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[German version] Powerful tribe in Britannia north of the lower Thames, who most likely had links with the Gallic Catualauni. Their most influential rulers were Tasciovanus and his son  Cunobellinus [1]. Following the conquest of Britannia by Claudius (Cass. Dio 60,20,2), the C. were organized as a civitas with  Verulamium as its centre (Tac. Ann. 14,33). Todd, Malcolm (Exeter) Bibliography 1 S. S. Frere, Britannia, 31987, 44f. S. S. Frere, Verulamium Excavations 1, 1972 R. E. M. and T. V. Wheeler, V

[German version] River rising in Mid-Wales and flowing into the Bristol Channel (Tac. Ann. 12,31; Ptol. 2,3,3), modern Severn. Its valley played an important role in the period of the Roman conquest, with legionary bases at Glevum and Viroconium (modern Wroxeter). …

[German version] Roman camp on the western bank of the North Tyne, where Hadrian's wall crosses the river, modern Chesters; built in around AD 125 as a replacement for tower 27a [1. 89-91]. Garrison of the ala II Asturum in the 3rd cent. AD (CIL VII 585); prior to that, the camp may have accommodated cavalry (including Sarmatae). The camp gates are extant, as are principia, praetorium, two soldiers' quarters, extra-mural thermae, and the foundations of a bridge. South of the camp was an extended vicus [2].  Limes Todd, Malcolm (Exeter) Bibliography 1 D. J. Breeze, The Northern Frontier…

[German version] [1] People in Gallia Belgica People in Gallia Belgica, Artois region (Ptol. 2,…

[German version] Celtic tribe in the area of Norfolk and Suffolk (south-eastern England). First mentioned under the name Cenimagni as one of the tribes that submitted to Caesar in AD 54 (Caes. B Gall. 5,21,1). At the time of the conquest of Britain by Claudius (AD 43), they were prepared to accept the alliance with Rome. In AD 47 they rebelled and were subjugated, however, they retained the status of a client kingdom (Tac. Ann. 12,31). After the death of their King Prasutagus …

[German version] (Μαιάται; Maiátai, Lat. Meatae). Tribal group in southern Scotland, late 2nd or early 3rd cent. AD, south of the Caledonii, north of the Antonine Wall. The place names Dumyat and Myot Hill in the vicinity of Stirling could be derived from the M. M. may mean ‘larger people’ or ‘inhabitants of the larger part’. The M. broke their treaty with Rome and revo…

[German version] (Θούλη/ Thoúlē). T. was a concept, occasionally a literary term (Antonius [3]), less often a geographical location. The idea of a country in the northern Ocean, far to the north of Britannia, can be found in Verg. G. 1,30 and almost certainly refers to an account by Pytheas [4]. Strabo (1,4,2-5; 2,4,1; 2,5,8; 4,5,5) was the first geographer to use the place name T., but he does not say anything about its geographical location. Tac. Agr. 10 and Ptol. 2,3,32 applied T. to the Shetlan…

[German version] Island off the coast of north Wales, modern Anglesey, one of the most fertile regions of western Britain. M. means ‘high island’ in Celtic, while in Welsh, the island is called Mam Cymru, ‘Mother o…

[German version] (Regini). Celtic tribe, who settled in the area of Hampshire and West Sussex and was part of the Kingdom of Commius (mid 1st cent. BC) and of Cogidubnus (one cent. later). The main city was Noviomagus (present-day Chichester), home to a temple of Neptune and Minerva in the 1st cent. AD [1. 91]. Located near Noviomagus an…

[German version] [1] Oppidum in the territory of the Cadurci This item can be found on the following maps: …

('promontory', 'cape'). [German version] [1] Promontorium Cantium Headland in the far south-east of Britannia, opposite the mouth of the Rhine (τὸ Κάντιον). Headland in the far south-east of Britannia, oppo…

[German version] The Roman military facilities and the city of L., modern Carlisle, form one of the most important complexes on the northern border of Britannia. Most phases in the history of L. are poorly documented, and the findings of many of the most recent excavations have not y…

[German version] Town in South Wales, modern Caerwent. After the defeat of the Silures by the Roman governor Frontinus c. AD 74-76 (Tac. Agr. 17,3) VS developed into a centre of civilian settlement in the Vale of Glamorgan. VS became the capital, probably under Hadrian, of the civitas of the Silures (cf. [1]). The construction of public buildings (forum, basilica, temple) began after 125. In the late 2nd cent. AD VS was fortified with earthworks. In late Antiquity VS flourished economically (construction of numerous private houses in stone)…

