Search

[German version] [1] City of the Bituriges Vivisci in Aquitania The city of the Bituriges Vivisci (Βίτουργες Οὐβίσκοι/ Bítourges Oubískoi) in Aquitania mentioned in Ptol. 2,7,7 (Νουιόμαγος/ Nouiómagos) is generally identified with a Roman vicus near Brion (Saint-Germain-d'Esteuil) in the Médoc between Lesparre and Pauillac ( département of Gironde). This town with an ancient sanctuary of the Medulli had been inhabited from the 3rd cent. BC; urban development is recognisable from the time of Claudius (41-54 AD). It was in this period that the fanum (sanctuary) and the theatre we…

[German version] On the great Roman road of the Fosse Way between Lincoln and Leicester lay various Roman settlements; one of the largest was M., near East Bridgeford, Nottinghamshire. Originally a Roman fort (late Claudian/early Neronian period), abandoned in around AD 70 [1; 2]. M. probably served as a military supply base, since the local iron ore was intensively smelted. After the end of the military occupation, the civilian settlement continued on both sides of the Fosse Way, possibly in conjunction with a mansio (or mutatio). Residential and other buildings were modest. Th…

[German version] One of a line of Roman outposts north of Hadrian's Wall near the modern High Rochester. Established by Agricola (AD 77-84), the camp was renovated by Lollius Urbicus (AD 139-142), and again restored under Septimius Severus and Diocletian [1. 242-244]. CIL VII p. 178f.  Limes Todd, Malcolm (Exeter) Bibliography 1 E. B. Birley, Research on Hadrian's Wall, 1961. D. J. Breeze, The Northern Frontiers of Roman Britain, 1961, 138f.

[German version] British island connected to the mainland at low tide where, according to Diod. Sic. 5,22,2, the inhabitants of Belerion (Land's End in south-west-Britain) sold Tin from their mines - this was the beginning of the tin trade between Britannia and the Mediterranean region. The location of I. is still under debate. Possibilities include St. Michael's Mount in Mounts Bay, Cornwall [1. 176], which is connected to the mainland at low tide, and Mount Batten in the Plymouth Sound, Devon, w…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Theatre | | Britannia | Britannia Modern Canterbury; arose in the form of an Iron Age oppidum on the Stour in the late 1st cent. BC. The Roman city developed shortly after AD 43, perhaps revealing the pre-Roman character of the tribes of Cantion (Kent). Public buildings were erected in the late 1st and early 2nd cents. A large theatre was added in the late 2nd cent. [1]; defensive works were built in the late 3rd cent. An extra muros Christian church, probably from the 4th cent., survived until c. AD 700 (Bede, Hist. Eccl. 1,26). A…

[German version] (or Magni). Roman fort on Hadrian's Wall in northern England (Not. Dign. Occ. 40,43; Geogr. Rav. 107,11), probably dating to the Flavian period (AD 69-96), modern Carvoran, identified because of epigraphical evidence ( numerus Magn(c)es(ium) [1. 1825]). In the early 2nd cent., before M. became part of the Hadrianic Limes after AD 122, it may have been part of Trajan's border line [2. 192-196]. The fort was not integrated into the vallum as was usually the case, but remained situated to the south. Under Hadrian and after him, the cohors I Hamiorum was stationed there unt…

[German version] Tribe in the area of Kent and East Sussex. Its name is derived from the region of Cantium. Caes. B Gall. 5,22,1 tells of four indigenous kings; this account allows the conclusion that there were a number of sub-tribes. The tribal centre was  Durovernum, also important was Durobrivae (modern Rochester). Numerous villae were built in C. in the early Imperial Age, especially in eastern and southern Kent. In the 3rd cent.,  Rutupiae,  Dubrae, Regulbium (modern Reculver) and  Portus Lemanae (modern Lympne) were garrisons of the classis Britannica. Todd, Malcolm (Exeter) Bib…

[German version] Modern Dover, was of great importance during the period of Roman occupation of  Britannia, as a port and coastal fortress. The first-rate port may well have been used during the invasion of AD 43. A fort was built in the late 2nd cent. to accommodate a unit of the classis Britannica [1]. The fort was replaced in the late 3rd cent. by a coastal fortress as protection against the Saxons. Parts of the docks and the moles have been discovered in the port area of Dover. A well preserved Roman lighthouse on East Hill, octagonal in the …

[German version] A headland on the northern coast of Cornwall, for a long time connected with King Arthur and his court. Limited settlement in the late Roman period was followed by more intensive settlement from the late 5th cent. AD onwards with many imports from the eastern Mediterranean, particularly amphorae and fine pottery. At that time T. was evidently the residence of the kings of the Dumnonii. Todd, Malcolm (Exeter) Bibliography C. Thomas, The Book of T.: Arthur and Archaeology, 1993.

