Exeter: A Roman Legionary Fortress and Civitas Capital
By (author) John Pamment Salvatore
Paperback (Published)
(February 2024)
ISBN: 9781803276281
6.85 x 9.65 inches
Price: $39.00
In stock
This accessible summary of the archaeological evidence from Roman Exeter reveals its origins as a legionary fortress garrisoned by the Second Augustan Legion. After the legion departed to Wales, Exeter became a Roman regional capital and continued to flourish on the very western edge of the Empire before its ultimate demise in the la
Exeter has long been known as a Roman city, but it was only in 1971 that its origin as a legionary fortress of the mid-first century AD was revealed. That discovery was the result of excavation work undertaken by the first professional archaeological unit to be based in the city. The author was one of those involved and this book explains how innovative archaeological techniques introduced in the 1970s were employed, not only to construct a picture of the legionary fortress, but to demonstrate with some confidence that the 5,000 strong garrison which manned it was the Second Augustan Legion. Whilst at Exeter the legion built its own stone bathhouse. Constructed only around 15-20 years after the Roman invasion in AD 43, it is the earliest known monumental masonry building in the South-West of Britain. Significantly, it was also possible to establish that Exeter became a Roman regional capital around AD 80 after the departure of the legion to Wales. The redundant bathhouse was converted to a basilica (council chamber and administrative centre) for the fledgling city which went on to acquire a circuit of walls by the start of the third century. Exeter continued to flourish as a Roman city on the very western edge of the Roman Empire before its ultimate demise in the late fourth century.
Author's Note General Notes Introduction The Roman army arrives at Exeter The Legionary Fortress (and its stone-built bathhouse) Extra-mural sites of the prata legionum The fortress and its garrison at the time of the Boudican revolt Exeter as a Roman town and Civitas Capital Late Roman Exeter The end of Roman Exeter and the beginning of a new story Final Thoughts Further reading Index,
Author’s Note
General Notes
Introduction
The Roman army arrives at Exeter
The Legionary Fortress (and its stone-built bathhouse)
Extra-mural sites of the prata legionum
The fortress and its garrison at the time of the Boudican revolt
Exeter as a Roman town and Civitas Capital
Late Roman Exeter
The end of Roman Exeter and the beginning of a new story
Final Thoughts
Further reading
Index
- By (author) John Pamment Salvatore
'This book contains as fresh and up-to-date an account of Roman Exeter as one could wish for and will deserve a wide readership among visitors and Exonians alike. The illustrations are good, and include numerous evocative photographs, many of them entirely new. John Salvatore thus joins the select group of writers to contribute to the literature of Roman Exeter, from early luminaries such as Richard Goodchild; C.A. Ralegh Radford, Percy Morris and L.A. D. Montague of the Exeter Excavation Committee in the 1920s and 30s; via Aileen Fox, to John Collis, Mike Griffiths, Chris Henderson and Paul Bidwell; and in recent years to John Allan, Neil Holbrook, and Stephen Rippon.' – Stuart Blaylock (2024): Journal of the Devon History Society, Volume 94
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