1.
Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain
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The Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain describes the process which changed the language and culture of most of England from Romano-British to Germanic. The Germanic-speakers in Britain, themselves of diverse origins, eventually developed a cultural identity as Anglo-Saxons. This process occurred from the mid 5th to early 7th centuries, the settlement was followed by the establishment of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in the south and east of Britain, later followed by the rest of modern England. The available evidence includes the scanty contemporary and near-contemporary written record, the few literary sources tell of hostility between incomers and natives. They describe violence, destruction, massacre and the flight of the Romano-British population, also, it has long been supposed that the influence of Celtic languages on Old English was slight. These points have suggested a very large-scale invasion by various Germanic peoples, in this view, held by the majority of historians until the mid to late twentieth century, much of England was cleared of its prior inhabitants. If this traditional viewpoint were to be correct, the genes of the later English people would have been inherited from Germanic migrants. Another view, probably the most widely today, is that the migrants were relatively few. They then dominated a process of acculturation to Germanic language and material culture, consistent with this theory, archaeologists find that settlement patterns and land-use show no clear break with the Romano-British past, though there are marked changes in material culture. This view predicts that the ancestry of the people of Anglo-Saxon, the uncertain results of genetic studies tend to support this prediction. There are also two less well-supported theories, held by a minority of scholars, both originating from population genetics studies, first, Stephen Oppenheimer has argued that Germanic peoples, language and culture existed in eastern regions of Britain, even in pre-Roman times. This idea has been very actively challenged by a number of linguists, second, that the early settlers may have arrived in considerable numbers but represented a minority relative to the natives. If these incomers established themselves as an elite, this could have allowed them enhanced reproductive success. In this case, the genes of later Anglo-Saxon England could have been derived from moderate numbers of Germanic migrants. By 400, the Roman provinces in Britain were a part of the Roman Empire, occasionally lost to rebellion or invasion. That cycle of loss and recapture collapsed over the next decade, the history of this period has traditionally been a narrative of decline and fall. However, evidence from Verulamium suggests that urban-type rebuilding, featuring piped water, was continuing late on in the 5th century, at Silchester, there are signs of sub-Roman occupation down to around 500, and at Wroxeter new Roman baths have been identified as Roman-type. There are also signs in Gildas works that the economy was thriving without Roman taxation, as he complains of luxuria and this is the 5th century Britain into which the Anglo-Saxons appear
2.
Earthworks (archaeology)
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In archaeology, earthworks are artificial changes in land level, typically made from piles of artificially placed or sculpted rocks and soil. Earthworks are often known as barrows in England, and mounds in North America, Earthworks can themselves be archaeological features, or they can show features beneath the surface. They are believed to have used as monuments for spiritual ritual ceremonies. Long barrows are oblong-shaped mounds that are used for burials, tumuli are mounds of earth created over a tomb, it has the same meaning as barrow. A cross dyke or cross-ridge dyke is a bank and ditch, found in Europe and often belonging to the later Bronze Age or Iron Age. Often marked on Ordnance Survey maps in the UK. Ridge and furrows are sets of parallel depressions, mottes are mound structures made of earth and stone that once held castles. A round barrow is a mound that is in a shape that was used during Neolithic times as a burial mound. Geoglyph, a design or motif Earthworks can vary in height from a few centimetres to the size of Silbury Hill at 40 metres. They can date from the Neolithic to the present, the structures can also stretch for many tens of kilometres. In area, they can cover many hectares, for example, Maiden Castle, shallow earthworks are often more visible as cropmarks or in aerial photographs if taken when the sun is low in the sky and shadows are more pronounced. Similarly, earthworks may be visible after a frost or a light dusting of snow. Earthworks can be detected and plotted using Light Detection and Ranging and this technique is particularly useful for mapping small variations in land height that would be difficult to detect by eye. It can be used to map features beneath forest canopy and for features hidden by other vegetation, LIDAR results can be input into a geographic information system to produce three-dimensional representations of the earthworks. An accurate survey of the earthworks can enable them to be interpreted without the need for excavation, for example, earthworks from deserted medieval villages can be used to determine the location, size, and layout of lost settlements. Often these earthworks can point to the purpose of such a settlement, Earthworks in North America include mounds built by Native Americans known as the Mound Builders. Ancient people who lived in the American Midwest commonly built effigy mounds, possibly the most famous of these effigy mounds is Serpent Mound. Located in the Ohio, this 411-meterlong earthen work is thought to memorialize alignments of the planets, cone-shaped or conical mounds are also numerous, with thousands of them scattered across the American Midwest, some over 80 feet tall. These conical mounds appear to be marking the graves of one person or even dozens of people
3.
