Gesoriacum, renamed Bononia in the late 3rd or early 4th century, was the principal Roman port on the Gallic side of the Channel, situated on the estuary of the Liane. Active from the early 1st century AD through Late Antiquity, it served as the main embarkation point for Britain and the home base of the Classis Britannica, the British fleet, from the Flavian period until the mid-3rd century. The settlement comprised an upper fortified town on the hill and a lower civilian and harbour quarter along the river.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
It was the linchpin of cross-Channel communication, supply, and troop movement to Britain—Claudius launched his invasion force from here in AD 43, and Caligula's earlier theatrics on this coast (the famous order to gather seashells) are traditionally located here. As headquarters of the Classis Britannica and a key node on the Agrippan road network from Lugdunum, it was administratively and militarily indispensable; it was also the base from which Carausius launched his usurpation in 286, and Constantius Chlorus recovered it by siege in 293.
Excavations within and beneath the medieval haute-ville have revealed the substantial walls and internal layout of the Classis Britannica fort (c. 12 ha), including barracks, principia foundations, and large quantities of CL.BR-stamped tile—the same st
Gesoriacum, renamed Bononia in the late 3rd or early 4th century, was the principal Roman port on the Gallic side of the Channel, situated on the estuary of the Liane. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a settlement site from the Roman period in Britain.
Gesoriacum/Bononia is classified as a Roman settlement — a civilian site in the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer. Roman Britain's archaeology encompasses thousands of sites ranging from legionary fortresses and marching camps to villas, temples and towns.
Several Roman sites lie within a short distance, including Marcis? (11.5 km), Etaples (23.6 km), Ardres (29.2 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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Aubrey generates in-depth historical research for any address in Britain — drawing on Roman heritage, Domesday records, scheduled monument data, archaeological finds and medieval history to reveal the complete story of a landscape.
Research the area around Gesoriacum/Bononia