Verulamium was one of the largest and most important Roman towns in Britain, occupying around 200 acres on the River Ver beside modern St Albans. Originating as a late Iron Age oppidum of the Catuvellauni, it developed into a municipium (and possibly later a colonia) flourishing from the mid-1st to the late 4th century AD, with a forum, basilica, theatre, temples and substantial townhouses. The surviving stretches of wall and ditch represent the third and final circuit, built in the early 3rd century AD, enclosing the mature city.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
As the third-largest Roman town in Britain after Londinium and Cirencester, Verulamium was a key administrative, commercial and religious centre on Watling Street, linking London to the northwest. It is also notable as the site of the martyrdom of St Alban, Britain's first Christian martyr, and was famously sacked during the Boudican revolt of AD 60/61.
Excavations by Wheeler in the 1930s and Frere in the 1950s–60s revealed the city's developmental sequence, including burnt destruction layers from the Boudican revolt and the Antonine fire of c. AD 155, alongside fine mosaics, painted wall plaster and the only Romano-British theatre still visible. The 3rd-century town wall, originally over 3.5 km long and fronted by a substantial V-shaped ditch, survives in sections within Verulamium Park, with the London G
Verulamium was one of the largest and most important Roman towns in Britain, occupying around 200 acres on the River Ver beside modern St Albans. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a settlement site from the Roman period in Britain.
Verulamium, part of wall and ditch of Roman city 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 Verulamium (0.7 km), Verulamium Roman theater (0.8 km), The Benedictine Priory of St Mary (Sopwell Priory) and the post-medieval mansions known as Sopwell House or Lee Hall (1.2 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
Aubrey Research generates detailed historical reports for any location in Britain, incorporating Roman heritage, Domesday Book records, scheduled monument data, archaeological finds and much more. Enter a nearby address to begin.
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 Verulamium, part of wall and ditch of Roman city