[German version] [1] Roads and bridges, construction of see Roads and bridges, construction of …

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[German version] The B. settled in northern England, from the Tyne-Solway isthmus to Derbyshire. In the Iron Age the B. lived in scattered communities; there were few hill-forts or large settlements. Their queen Cartimandua entered into a treaty relationship with Rome before AD 50 but lost the support of her nobles and had to appeal for Roman assistance, before the leadership was stripped from her in …

[German version] [1] Artificially extended harbour complex near Ostia This item can be found on the following maps: Theatre An artificial harbour complex, created under the emperor Claudius (AD 41-54) to extend the harbour of Ostia (with plan) and enlarged under Trajan (AD 98-117), c. 3 km northwest of Ostia. The Claudian harbour basin ( c. 80 hectares) was protected from the sea by a mole structure (but not actually safe; in AD 62 almost 200 ships went down in a storm: Tac. Ann. 15,18) and marked by a lighthouse (cf. plan: 1) (according to Suet. C…

[German version] One of the main forts of the Roman occupation of North Wales [1], modern Caernarfon at the southwestern end of the Menai Strait. The first building phase dates from the governorship of Iulius [II 3] Agricola ( c. 77/8 AD). The living quarters exhibit at least three building phases from the early 2nd …

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Christianity | | Coloniae | Commerce | Legio | Limes | Limes | Pertinax | Rome | Rome | Britannia (Today York). With its strategically favourable location in the heart of the Vale of York, E. presented itself to the Romans as a base for…

[German version] (Οὐιροκόνιον/ Ouirokónion). Roman legionary camp, in c. AD 55 laid out in connection with military operations in the valley of the upper Sabrina (modern Severn) [1. 292 f.]; modern Wroxeter in Shropshire, England. Abandoned in c. AD 74, as late as the end of the 1st cent., V. developed into the capital of the civitas Cornoviorum [2]. In AD 128/9, The city acquired a forum [1. 288] and, no later than the middle of the 2nd cent., thermal baths [3]. Numerous private houses were built from the 2nd cent. onwards. In the 4th cent., the …

[German version] ‘Ford on the river bend’ (It. Ant. 474,7), presumably modern Icklingham (Suffolk) [1. 294]. Todd, Malcolm (Exeter) Bibliography 1 A. L. F. Rivet, C. Smith, The Place-names of Roman Britain, 1979.

A. Military camp [German version] [I 1] General The Roman soldiers always made sure that they were protected by fortifications. This also applied when they only stopped for a night on campaigns. In the evening of their arrival the field camp had …

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Roman fort in Britannia, built before AD 50 at the site of an Iron-Age settlement on the present-day Soar River and held for c. 20 years. The fort and its vicus grew into the core of a prosperous town (It. Ant. 477,4; Ptol. 2,3,20: Ῥάγε/Rháge; CIL VII 1169; cf. CIL XVI 160), present-day Leicester [1. 5…

[German version] One of five tribes in Britannia, who surrendered to Caesar in 54 BC (Caes. B Gall. 5,21). Their settlement area, which cannot be localized exactly, was in the south-east of the island. Todd, Malcolm (Exeter) Bibliography A. L. F. Rivet, C. Smith, The Place-names of Roman Britain, 1979, 302.

[German version] (probably modern Ravenglass/Cumbria). The camp was laid out at the beginning of Hadrian's rule at an anchorage at the river (not excavated); especially striking is a bathhouse outside the walls; the building's walls with windows 3.5 metres high are still extant. G. was likely abandoned in the late 4th cent. Todd, Malcolm (Exeter) Bibliography E. Birley, The Roman Fort at Ravenglass (Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Archaeological Society 58), 1958, 14-30.

[German version] Tribe beyond the northern frontier of the Roman province of Britannia, first mentioned in connection with the events of AD 297 (Laterculus Veronensis 13; Pan. Lat. 8,11,4). Constantius [1] I campaigned against them in AD 306, but from the mid-4th cent. they subjected the province to repeated attack (Am…

[German version] Harbour town in far southeastern Britannia, modern Richborough (Kent), on the now silted-up channel between the island of Tonatis (modern Isle of Thanet) and the mainland of Kent [1]. The settlement, captured by the invading army of the emperor Claudius [III 1] in AD 43, was used as a central military supply base until the late 1st cent. AD. Between AD 80 and 90, a triumphal arch was erected here, probably to celebrate the northern conquests of the Flavian governors [1. 40-73]. Th…