Wessex
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Wessex was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom in the south of Great Britain, from 519 until England was unified by Æthelstan in the early 10th century. The Anglo-Saxons believed that Wessex was founded by Cerdic and Cynric, the two main sources for the history of Wessex are the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and the West Saxon Genealogical Regnal List, which sometimes conflict. Wessex became a Christian kingdom after Cenwalh was baptised and was expanded under his rule, cædwalla later conquered Sussex, Kent and the Isle of Wight. His successor, Ine, issued one of the oldest surviving English law codes, the throne subsequently passed to a series of kings with unknown genealogies. During the 8th century, as the hegemony of Mercia grew and it was during this period that the system of shires was established. Under Egbert, Surrey, Sussex, Kent, Essex, and Mercia and he also obtained the overlordship of the Northumbrian king. However, Mercian independence was restored in 830, during the reign of his successor, Æthelwulf, a Danish army arrived in the Thames estuary, but was decisively defeated. When Æthelwulfs son, Æthelbald, usurped the throne, the kingdom was divided to avoid war, Æthelwulf was succeeded in turn by his four sons, the youngest being Alfred the Great. Wessex was invaded by the Danes in 871, and Alfred was compelled to pay them to leave and they returned in 876, but were forced to withdraw. In 878 they forced Alfred to flee to the Somerset Levels, during his reign Alfred issued a new law code, gathered scholars to his court and was able to devote funds to building ships, organising an army and establishing a system of burhs. Alfreds son, Edward, captured the eastern Midlands and East Anglia from the Danes and became ruler of Mercia in 918 upon the death of his sister, Edwards son, Æthelstan, conquered Northumbria in 927, and England became a unified kingdom for the first time. Cnut the Great, who conquered England in 1016, created the wealthy and powerful earldom of Wessex, modern archaeologists use the term Wessex culture for a Middle Bronze Age culture in this area. Although agriculture and hunting were pursued during this period, there is little archaeological evidence of human settlements. During the Roman occupation numerous country villas with attached farms were established across Wessex, the Romans, or rather the Romano-British, built another major road that integrated Wessex, running eastwards from Exeter through Dorchester to Winchester and Silchester and on to London. The early 4th century CE was a time in Roman Britain. However, following a previous incursion in 360 that was stopped by Roman forces and they devastated many parts of Britain and laid siege to London. The Romans responded promptly, and Count Theodosius had recovered the land up to the Wall by 368, the Romans temporarily ceased to rule Britain on the death of Magnus Maximus in 388. Stilicho attempted to restore Roman authority in the late 390s, two subsequent Roman rulers of Britain, appointed by the remaining troops, were murdered
4.
