Venta Icenorum
Venta Icenorum was an ancient town located in eastern Britannia, specifically in present-day Norfolk, England, on the east bank of the River Tas. It served as the capital for the Iceni tribe during the Roman occupation. Following the suppression of the revolt led by Boudicca in AD 61, the Iceni were resettled around AD 70 at Venta, which evolved into an administrative center and market hub. The town was designed with a grid pattern of streets and saw significant development during the reign of Emperor Hadrian around AD 125, including the construction of a forum, basilica, public baths, and residential areas.
In the third century, as Venta Icenorum fell under the province of Upper Britain, it underwent fortification with massive walls that were approximately twenty feet high and eleven feet thick, which were likely built around AD 369. These defenses encompassed thirty-five acres, effectively reducing the town's size. Archaeological findings indicate the presence of two Romano-Celtic temples dating back to the early third century. Furthermore, the discovery of human skulls and bones in a burnt room has been tentatively linked to a potential uprising by German mercenaries in the area during the late fourth century. The history of Venta Icenorum offers insight into the complexities of Roman and tribal interactions in ancient Britain.
Venta Icenorum
(Caistor-by-Norwich, near Caistor St. Edmund)
A town in eastern Britannia (Norfolk, England) on the east bank of the river Tas; the capital of the British tribe of the Iceni under Roman rule. The position of their privious capital is unknown, but after the suppression of the revolt of Boudicca (Boadicea) in AD 61 they were resettled c 70 at Venta, which became their administrative center and market town.
A grid pattern of streets was laid down, and during the reign of Hadrian, c 125, a forum, basilica, public baths and new houses were constructed, and a pottery industry developed. In the third century, when Venta Icenorum came within Septimius Severus' province of Upper Britain, massive town walls were constructed. Twenty feet high and eleven feet thick, they are studded with towers and backed by an earthen bank and ditch; these fortifications, which perhaps date to cAD 369, enclosed an area of thirty-five acres, and reduced the size of the town by about a quarter. Two Romano-Celtic temples of the early third century have been identified. Thirty-six human skulls found with other bones in the ruins of a room burned down at the end of the fourth century have been tentatively associated with an uprising by German immigrants enrolled as mercenary soldiers (foederati) of whom there is evidence in a local cemetery.