Venta Silurum
51.611388888889 - 2.7680555555556Koordinaten: 51 ° 37 ' N, 2 ° 46 ' W
Venta Silurum, better known as Caerwent ( the present name of the nearby village ) was the ancient name of a Roman town in the county of Monmouthshire in Wales today ( UK).
The city area was built over only a small part in the modern era and could therefore have a large area excavated and examined. After Silchester it is the best researched Roman civilian settlement Britain. Especially their defense walls have been preserved up to a considerable level. The larger excavation campaigns are but partly quite a few years back and no longer correspond to current scientific standards, so that especially the architectural history of the buildings could not be resolved entirely always. The city area and its facilities are under monument protection ( scheduled monument ).
History
Venta Silurum was the administrative center ( civitas ) of the tribal territory of the Silures, who had done a fierce resistance against the Roman expansion in Britain until the year 78 AD. It was therefore probably only a little after 78 AD. founded. The streets were laid out according to the Roman standard in a rectangular grid, its fortifications consisted of an armored with projecting towers, city walls, which was also surrounded by ditches. With an area of only 300 × 350 m but it was relatively small. The city was - like many Roman settlements in Britain - abandoned and left again in the fifth century.
City Walls
Only fortifications were probably built in the second half of the second century. These were simple earth walls with a superior ditch. In the fourth century, these earthworks have been covered with stone. Just to the north and east of the wall seems to have been built over the ditch. The wall covers an area of about 18 hectares and is still partially up to 5.2 meters high received today. Four goals are known, east and west gate are slightly larger in size.
Forum
Center of the city was the Forum, whose surface occupied a whole insula. It consisted of an open square, which was surrounded by a colonnade ( portico ) housed small shops; in the north stood the Basilica. This was to a large square, a facade of columns and could be entered from there via a flight of three steps. There were also doors on the narrow sides, which led directly to the road but. The long building was 38.3 m long and 18.9 m wide. An aisle leaning on columns with Corinthian capitals that were about 9.1 m high. The walls of the great hall were painted. The Curia and administrative offices were at their northern end. The Curia was equipped with a mosaic floor and wall paintings. The time of origin of the Forum is controversial, coin finds suggest that it was built in the time of Emperor Hadrian.
Other Buildings
To the east of the Forum stood a temple which was probably dedicated to Mars, though other deities also come into question and remains of other temples have been excavated. On a statue base and an altar stone from the Roman period have been found dedications to the gods Mars and Mars Ocelus Vellaunus. The statue base found himself installed in a house and was consecrated on 23 August 152 by M. Nonius Romanus. The altar stood in another house and is of the optional Aelius Augustine. In the temple next to the Forum, there was a Gallo -Roman temple. The temple was not built before 330 AD, standing in front here a wooden house with workshop. The temple was entered from the south. It came in a long, narrow entrance bile with an apse on the east side. From the hall you got stood on a farm on the north side of the temple itself, and this had on the north / rear an apse. The temple seems to have been in operation up to the end of the fourth century.
Just north of the forum was an amphitheater. Another round temple was located outside the city walls. The city also had at least two baths. Overall, the small town area was densely built. At various residential peristyle were detected, some of which were richly decorated with mosaics. 59 mosaics (as of 2010 ) are known from the urban area.