Bath, Somerset
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Bath is a city in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England, known for its Roman-built baths. In 2011, the population was 88,859, Bath is in the valley of the River Avon,97 miles west of London and 11 miles south-east of Bristol. The city became a World Heritage Site in 1987, the city became a spa with the Latin name Aquæ Sulis c. AD60 when the Romans built baths and a temple in the valley of the River Avon, Bath Abbey was founded in the 7th century and became a religious centre, the building was rebuilt in the 12th and 16th centuries. In the 17th century, claims were made for the properties of water from the springs. Many of the streets and squares were laid out by John Wood, the Elder, and in the 18th century the city became fashionable, Jane Austen lived in Bath in the early 19th century. Further building was undertaken in the 19th century and following the Bath Blitz in World War II, the city has software, publishing and service-oriented industries. Theatres, museums, and other cultural and sporting venues have helped make it a centre for tourism with more than one million staying visitors and 3.8 million day visitors to the city each year. There are several museums including the Museum of Bath Architecture, Victoria Art Gallery, Museum of East Asian Art, the city has two universities, the University of Bath and Bath Spa University, with Bath College providing further education. Sporting clubs include Bath Rugby and Bath City F. C. while TeamBath is the name for all of the University of Bath sports teams. Bath became part of the county of Avon in 1974, and, the hills in the locality such as Bathampton Down saw human activity from the Mesolithic period. Several Bronze Age round barrows were opened by John Skinner in the 18th century, solsbury Hill overlooking the current city was an Iron Age hill fort, and the adjacent Bathampton Camp may also have been one. A long barrow site believed to be from the Beaker people was flattened to make way for RAF Charmy Down, messages to her scratched onto metal, known as curse tablets, have been recovered from the sacred spring by archaeologists. The tablets were written in Latin, and cursed people whom the writers felt had wronged them, for example, if a citizen had his clothes stolen at the baths, he might write a curse, naming the suspects, on a tablet to be read by the goddess. A temple was constructed in AD 60–70, and a complex was built up over the next 300 years. Engineers drove oak piles into the mud to provide a stable foundation, in the 2nd century, the spring was enclosed within a wooden barrel-vaulted structure that housed the caldarium, tepidarium, and frigidarium. The town was given defensive walls, probably in the 3rd century. After the failure of Roman authority in the first decade of the 5th century, in March 2012 a hoard of 30,000 silver Roman coins, one of the largest discovered in Britain, was unearthed in an archaeological dig
5.
Gloucester
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Gloucester is a city and district in southwest England, the county city of Gloucestershire. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, on the River Severn, Gloucester was founded in AD97 by the Romans under Emperor Nerva as Colonia Glevum Nervensis, and was granted its first charter in 1155 by King Henry II. Economically, the city is dominated by the industries, and has a strong financial and business sector. The origins of the name Gloucester can be traced to Caerloyw in the modern Welsh, there are various appellations in history such as Caer Glow, Gleawecastre, Gleucestre as an early British settlement is not confirmed by direct evidence. However, Gloucester was the Roman municipality of Colonia Nervia Glevensium, or Glevum, parts of the walls can be traced, and a number of remains and coins have been found, though inscriptions are scarce. In Historia Brittonum, an account of the early rulers of Britain, Vortigerns grandfather. Part of the foundations of Roman Gloucester can be today in Eastgate Street, while Roman tombstones. After the withdrawal on the Roman Empire in the late 4th Century the town returned to the control of Celtic Dubonni tribe. By the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Gloucester is shown as part of Wessex from the Battle of Deorham in 577 until 584, Gloucester was captured by the Saxons in 577. In the early 10th century the remains of Saint Oswald were brought to a church in Gloucester. The core street layout is thought to date back to the reign of Ethelfleda in late Saxon times. In 1051 Edward the Confessor held court at Gloucester and was threatened there by a led by Godwin, Earl of Wessex. A unique coin, dated to 1077–80, was discovered, just north of the city and it features the name of the moneyer Silacwine and its place of minting. The Portable Antiquities Scheme said that, until the coin was discovered, after the Norman Conquest, William Rufus made Robert Fitzhamon the first baron or overlord of Gloucester. Fitzhamon had a base at Cardiff Castle, and for the succeeding years the history of Gloucester was closely linked to that of Cardiff. During the Anarchy, Gloucester was a centre of support for the Empress Matilda who was supported in her claim to the throne by her half-brother, Fitzhamons grandson, Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester. The story of the Anarchy is vividly told in a series of paintings by William Burges at the Castle. King Henry II granted Gloucester its first charter in 1155, which gave the burgesses the same liberties as the citizens of London, a a second charter of Henry II gave them freedom of passage on the River Severn
6.
