celtic oppidum of Camulodunon (meaning "stronghold of Camulos"), capital of the Trinovantes and later the Catuvellauni tribes, it was first mentioned by name on coinage minted by the chieftain Tasciovanus some time between 20 and 10 BC.
The Roman town began life as a Roman legionary base constructed in the AD 40s on the site of the Brythonic-Celtic fortress following its conquest by the Emperor Claudius. After the early town was destroyed during the Iceni rebellion in AD 60/61, it was rebuilt, reaching its zenith in the 2nd and 3rd centuries. During this time it was known by its official name Colonia Claudia Victricensis ('), often shortened to Colonia Victricensis', and as Camulodunum'', a Latinised version of its original Brythonic name.
Gallery (34)
Connections
Categories
1st century in Roman BritainAncient Roman templesArchaeological sites in EssexBuildings and structures completed in the 1st centuryClaudiusColoniae (Roman)Former national capitalsIron Age sites in EnglandRoman ColchesterRoman legionary fortresses in EnglandRoman religious sites in the United KingdomRoman towns and cities in England