Verulamium

Remains of the city walls

Verulamium was the third largest city in Roman Britain. Its site is located beside the present-day city of St Albans in Hertfordshire, on park and agricultural land.

Before the Romans it was the site of the capital of the Catuvellauni tribe, the settlement was established by their leader Tasciovanus.

The Roman settlement was granted the rank of municipium in c. AD 50. It grew to a significant town, despite the attentions of Boudicca of the Iceni in AD 61. It had municipium status and grew steadily - by the early 200s it covered an area of about 125 acres, behind a deep ditch and wall. It had a forum, basilica and a theatre, most of which were destroyed during two fires, one in AD 155 and the other around AD 250. The town was rebuilt in stone rather than timber at least twice over the next 150 years. Occupation by the Romans ended between 450 and 500.

There are a few remains of the city, such as parts of the city walls and a hypocaust and theatre. The city was ransacked for building material when St Albans was founded. More remains are believed to exist under agricultural land near St Albans, which has apparently never been investigated by archaeologists.

Within the walls of Verulam, which he took for the name of his Barony, Sir Francis Bacon, the essayist and statesman, built a refined small house that was thoroughly described by the 17th century diarist John Aubrey; no trace of it is left, but Aubrey noted "At Verulam is to be seen, in some few places, some remains of the wall of this Citie" (see illustration).

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