Durnovaria

Durnovaria is the ancient name of Dorchester in England. It was the capital of the civitas of Durotriges, a Celtic tribe. Probably in the second century AD, the Civitasgebiet was divided and Lindinis became the capital of the other part. Durnovaria is located on the Frome and was also well connected with the sea.

Durnovaria was expanded in the Flavian period to a Roman city with rectangular streets and public buildings. There were perhaps a military camp in the same place, but this could not yet be localized with certainty. Because of the modern building complex, it is very difficult to get a complete picture of the ancient city. The town was roughly square in plan, while 500 × 500 meters. In the northeast of the city bordered on the Frome, so that the corner of the town square here is virtually "cut off".

It was a walled city with four gates well. The wall was probably built until the late second century and reinforced by 300 AD. For water supply there was an aqueduct which entered the city at the west gate.

In the south, outside the walls of an amphitheater was discovered that was built into a Neolithic ramparts (see Maumbury Rings ). It has a outer diameter of approximately 100 meters relatively large. In the south of the city, took a bath. The city was apparently initially mostly of wooden houses. Only in the course of the second century these were replaced by those made of stone. A villa -like house in the northwest of the city was richly decorated with mosaics and is excavated to a large extent. Other residential buildings are usually cut only partially during construction work in the city. What is striking is the large number of more than 60 mosaics that were found in the city and point to a great prosperity.

Outside of the city's various cemeteries were observed and partially excavated. The city was abandoned in the course of the fifth century AD.