Listed 2 sub titles with search on: Information about the place for wider area of: "CANTERBURY Town ENGLAND" .
Durovernum Cantiacorum (Canterbury) Kent, England.
At a crossing of the river Stour. The name is recorded by Ptolemy and later ancient
sources. Caesar had crossed the river here or nearby in 54 B.C., but occupation
of the site began only ca. A.D. 1, when a large oppidum grew up on each bank.
Canterbury has been continuously inhabited ever since, but opportunity for large-scale
excavation occurred only after WW II as a result of bombing.
The Belgic oppidum was found to cover a wide area with sporadic huts
and gulleys; it was probably a regional capital and a silver coin of Voicenos
attests an otherwise unknown ruler. Soon after A.D. 43 gulleys were filled in
and a Roman street-grid laid down; thus Durovernum was one of the earliest civitas
capitals to be developed, and presumably reflects the pro-Roman character of the
region. The Cantiaci were not a single tribe; their name, derived from Cantium,
suggests a Roman amalgamation of small groups to form an administrative area of
convenient size. The earliest buildings were of half-timber and/or clay; masonry
structures began to appear ca. A.D. 100. About this time a theater or amphitheater
was built; it was entirely remodeled as a large classical theater with vaulted
substructure in the early 3d c. Two bath buildings are known.
The town lacked defenses until ca. 270, when a wall and bank were
constructed enclosing 52 ha. The defended area was confined to the E bank of the
Stour, and occupation ceased on the other side. Excavation has yielded evidence
for a regular settlement (early 5th c.) by Germanic immigrants using Anglo-Frisian
pottery and living in Grubenhauser that are probably of the period of Hengist.
Another important discovery was a late 4th c. silver treasure carrying Christian
symbols, which had been concealed just outside the walls near the river. It reminds
us of the Christian churches which, according to Bede, could still be identified
by St. Augustine.
S.S. Frere, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Feb 2006 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
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