Cirencester
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Cirencester is a market town in east Gloucestershire, England,93 miles west northwest of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames and it is the home of the Royal Agricultural University, the oldest agricultural college in the English-speaking world, founded in 1840. The towns Corinium Museum is well known for its extensive Roman collection, the Roman name for the town was Corinium, which is thought to have been associated with the ancient British tribe of the Dobunni, having the same root word as the River Churn. The earliest known reference to the town was by Ptolemy in 150AD, Cirencester is twinned with Itzehoe, Germany. Cirencester lies on the dip slopes of the Cotswold Hills. Natural drainage is into the River Churn, which flows north to south through the eastern side of the town. The Thames itself rises just a few miles west of Cirencester, the town is split into five main areas, the town centre, the suburbs of Chesterton, Stratton, Watermoor and The Beeches. The village of Siddington to the south of the town is now almost contiguous with Watermoor, other suburbs include Bowling Green and New Mills. The area and population of these 5 electoral wards are identical to that quoted above. The town serves as a centre for surrounding villages, providing employment, amenities, shops, commerce and education, and as a commuter town for larger centres such as Cheltenham, Swindon and Stroud. Cirencester is the hub of a significant road network with important routes to Gloucester, Cheltenham, Warwick, Oxford, Wantage, Swindon, Chippenham, Bristol, Bath, however, only Gloucester, Cheltenham, Stroud and Swindon have slow bus connections. These good roads bring the town passing trade, although the ring road and bypass take traffic away from the town centre, both roads have busy service areas with adequate parking. Since closure of the Kemble to Cirencester branch line to Cirencester Town in 1964 the town has one of the largest in the region without its own rail station. However Kemble railway station,4 miles away, serves as a railhead and it provides regular services between Swindon and Gloucester, with peak-time direct trains to London Paddington station. The nearest airports are Bristol Airport, Cotswold Airport at Kemble, London, Cirencester was known to be an important early Roman area, along with St. Albans and Colchester, and the town includes evidence of significant area roadworks. When the Romans built a fort where the Fosse Way crossed the Churn, AD49, native Dobunni were drawn from Bagendon, a settlement of the Dobunni situated 3 miles to the north, to create a civil settlement near the fort. When the frontier moved to the following the conquest of Wales. 70, but the town persisted and flourished under the name Corinium Dobunnorum, even in Roman times, there was a thriving wool trade and industry, which contributed to the growth of Corinium. A large forum and basilica was built over the site of the fort, there are many Roman remains in the surrounding area, including several Roman villas near the villages of Chedworth and Withington
7.
