Listed 16 sub titles with search on: Information about the place for wider area of: "MAIDSTONE Town ENGLAND" .
CANTERBURY (Town) ENGLAND
Durovernum Cantiacorum (Canterbury) Kent, England.
At a crossing of the river Stour. The name is recorded by Ptolemy and later ancient
sources. Caesar had crossed the river here or nearby in 54 B.C., but occupation
of the site began only ca. A.D. 1, when a large oppidum grew up on each bank.
Canterbury has been continuously inhabited ever since, but opportunity for large-scale
excavation occurred only after WW II as a result of bombing.
The Belgic oppidum was found to cover a wide area with sporadic huts
and gulleys; it was probably a regional capital and a silver coin of Voicenos
attests an otherwise unknown ruler. Soon after A.D. 43 gulleys were filled in
and a Roman street-grid laid down; thus Durovernum was one of the earliest civitas
capitals to be developed, and presumably reflects the pro-Roman character of the
region. The Cantiaci were not a single tribe; their name, derived from Cantium,
suggests a Roman amalgamation of small groups to form an administrative area of
convenient size. The earliest buildings were of half-timber and/or clay; masonry
structures began to appear ca. A.D. 100. About this time a theater or amphitheater
was built; it was entirely remodeled as a large classical theater with vaulted
substructure in the early 3d c. Two bath buildings are known.
The town lacked defenses until ca. 270, when a wall and bank were
constructed enclosing 52 ha. The defended area was confined to the E bank of the
Stour, and occupation ceased on the other side. Excavation has yielded evidence
for a regular settlement (early 5th c.) by Germanic immigrants using Anglo-Frisian
pottery and living in Grubenhauser that are probably of the period of Hengist.
Another important discovery was a late 4th c. silver treasure carrying Christian
symbols, which had been concealed just outside the walls near the river. It reminds
us of the Christian churches which, according to Bede, could still be identified
by St. Augustine.
S.S. Frere, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Feb 2006 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
DOVER (Town) ENGLAND
Dubris (Dover) Kent, England.
The Roman fort lies beneath the modern city in a valley between steep chalk hills,
close to the sea. The site was probably continuously occupied from the time of
the Roman invasion of A.D. 43. The nature of the 1st c. occupation is uncertain,
but in the 2d c. a fort was constructed to house a detachment of the Classis Britannica.
Part of the wall, a gate, and a series of internal buildings belonging to the
fort were discovered in 1970. At a later date, probably towards the end of the
3d c., the old structure was replaced by a more substantial fort of the Saxon
Shore series. Its extent is at present unknown but it must have enclosed an area
of over 2.4 ha. Traces of other buildings, as well as evidence of wharves and
jetties, have come to light from time to time. The finds are housed in the City
Museum.
On the E hill, within what is now Dover Castle, stand the remains
of a well-preserved Roman lighthouse. The structure is octagonal in plan outside
but rectangular inside. Originally it would have stood ca. 24 in high with the
outer face stepped back in eight stages, but only four Roman stages now remain.
It was built of flint rubble faced with limestone blocks and bonded with tile
courses. Its window openings and doors are well preserved. Fragments of another
lighthouse survive on the W heights on the far side of the valley.
B.W. Cunliffe, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Feb 2006 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
ROCHESTER (Town) ENGLAND
Durobrivae (Rochester) Kent, England.
A Belgic settlement on the river Medway 38 km from London (Londinium) and 37 from
Canterbury (Durovernum). It was important enough to have a mint in the period
immediately prior to the Roman invasion. The name Durobrivae (which only occurs
in the Antonine Itinerary, but the identification is certain) means "fortress
by the bridges", which may suggest the existence of a Belgic oppidum. During the
1st and 2d c. a straggling development occurred along the line of Wating Street,
but in the last quarter of the 2d c. the first defenses, a clay-faced earth rampart
and a ditch, were constructed. A massive stone wall replaced the rampart early
in the 3d c., enclosing an area of 9.2 ha. In A.D. 604 Rochester was still of
sufficient importance for St. Augustine to make it the seat of the second cathedral
under Justus.
The only Roman remains now visible are parts of the city wall, which
survives to the height of 5.1 m at the SE corner, with fragments elsewhere incorporated
in the mediaeval defenses. Little is known of the internal plan of the Roman city,
though the High Street and Northgate Street mark its principal axes and the existence
of four gates is attested by references in Anglo-Saxon charters.
A.C. Harrison, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Feb 2006 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
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