Alchester Roman Town Alchester is the Old English and modern toponym for a small town in the Roman province of Britannia . Its name in Latin is " Ælia Castra " . It is about south of Bicester , in the northwest corner of the civil parish of Wendlebury in the English county of Oxfordshire . There is also an adjoining Roman military camp . Walled town . Alchester had a strategic location in Roman Britain , sited at a crossroad on the Silchester – Dorchester – Towcester road and the Cirencester – St Albans road ( Akeman Street ) . The area bounded by defences , about , is almost square , with the earliest defences consisting of a gravel rampart and one or more ditches ; later , a stone wall was added to the rampart . The dating of these two phases is obscure . The planning of streets approaches a rectangular grid , uncommon in smaller Romano - British towns . Along the main street , aerial archaeology has revealed a number of narrow , rectangular strip buildings . Near the centre of the town lay a building with a central court , surrounded by a portico on three sides . Outside the western defences , excavation in 1766 of what was then a prominent mound known as the Castle uncovered a sizable Roman bath . Iron Age settlement is attested close to the later Roman town , and Roman occupation of the site began in the Claudian period , possibly in the form of a fort . After the 5th century the place was deserted . Vexillation camp . The site has been the subject of investigation since 1996 , first under the auspices of Oxford University Archaeological Society , then under those of Leicester , Oxford and Edinburgh Universities . In 1990 , playing - card - shaped enclosures with ditches had been discovered on aerial photographs taken in 1943 – 45 . Excavation focussed initially on a Roman military parade ground and marching camp near the later Roman town , and then on an annexe to a large military compound . This proved that the larger enclosure was indeed surrounded by a characteristic army - style V - shaped ditch . It was common practice for the Roman army when operating in enemy territory to build marching camps against surprise attacks , even when spending only one night . However , the comparative frequency of early objects suggests that the camp may have existed for a longer time , perhaps serving as winter quarters . Alchester , soon to be at a road junction , was in a strategic key position . Situated in the border region of the Catuvellauni and Dobunni tribes , it was thus in an ideal position to exercise control over wide areas and to obtain sufficient food supplies for the winter . The smaller enclosure , with its U - shaped ditch and square corners was atypical for Roman forts , and was instead interpreted as a parade ground . Parallels for this have been found associated with legionary fortress of Lambaesis ( Algeria ) , as well as at Tomen - y - Mur ( Gwynedd ) . The presence of this would also support the idea of a fairly permanent military base . Investigation of the front gate , or " Porta Praetoria " , of the fortress revealed that waterlogged conditions had led to the preservation of two wooden gateposts . Dendrochronology gives both a felling date of between October AD 44 and March AD 45 . Evidence from coins found at the site suggest abandonment was likely to have taken place before the death of Emperor Nero in AD 68 In 2003 , excavations began of the town wall near the west gate . This had been robbed of building stone in post - Roman times , except for two stones that were found " in situ " and the wall ' s rubble foundations . Amongst the foundations was discovered the smashed fragments of an inscription that had been used for building material . This tombstone was for one Lucius Valerius Geminus , a veteran of the Legio II Augusta . The inscription reads : " Dis Manibus / L ( ucius ) Val ( erius ) L ( uci filius ) Pol ( lia tribu ) Gemi / nus For ( o ) Germ ( anorum ) / vet ( eranus ) Leg ( ionis ) [ I ] I Aug ( ustae ) / an ( norum ) L h ( ic ) s ( itus ) e ( st ) / he ( res ) c ( uravit ) / e ( x ) t ( estamento ) " " To the souls of the departed : Lucius Valerius Geminus , the son of Lucius , of the Pollia voting tribe , from Forum Germanorum , veteran of the Second Augustan Legion , aged 50 ( ? ) , lies here . His heir had this set up in accordance with his will . "