Aquae Sulis
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For the Roman Baths complex at Aquae Sulis, see Roman Baths. Aquae Sulis was a town in the Roman province of Britannia. Today it is the English city of Bath, Somerset, the Romans probably began building a formal temple complex at Aquae Sulis in the AD 60s. The Romans had probably arrived in the shortly after their arrival in Britain in AD43 and there is evidence that their military road. An early Roman military presence has found just to the North-East of the bath complex in the Walcot area of modern Bath. Not far from the point of their road, they would have been attracted by the large natural hot spring which had been a shrine of the Celtic Brythons, dedicated to their goddess. This spring is a mineral spring found in the valley of the Avon River in Southwest England. The name is Latin for the waters of Sulis, the Romans identified the goddess with their goddess Minerva and encouraged her worship. The similarities between Minerva and Sulis helped the Celts adapt to Roman culture, the spring was built up into a major Roman Baths complex associated with an adjoining temple. About 130 messages to Sulis scratched onto lead curse tablets have been recovered from the Sacred Spring by archaeologists, most of them were written in Latin, although one discovered was in Brythonic and usually laid curses upon those whom the writer felt had done them wrong. This collection is the most important found in Britain, the Brythonic curse recovered on a metal pendant is the only sentence in the language that has been discovered. This is a superior, though uncertain, translation in that it takes into account the nominal cases of the nouns, Windiorix - nominative masculine. The area within - of approximately 23 acres - was largely open ground, there is some dispute as to whether these new buildings were private dwellings or were associated with servicing the pilgrims to the temple. There was also a development along the northern road outside the walls. From the later 3rd century on, the Western Roman Empire, however, while the great suite of baths fell into disrepair, some use of the hot springs continued. As far back as Geoffrey of Monmouth, the Arthurian Battle of Mons Badonicus has been suggested to have taken place near Aquae Sulis, in medieval times, the Roman temple at Bath was incorporated into British legend. The thermal springs at Bath were said to have dedicated to Minerva by the legendary King Bladud. An 8th century poem in Old English, The Ruin, describing the changes that had overtaken a Roman hot-water spring, is assumed to be a reference to Aquae Sulis
8.
Devon
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Devon, also known as Devonshire, which was formerly its common and official name, is a county of England, reaching from the Bristol Channel in the north to the English Channel in the south. It is part of South West England, bounded by Cornwall to the west, Somerset to the northeast, combined as a ceremonial county, Devons area is 6,707 km2 and its population is about 1.1 million. Devon derives its name from Dumnonia, which, during the British Iron Age, Roman Britain, the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain resulted in the partial assimilation of Dumnonia into the Kingdom of Wessex during the eighth and ninth centuries. The western boundary with Cornwall was set at the River Tamar by King Æthelstan in 936, Devon was constituted as a shire of the Kingdom of England thereafter. The north and south coasts of Devon each have both cliffs and sandy shores, and the bays contain seaside resorts, fishing towns. The inland terrain is rural, generally hilly, and has a low density in comparison to many other parts of England. Dartmoor is the largest open space in southern England at 954 km2, to the north of Dartmoor are the Culm Measures and Exmoor. In the valleys and lowlands of south and east Devon the soil is fertile, drained by rivers including the Exe, the Culm, the Teign, the Dart. As well as agriculture, much of the economy of Devon is linked with tourism, in the Brittonic, Devon is known as Welsh, Dyfnaint, Breton, Devnent and Cornish, Dewnens, each meaning deep valleys. One erroneous theory is that the suffix is due to a mistake in the making of the original letters patent for the Duke of Devonshire. However, there are references to Defenascire in Anglo-Saxon texts from before 1000 AD, the term Devonshire may have originated around the 8th century, when it changed from Dumnonia to Defenascir. Kents Cavern in Torquay had produced human remains from 30–40,000 years ago, Dartmoor is thought to have been occupied by Mesolithic hunter-gatherer peoples from about 6000 BC. The Romans held the area under occupation for around 350 years. Devon became a frontier between Brittonic and Anglo-Saxon Wessex, and it was absorbed into Wessex by the mid 9th century. This suggests the Anglo-Saxon migration into Devon was limited rather than a movement of people. The border with Cornwall was set by King Æthelstan on the east bank of the River Tamar in 936 AD, the arrival of William of Orange to launch the Glorious Revolution of 1688 took place at Brixham. Devon has produced tin, copper and other metals from ancient times, Devons tin miners enjoyed a substantial degree of independence through Devons Stannary Parliament, which dates back to the 12th century. The last recorded sitting was in 1748, agriculture has been an important industry in Devon since the 19th century
9.
