Cornovii (Midlands)

The beads (Latin: Cornovii ) were a Celtic tribe which had its headquarters in the territory of the present county of Shropshire in England. The beads are mainly known from Roman times. Before the Roman conquest of Britain they occur not as good as in appearance. From their area there are no coinage (which is known from other Celtic tribes of Britain ) and also the material culture of the area shows little idiosyncrasies that you can award a certain tribe.

The first ancient source mentions the beads the Geographike Hyphegesis (II, 3, 19) of Ptolemy. He specifically mentions two cities, namely Viroconium Castra Devana and ( Chester ), the latter as the Legio XX Victrix location. In the period following the Civitas several times in ancient authors called, usually in geographical works. Its main town, was Viroconium. An inscription found there confirmed this identification. There is a dedicatory inscription of the Civitas Cornoviorum to Emperor Hadrian. The tribe's name also appears on a grave stone from Ilkley, where that is, so called, represented as C ( ivis ) Cornovia as a citizen of the beads.

The Celtic tribe

In particular, some Hill Forts can be regarded as remnants of the crowns. The three largest are Titterstone Clee, Chesterton Walls and Bury Ditches. Only the former has been archaeologically investigated. It is about 28 acres in size and is located in the Clee Hills which it dominates. Here especially significant wall systems could be found. Strikingly, no pottery was found. Three phases could be distinguished, which are dated to 300-200 BC. A smaller Hill Fort was excavated on the Wrekin. There were, in turn, fortifications, but also traces of settlement, showing that the place was inhabited. The town was destroyed by fire, which probably goes back chronological reasons the Roman conquest. In addition to Hill forts there are also remains of settlements in the countryside. In Weeping Cross one of these settlements was partially excavated. The local people lived in round, and sometimes rectangular huts, which were surrounded by fences with ditches. The finds are poor and even metal is hardly occupied. Overall, the material remains of the beads to the Celtic period to make a rather poor impression and can hardly be compared with those Celtic tribes in southeast England.

The Civitas Cornoviorum

43 AD were conquered parts of Britain by the Romans. But the area of the beads was not one of the regions immediately came under Roman control. The exact circumstances of the seizure of power in the following years is not known. However, even under Publius Ostorius scapula, the governor 47-55 AD was AD in Britain, the limit was Wales so that shortly before the beads were subjected. 300 meters south of the later Viroconiums decency a military camp, in which perhaps a cohort of Thracians was quartered. In the surrounding area there were more other camps, suggesting that this region was a staging area for the conquest of Wales. When Boudicca revolt by 60 AD, the beads were probably not involved. In about this time was quartered in Viroconium the Legio Gemina XIIII, which was replaced in the year 67 of the Legio XX Valeria Victrix which withdrew again to 90 AD. The area lying above under military administration was thus subordinated to a civilian administration. In the following years saw the founding of the city proper Viroconium and thus establishing the Civitas. 197 the province of Britannia was divided into two smaller provinces. The Civitas of beads probably now belonged to the province of Britannia Inferior, with its capital Eboracum ( York), although the exact provincial boundaries are still being debated in research. At the end of the third century there was a further division of the British provinces. The beads were now likely to be the province of Britannia fine.

The area

It presents some difficulties to the field of Civitas to determine exactly. The Roman civitas may not have necessarily agreed with the area of the Celtic tribe, since the Romans first names simplifications for practical reasons and also smaller tribes incorporated into larger. In the north, bordering the territory of the Brigantes, to the east by the Coritani and on the south by the Dobunni. Overall, the boundaries on the east and south, like approximately coincide with those of the county of Shropshire. But the west and north they went beyond with some certainty. Overall, a very large area and there are considerations as to whether there is another Civitas was in this area that is not yet discovered.

The locations of the Civitas have been associated with several major roads. The most important of them ran from south to north and is now known as Watling Street. It came from Portus Dubris ( Dover ), led over London and Verulamium until after Viroconium and beyond, perhaps even to Castra Devana. It was one of the main transport links in Roman Britain. Another important road coming from the east, joining Letoceum, Pennocucium, Uxacona with Viroconium and went on to Wales.

The cities

In the field of Civitas there were several locations, some of which may be referred to as a city. Viroconium was the main town and held several public buildings, which are typical for the capital of a civitas. This is mainly the forum mentioned. The city had walls and a map with at right angles intersecting streets. A significant town also developed next to the legion camp of Castra Devana, although administratively likely only after the withdrawal of the Legion was one of the civitas.

The second important city was Mediolanum. The city lay on the half way between Castra Devana and Viroconium. The place had a city wall and there were stone buildings are found. Letocetum was another small town. She lay on the Watling Street. Here's a mansio was excavated. There was also a public bath. Two other places are mentioned in the Antonine Itinerary. It is Pennocrucium and Uxacona. The latter site also had a small military camp and was expanded in the fourth century to a Burgus.

The country

Agriculture certainly played an important role in the civitas, but have so far been relatively little Roman villas in the area known. In a study on the Roman villas of Britain just could once be counted nine villas. From the Civitas Dobunni, compared to 65 villas are known. This has led to the assumption that agriculture was not highly developed here. But there is also the theory that many rich landowners lived in the capital Viroconium and not on the land. Furthermore, many villas like simply are not to have been found.

• The following villas are known so far: Lea Cross (1793 partially excavated, found a mosaic )
• Cruckton ( small building with four rooms )
• Yarchester ( partially excavated )
• Acton Scott (1844 unearthed )
• Rushbury ( known only from surface finds )
• Stanton Lacy (1924 partly excavated )
• Hales (1928, 1966-1967 partly excavated )
• Engleton ( excavated in large part, mosaic)
• Stan Chester (Villa is suspected )
• Upton Cressett (only ceramics collected from the surface )

The villa of Yarchester located approximately 10 kilometers south-east of Viroconium. The building dates back perhaps in the fourth century. At the Villa of Acton Scott is a large rectangular building with a bathroom and a rich equipment of murals. Substantial excavations were also held at the Villa of Engleton, when there is a construction with rounded corner projections. The villa had a bath and several rooms with hypocaust.

There were also smaller farms, which are usually recognizable at a surrounding fence. Here the rural population lived, often in a manner that was little influenced by the Roman lifestyle. Most of these farms are known only from aerial photographs and therefore difficult datable. An excavated example is a farm (or part of a village ), which was at the Sharp Stones Hill found. Within a rectangle, which was surrounded by a moat, stood a round hut, which was later replaced by a square hut. Many of these farms have been perhaps inhabited in pre-Roman times.

Economy

Agriculture was certainly the economic basis of Civitas. In addition, there is evidence of the pottery craft. Much of the pottery found in Viroconium is apparently produces locally. Three metals, lead, silver and copper were mined in the Civitas. The hills in the southwest of Shropshire have been obtained already in Roman times because of Galena from the then lead and silver, exploited. Since this happened in open pit mines and these were to the 19th century in operation today are as good as destroyed all traces of the Roman. After five lead ingots have been found in this area, with the inscription IMP Hadriani AUG next to each another stamp, whose short inscriptions, however, are difficult to interpret .. Despite these lead ingots may have been the main interest of silver mining, while the lead was more of a by-product. In Linley Hill plants were dug up, which perhaps he used the silver processing. In Viroconium Bronze has been processed.