[German version] British tribe who inhabited the region between Snowdonia and the Severn valley (Ptol. 2,3,18); a site of principal settlement is unknown. They opposed the Roman invasion under Nero (AD 50), but were defeated by Julius Frontinus and Julius [II 3] Agricola between AD 74 and AD 79 (Tac. Ann. 12,33). According to Tac. Agr. 18,2, they were annihilated by Agricola. Nevertheless their name survives: e.g. in Dinorwig and Rhyd Orddwy (Wales). Britannia (with map: the indigenous tribes) Todd, Malcolm (Exeter) Bibliography M.G. Jarrett, J.C. Mann, The Tribes of Wales, in: Welsh History Review 4, 1968/9, 161-171  V. Nash-Williams, The Roman Frontier in Wales, 21969  TIR N 30/O 30 Britannia Septentrionalis 61. …

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: | Britannia | Britannia (modern Silchester). An Iron Age oppidum, main centre of the A…

[German version] Roman fort near Manchester, on the road from Deva to Eboracum, first occupied in the Flavian period (AD 69-96), probably under Cn. Iulius [II 3] Agricola. Renovated in the early 2nd cent. [1]. An inscription on a Severan building suggests a further extension in the 3rd cent. [2. 581]. In the 4th cent., M. gained considerable strategic importance, before being abandoned after AD 370. A large vicus surrounded the fort. Todd, Malcolm (Exeter) Bibliography 1 G. D. B. Jones, S. Grealey, Roman Manchester, 1974 2 R. G. Collingwood, R. P. Wight, The Roman Inscriptions of Britain 1, 1965.

[German version] Roman fort about 40 km to the west of Newcastle upon Tyne, modern Chesterholm, founded in the Flavian period (AD 69-96) [1]. The fort was renovate…

[German version] (Καττιτερίδες; Kattiterídes, ‘tin islands’). The C. were probably the regions and islands of the Atlantic coast of both Gaul and Britain; C. also generally referred to the south-west of Britain and the offshore islands. Most ancient authors had but little specific knowledge of this region. Thus Pliny reports that the Greek Midacritus was the first to import tin from the island of …

[German version] Settlement in the valley of the North Tyne, modern Corbridge. During the conquest by Agricola (AD 77-84) a large base was erected here, subsequently replaced by a camp further to the east (destroyed by fire c. 125). After Hadrian's Wall was erected 7 km to the north, C. was extended to become a supply base. In the early 3rd cent. C. played a decisive role in connection with the cam…

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(Ireland). [German version] A. Ancient knowledge Ancient geographers report little of the north-west coasts of Europe and the islands off this coast. The first knowledge regarding the island o…

[German version] Celtic tribe in Southeast Wales from the coast to the Wye, especially in the coastal plain of present-day Glamorgan. The S. resisted the Romans from AD 44, at first under Caratacus (Tac. Ann. 12,32 f.; 12,38-40; 14,29), but were finally subdued in AD 74-76 by Frontinus (Tac. Agr. 17). In the 2nd cent., possibly under Hadrian, the S. were organised as civitas Silurum with the capital of …

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: | Coloniae | Britannia The region around Gloucester, located at the lowest lying crossing-point over the Severn, was first occupied by the Roman army in c. AD 50. A legion base was erected in Kingsholm, probably by the legio XX Valeria Victrix [1]; this was abandoned in c. AD 60 and replaced towards the end of the rulership of Nero by a fortress on the ground of modern Gloucester, which itself was abandoned in c. AD 74/5. On the grounds of the fortress, the coloni…

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[German version] I. General In the religious and administrative theory of the land surveyors, the Latin word limes denoted the path marking the boundary between two pieces of land, while in military and political usage (Tac. Ann. 1,50; Frontin. Str. 1,3,10) it meant the border between Roman and non-Roman territory (SHA Hadr. 12). Over recent years, research has led the military connotation of the term limes, which has been used almost exclusively from the 19th cent., to be expanded to comprehend also the historico-geographical and socio-economic fields. Where the limites were origin…

[German version] The Roman invasion of eastern Scotland under Iulius [II 3] Agricola brought Roman troops across the isthmus between the Forth and Clyde in AD 82 or 83 (Tac. Agr. 29,2-38,2; [1]). In contr…

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[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) Biblio…

[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). After AD 400 the area within the walls was settled by Anglo-Saxon migrants. Todd, Malcolm (Exeter) Bibliography …

[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 ( …

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[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.…

[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 wer…