Verulamium

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Verulamium was the third largest city in Roman Britain. It was sited to the south west of the modern city of St Albans in Hertfordshire, on what is now park and agricultural land, though parts have been built upon. A large portion of the city still awaits excavation by future generations of archaeologists.

Before the Romans it was known as Verlamion, (meaning 'settlement above the marsh') the capital of the Catuvellauni tribe. The settlement was established by their leader Tasciovanus. In this pre-Roman form it was among the first places in Britain recorded by name. It was built beside the River Ver.

The Roman settlement was granted the rank of municipium in c. AD 50, meaning its citizens had all the rights of a citizen of Rome. It grew to a significant town, despite the attentions of Boudica of the Iceni in AD 61. It grew steadily —by the early 200s it covered an area of about 125 acres (0.5 km²), behind a deep ditch and wall. It had a forum, basilica and a theatre, most of which were destroyed during two fires, one in AD 155 and the other around AD 250. One of the few extant Roman inscriptions in Britain is found on the remnants of the forum; see Verulamium Forum inscription. The town was rebuilt in stone rather than timber at least twice over the next 150 years. Occupation by the Romans ended between 450 and 500.

There are a few remains of the Roman city visible, such as parts of the city walls and a hypocaust and theatre. The city was ransacked for building material when St Albans was founded; indeed, much of the Norman abbey was constructed from the remains of the Roman city. More remains are believed to exist under agricultural land near St Albans, which has apparently never been investigated by archaeologists and which for a while were seriously threatened by deep ploughing of the land.

The modern city takes its name from Alban, a citizen of Verulamium who was condemned to death in the 3rd century for sheltering a Christian priest who converted him to Christianity, and who became the first British Christian martyr.

There is a museum in Verulamium park (adjacent to St Michael's Church) which contains much information about the town, both as a Roman and Iron Age settlement, plus Roman history in general. The museum is noted for its large and colourful mosaics from the excavations nearby, and also displays many artefacts such as pottery, tools and coins from the Roman town as well as coffins and other remains unearthed in the surrounding area during 20th century building works. It is considered one of the best museums of Roman history in the country and has won an architectural award for its striking domed entrance. Much of the modern city and its environs is built over Roman remains; it is not uncommon to unearth Roman artefacts several miles from the city itself, and a complete tile kiln was found in Park Street some six miles from Verulamium in the 1970s.

Within the walls of Verulam, which he took for the name of his Barony, Sir Francis Bacon, the essayist and statesman, built a refined small house that was thoroughly described by the 17th century diarist John Aubrey; no trace of it is left, but Aubrey noted "At Verulam is to be seen, in some few places, some remains of the wall of this Citie" (see the illustration).

[edit] Trivia

• The asteroid 4206 Verulamium was named in honour of the ancient city.