BattlefieldsRoman Assault on Viroconium Cornoviorum
Roman Period

Roman Assault on Viroconium Cornoviorum

47
Shropshire, England
Also known as: Roman Advance on Wroxeter
Era
Roman Period
Battle Type
Skirmish
Location
Shropshire, England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Cornovii
Forces
Cornovii c.1,000–2,000.
VS
Victor
Rome (Legio XIV Gemina)
Forces
Legio XIV Gemina c.3,000–5,000
Outcome
Roman fort established at Wroxeter; Cornovii territory occupied
The Battle

History & Significance

Viroconium Cornoviorum (Wroxeter), near Shrewsbury, became the fourth-largest Roman city in Britain and the tribal capital of the Cornovii. The establishment of a legionary fortress here required the military reduction of Cornovian resistance under Ostorius Scapula's disarmament campaign of AD 47. The Cornovii — the dominant tribe of Shropshire and Staffordshire — had hillforts at The Wrekin and Bury Walls that were neutralised. Wroxeter subsequently became a major Roman administrative centre, its forum inscription recording its dedication under Hadrian.

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