[German version] (Ὀρκάδες/ Orkádes, Latin Orcades). The archipelago of Orkney (today c. 70 islands, of which 24 are inhabited) off the north coast of Scotland probably first came to the attention of the ancients through Pytheas (late 4th cent. BC). According to ancient authors, there were between 30 (Mela 3,54; Ptol. 2,3,31) and 40 (Plin. HN 4,103) only sparsely inhabited islands. The fleet of Iulius [II 3] Agricola (Tac. Agr. 10) reconnoitred the O. in AD 83/4. Some of the O. were known to Ptolemy (…

[German version] Celtic tribe, probably in the southeast of Britain, which surrendered to Caesar in 54 BC (Caes. Gall. 5,21). Todd, Malcolm (Exeter) Bibliography A. L. F. Rivet, C. Smith, The Place-Names of Roman Britain, 1979, 453 f.

[German version] The D. lived in south-west Britannia. Their name may be derived from a pre-Roman divinity Dumnonos. During the Iron Age the D. were widely dispersed, without centres or oppida. After the Roman conquest (AD 50/65) the territory was secured by a legionary camp at Isca, later to become the capital of the tribe [1]. Settlements during the Roman period remained dispersed and un-Romanized, some small villae appearing in the vicinity of Isca. The economy was pastoral; ore was mined (e.g. tin in western Cornwall and Dartmoor, silver in eastern Cornwall [2]). Todd, Malcolm (Exet…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: | Legio | Limes | Limes | Britannia Roman legionary camp set up c. AD 74 in Britannia, modern Caerleon (South Wales). The legio II Augusta was stationed there [1; 2]. In about AD 100 the fortifications were renewed in stone, followed by the internal buildings. An amphitheatre has been excavated outside the walls of the camp and likewise wharf constructions on the banks of the Usk [3; 4]. After 300 the garrison was reduced and in the 4th cent. completely withdrawn. From the 2nd cent. an extensive vicus developed. Todd, Malcolm (Exe…

[German version] [1] The modern Kempten in the Allgäu region of Bavaria This item can be found on the following maps: Coloniae | Limes | Raeti, Raetia modern Kempten in the Allgäu region of Bavaria. Main settlement of the Estiones (Str. 4,6,7); on the right bank of the Iller, Tiberian wooden houses, from the time of emperor Claudius stone buildings in a rectangular grid of streets centred around a sacred precinct comprising of ‘forum’, basilica, and baths. Possibly the first seat of the governor in  Raetia, probably splendidissima colonia (Tac. Germ. 41,1). Displaced by Augsburg, C…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: | Coloniae | Britannia (modern Lincoln in central England; cf. etymology L. + colonia). Town in a strategically important position where the river Witham cuts through the Lincoln Edge. Around a swampy pond in the valley floor ( lindus, Celtic ‘pond’) there was a late Iron Age settlement [1]. A legionary camp formed the core of the Roman colonia on the hills in the north. Founded in about AD 60, this fortress was kept by the legio IX Hispana until around AD 71 and then by the legio II Adiutrix until c. AD 85. With 7.2 acres this fortr…

[German version] Present-day Towcester, Northamptonshire; It. Ant. 2; 6. Late Iron Age settlement; from the mid 1st cent. AD a Roman army station. The town was protected in the 2nd cent. by the construction of a rampart and ditch; stone fortifications were added in the 3rd cent. Todd, Malcolm (Exeter) Bibliography A. L. F. Rivet, C. Smith, The Place-Names of Roman Britain, 1979, 382f.

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Theatre | Christianity | Britannia | Britannia City above the south bank of the River Ver at modern Saint Albans to the northwest of Londinium (modern London), settlement centre since the 1st cent. BC of the Catuvellauni [1]. The settlement expanded into the valley, where after AD 43 the Romans built a fort [2]. A municipium possibly since the Flavian period (Tac. Ann. 14,33), affected by Queen Boudicca's uprising in 60/1, V. was given a forum (cf. [3]) in AD 79 or 81 and public buildings c. 100. In about 155 parts of the city…

(Μεδιολάν[ι]ον/ Mediolán[i]on). [German version] [1] Modern Milan This item can be found on the following maps: Socii (Roman confederation) | Theatre | Christianity | | Coloniae | Italy, languages | Pilgrimage | Regio, regiones | Rome | Batavian Revolt The modern city of Milan. It was founded in the early 4th cent. BC by the Insubres (Liv. 5,34,9) at the juncture of several Alpine valleys in the Padus/Po plain (Pol. 2,34,10); in 222 BC, it was captured by Cn. Scipio; it was later to become the most important city of that region (Pol.…

[German version] Roman camp near modern Risingham (Northumberland), one of the outposts north of Hadrian's Wall in the Rede valley. Little is known about the early phases of occupation; there is no evidence that the fort was built at the same time as Hadrian's boundary wall. A camp certainly existed in the 140s; in the Severan period it was a major base for the occupation of the north. The garrison of H. was the Cohors IIII Gallorum in the 2nd cent . and the cohors I Vangionum in the 3rd cent., accompanied by a numerus exploratorum and a vexillatio Raetorum Gaesatorum. Inside the camp there is…

[German version] (Tamesis). River in southeastern Britain, modern Thames (Caes. Gall. 5,11,8; Tac. Ann. 14,32; Cass. Dio 40,3,1; 60,20 f.; 62,1). At the mouth of the T., an excellent natural harbour, was Londinium (modern London). Todd, Malcolm (Exeter) Bibliography M. Förster, Der Flußname Themse, 1942 A. L. F. Rivet, C. Smith, The Place-Names of Roman Britain, 1979, 466.

