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The Roman town of Calleva
Atrebatum, the reason I went to Silchester in the first place, is an
important archaeological site. Silchester was completely abandoned at the
end of the Roman occupation of Britain, in the early 5th Century AD. This
means that the layout of the Roman town remains intact. There are only two
other towns in England which have survived to a similar extent. Today, the
interior of Silchester is buried and, apart from the walls and the
amphitheatre, there are no visible remains. The entire circuit of the town
wall remains and is one of the best examples of its kind. Pictured left is the amphitheatre. |
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| A section of the wall, near
the south gate, where the wall is well-preserved and survives to a height of
4.5 meters.
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St Mary's Church, which is of medieval origin. The Church is actually within the city walls. Its still in use, as is the little cemetery. It is oddly common for Churches, no matter how small all large to have their own cemeteries. Worryingly, there were a number of head stones propped up against a wall. It made me think of all those stories where heavy rain has loosened poorly buried corpses, bringing them up to the surface. |
A little bit of historical info:
Calleva, meaning the woodland place, saw a great deal of change throughout its
lifetime. It was an important centre in the Iron Age and continued to develop
during the Roman period. As the road and monetary systems created economic
opportunities, Calleva was well placed at the centre of the road network to
flourish. With local leaders acting as officials in the Roman administrative
system, Calleva become a Civitas, or regional, capital.
Exactly how long the occupation of the town continued, and the form it took, are
matters for continuing conjecture and research. It is likely that, as the Roman
infrastructure collapsed in the 5th Century, the town itself went into decline.
It is certain, however, that people lived, worked and died here for at least 500
years, a longer span than that between the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and Queen
Elizabeth II.