page_title: Viroconium Cornoviorum
section_title: Roman
hierarchical_section_title: Viroconium Cornoviorum / History / Roman
caption_attribution_description: Excavation at Uriconium by en:Francis Bedford
context_page_description: Viroconium or Uriconium, formally Viroconium Cornoviorum, was a Roman town, one corner of which is now occupied by Wroxeter, a small village in Shropshire, England, about 5 miles east-south-east of Shrewsbury. At its peak, Viroconium is estimated to have been the 4th-largest Roman settlement in Britain, a civitas with a population of more than 15,000. The settlement probably lasted until the end of the 7th century or the beginning of the 8th. Extensive remains can still be seen.
context_section_description: Wroxeter was first established in the early years of the Roman conquest of Britain as a frontier post for a cohort of Thracian Auxilia who were taking part in the campaigns of the governor, Publius Ostorius Scapula. The site was chosen because it is strategically located near the end of Watling Street, the primary Roman trunk road that ran across Britannia from Dubris (Dover); eventually, by the 70s CE it would continue north to the castrum of Deva Victrix (Chester). The post was a key frontier position because it defended the River Severn valley as it come out of Cambria (Wales) as well as protecting the route to the south that lead to the Wye valley.
  In the mid First Century Legio XIV Gemina took over the site from the Thracian Auxilia. The legion, in preparation for the invasion of Cambria, replaced the frontier port with a legionary fortress. In 78CE, governor Gnaeus Julius Agricola led campaigns to suppress the Celtic tribes in North Wales and the druids on Ynys Môn. In 80CE, Agricola took Legio XIV Gemina north on his punitive expeditions against the Picts in Scotland. With the departure of Legio XIV Gemina, Legio XX Valeria Victrix took over the fort.
  By the late 80s CE the fort had ceased to be used by the Roman army. In this period the canabae, or civilian settlement, that had grown up around the legionary fort began turning it into a town. Archaeological research has found that an unfinished legionary bath house in the centre of the town eventually became the town's forum. A decade later a civic street grid was subsuming the plan of the old legionary fort.
  The colonnaded forum was started in the 120s CE covering the unfinished bath house, and with the impressive dedicatory inscription to Hadrian found in excavations dating the completion to 130 CE. By 130 CE, the town had expanded especially under Emperor Hadrian to cover an area of more than 173 acres (70 ha). It then had many public buildings, including thermae. Simpler temples and shops have also been excavated. At its peak, Viroconium is estimated to have been the one of the richest and the fourth largest Roman settlement in Britain with a population of more than 15,000. Its wealth is surprising for what remained a frontier town and is perhaps explained by its access to Wales and to other trade routes.
  Between 165-185 AD the forum burned down, including neighbouring shops and houses, and many shop contents were subsequently found in excavations. The forum was rebuilt with several modifications.
  Following the end of Roman rule in Britain around 410, the Cornovii tribe divided into Pengwern (Shropshire) and Powys. This socio-political division started Viroconium's decline as an important settlement.
caption: Roman ruins at Viroconium Cornoviorum, photographed during excavation by Francis Bedford and digitally restored
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