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Theatre | Caesar | Christianity | | Coloniae | Limes | Pertinax | Britannia | Britannia The largest iron age oppidum in Britannia was situated on the lower reaches of the river Colne in Essex; under the rule of kings Dubnovellaunus and  Cunobellinus [1]. C., modern Colchester, developed. In its heyday (from about AD 10 to 40), the oppidum comprised 30 km2 within a system of protective dykes. As an important centre of power, C. attracted the import of luxury goods from Gaul and Italy. A richly decorated r…

[German version] Ancient authors applied the name C. variously: either to the inhabitants of Scotland north of a line from the Forth to the Clyde (Tac. Agr. 25), or to a tribe in the region of the Great Glen (Ptol. 2,3,8), or to a group of tribes in northern Scotland (Cass. Dio 76,12). The reference to Caledonia in Tac. Agr. 27 and to silvae Caledoniae in Plin. HN 4,102 suggests that the C. settled across a large area of eastern Scotland. Almost unknown prior to the Roman invasion, they offered fierce resistance to it, before they were decisively defeated by…

[German version] A. Name Originally the island was known as Albion (Avien. Ora maritima 108f. probably goes back to Pytheas, c. 325 BC). In the oldest Greek sources, B. appears as Βρεταννικαὶ νῆσοι ( Bretannikaì nêsoi) and the inhabitants as Βρεττανοί ( Brettanoí, Str. 2,1,18; 2,5,12). In Latin authors the form B. is common from the 1st cent. BC (Caes. B Gall. 2,4,7ff.; 4,20ff.; 5,2ff.; Cic. Fam. 7,6ff.). The general term for the island was coined by classical authors [1]. Todd, Malcolm (Exeter) [German version] B. Rome and Britannia The first contacts between B. and the Mediterra…

[German version] Iron Age hill fort in Somerset, used for a short time in the middle of the 1st century AD by the Roman army. Resettled and fortified in the late 5th century. Ceramics were imported from the Mediterranean, other goods from Gaul. Todd, Malcolm (Exeter) Bibliography L. Alcock, Cadbury Castle, 1995.

[German version] (Οὐιννοούιον/ Ouinnooúion). A Roman fort in Binchester on the important Roman road from Eboracum (modern York) to Hadrian's Wall (Ptol. 2,3,16; [1. 1036]; Limes II), where it crossed the Vedra (modern Wear), 12 km to the south of Durham. V. was founded in the Flavian period (AD 69-96) probably under Cn. Iulius [II 3] Agricola, abandoned under Hadrian, but used again in the late Antonine period and then from the 3rd cent. onwards. An extensive vicus developed outside the fort (with long narrow business premises [2. 111, 299; 3. 253]). Stones from V. were used to b…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: | Legio | Limes | Limes | Britannia Modern Chester. Legionary camp, originally set up for the legio II Adiutrix in c. AD 75 [1] as a wooden/earthen fort, with baths (stone); water pipes of lead date the completion to AD 79. The legio XX Valeria Victrix took over the camp in c. AD 86/7. The rebuilding in stone began in c. AD 102. A large amphitheatre situated outside the walls was constructed in the 2nd cent. [2]. West of the camp on the bank of the Dee is a mooring place. The fortress wall was renovated …

I. Italy [German version] A. Albulae Sulphurous sources of the Lago della Soforata on the right bank of the  Anio, 16 km from Rome; cult site. The springs are cold and have healing properties;  Nero had them canalized into the Domus Aurea. Large Roman   villa near Bagni della Regina. CIL XIV 3908-18. Uggeri, Giovanni (Florence) [German version] A. Angae In Bruttium between Consentia and Vibo Valentia, today Terme Caronte of Lamezia Terme. Uggeri, Giovanni (Florence) [German version] A. Apollinares Thermal springs between Careiae and  Tarquinii (It. Ant. 300); unidentified (…

[German version] ( Scoti, 'Scots'). A Celtic people - wild and bellicose according to Roman reports - which originally settled in the north of Hibernia (Ireland) (Oros. 1,2,81 f.). In the late 4th cent. AD, groups of them ferried across to Britannia (Amm. 18,2,3; 26,4,5; 27,8,1; 29,4,7). The S. had been Christianised before AD 431 in Hibernia by the deacon Palladius (Prosp. 1301) and came to develop a very active monastery culture. Todd, Malcolm (Exeter) Bibliography G. and A. Ritchie, Scotland, 1985.

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Caesar | Christianity | | Commerce | Limes | Rome | Rome | Britannia (modern London). The Roman city of L. - the name possibly contains the Celtic personal name Londinos - lay, probably without pre-Roman precursors, at the most suitable crossing point of the Tamesis (Thames), which drew the attention of the Romans at the time of the invasion in AD 43. The early settlement was on hills on both sides of the swampy valley of the Walbrook that flows from the nor…