Noviomagus Reginorum (modern Chichester, West Sussex) was the civitas capital of the Regni (or Regini), not primarily a fort, though the site originated with a Claudian military supply base established c. AD 43–44 during the invasion. The town developed rapidly under the patronage of the client king Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus, gaining street grid, forum-basilica, defences (earthen ramparts in the late 2nd century, later stone-faced), and persisted as an urban centre into the late 4th century.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
Noviomagus was the administrative and economic heart of the Regni, strategically linked to the harbour at Fishbourne and the wider road network running east to Durovernum (Canterbury) via the Sussex Weald. Its early loyalty under Cogidubnus made it a showcase of accelerated Romanisation in southern Britain, exemplified by the extraordinary palatial complex at nearby Fishbourne.
Excavations have revealed the street grid, the forum area beneath the modern Cathedral precinct, the amphitheatre east of the walls, sections of the circuit defences, and the famous Cogidubnus inscription (RIB 91) dedicating a temple to Neptune and Minerva. Substantial Roman material continues to emerge from rescue work within the modern city, though the medieval and modern overburden limits large-scale exposure.
Noviomagus Reginorum (modern Chichester, West Sussex) was the civitas capital of the Regni (or Regini), not primarily a fort, though the site originated with a Claudian military supply base established c. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a fort site from the Roman period in Britain.
Noviomagus is classified as a Roman fort — a military 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 St Martin's Lane, Little London car park, Roman site (1 km), Roman amphitheatre (1.3 km), Fishbourne (1.4 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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