Viroconium Cornoviorum

Viroconium or Viroconium Cornoviorum was a Roman town in Britain. She was the capital of the civitas Cornoviorum ( beads ). The ancient site is not overbuilt and partially excavated. It is located near the modern village of Wroxeter in Shropshire, England, to the ancient city is also referred to often.

History

Approximately 300 m south of the later city Cohort camp was built around 45 AD, were in the Thracians. Around 60 AD, a legion camp was built on the site of the later city, where the Legio Gemina XIIII was housed. By 67 it was replaced by the Legio XX Valeria Victrix. This took at the end of the first century and the town grew into a city. The settlement was initially rather small, but has been expanded to 120. She received a regular, checkerboard map. To the west of the city a Insula was occupied by a forum. It consisted of a large open space, which was decorated with colonnades. In the West, on one of the short sides of the building there was a basilica. She was 52 feet long with a 11.6 wide center and 4.6 m wide aisles. There were six or seven rooms on the west side. When the basilica burned down in the middle of the second century, the content of the northernmost room was not saved. There were Eisenschlößer and iron parts of chests, an inkwell, three Trajanic coins and a certificate of release of 14 April 135, which belonged to an auxiliary soldiers. Obviously, this was the office of an official, were maintained in the records of the civitas. Additional rooms were located on the east side of the basilica. The forum was held at the site of an unfinished bath house. It burned down between 165 to 185, but was rebuilt.

Besides the forum, a temple stood in a classic style. He had six columns at the front and was within a 17 x 33 m large district.

In the neighboring insula there was a large bath complex. The main building was 73 x 19.8 m tall. In the north there was a palaestra, which apparently had a roof. There are signs that this was later used as a market hall. During the excavations there were weights. The bathroom was once richly decorated and there is even evidence of wall mosaics. Parts of the walls still stand today.

The city received water via an aqueduct, came from the east and took water from the Bellbrook. It was an open channel that was about one kilometer long.

Little is known about the former residential development. These buildings are mostly known only from aerial photographs. So then there was a whole series of large-scale urban villas. Two temples are known only from aerial photographs. The city had a wall that surrounded them. This was first carried to earth walls, which were heaped up at the end of the second century. Later on a stone wall was built.

The city was abandoned in the fifth century forever.