Cornwall
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Cornwall is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area of England within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, Cornwall has a population of 551,700 and covers an area of 3,563 km2. Cornwall forms the westernmost part of the south-west peninsula of the island of Great Britain, and this area was first inhabited in the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods. It continued to be occupied by Neolithic and then Bronze Age peoples, there is little evidence that Roman rule was effective west of Exeter and few Roman remains have been found. In the mid-19th century, however, the tin and copper mines entered a period of decline, subsequently, china clay extraction became more important and metal mining had virtually ended by the 1990s. Traditionally, fishing and agriculture were the important sectors of the economy. Railways led to a growth of tourism in the 20th century, however, the area is noted for its wild moorland landscapes, its long and varied coastline, its attractive villages, its many place-names derived from the Cornish language, and its very mild climate. Extensive stretches of Cornwalls coastline, and Bodmin Moor, are protected as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Cornwall is the homeland of the Cornish people and is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, retaining a distinct cultural identity that reflects its history. Some people question the present constitutional status of Cornwall, and a nationalist movement seeks greater autonomy within the United Kingdom in the form of a devolved legislative Cornish Assembly. On 24 April 2014 it was announced that Cornish people will be granted minority status under the European Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. The modern English name Cornwall derives from the concatenation of two ancient demonyms from different linguistic traditions, Corn- records the native Brythonic tribe, the Cornovii. The Celtic word kernou is cognate with the English word horn. -wall derives from the Old English exonym walh, the Ravenna Cosmography first mentions a city named Purocoronavis in the locality. This is thought to be a rendering of Duro-cornov-ium, meaning fort of the Cornovii. The exact location of Durocornovium is disputed, with Tintagel and Carn Brea suggested as possible sites, in later times, Cornwall was known to the Anglo-Saxons as West Wales to distinguish it from North Wales. The name appears in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 891 as On Corn walum, in the Domesday Book it was referred to as Cornualia and in c.1198 as Cornwal. Other names for the county include a latinisation of the name as Cornubia, the present human history of Cornwall begins with the reoccupation of Britain after the last Ice Age. The area now known as Cornwall was first inhabited in the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods and it continued to be occupied by Neolithic and then Bronze Age people. The Common Brittonic spoken at the time developed into several distinct tongues
10.
Wales
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Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, and it had a population in 2011 of 3,063,456 and has a total area of 20,779 km2. Wales has over 1,680 miles of coastline and is mountainous, with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon. The country lies within the temperate zone and has a changeable. Welsh national identity emerged among the Celtic Britons after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century, Llywelyn ap Gruffudds death in 1282 marked the completion of Edward I of Englands conquest of Wales, though Owain Glyndŵr briefly restored independence to Wales in the early 15th century. The whole of Wales was annexed by England and incorporated within the English legal system under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542, distinctive Welsh politics developed in the 19th century. Welsh Liberalism, exemplified in the early 20th century by Lloyd George, was displaced by the growth of socialism, Welsh national feeling grew over the century, Plaid Cymru was formed in 1925 and the Welsh Language Society in 1962. Established under the Government of Wales Act 1998, the National Assembly for Wales holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters, two-thirds of the population live in south Wales, mainly in and around Cardiff, Swansea and Newport, and in the nearby valleys. Now that the countrys traditional extractive and heavy industries have gone or are in decline, Wales economy depends on the sector, light and service industries. Wales 2010 gross value added was £45.5 billion, over 560,000 Welsh language speakers live in Wales, and the language is spoken by a majority of the population in parts of the north and west. From the late 19th century onwards, Wales acquired its popular image as the land of song, Rugby union is seen as a symbol of Welsh identity and an expression of national consciousness. The Old English-speaking Anglo-Saxons came to use the term Wælisc when referring to the Celtic Britons in particular, the modern names for some Continental European lands and peoples have a similar etymology. The modern Welsh name for themselves is Cymry, and Cymru is the Welsh name for Wales and these words are descended from the Brythonic word combrogi, meaning fellow-countrymen. The use of the word Cymry as a self-designation derives from the location in the post-Roman Era of the Welsh people in modern Wales as well as in northern England and southern Scotland. It emphasised that the Welsh in modern Wales and in the Hen Ogledd were one people, in particular, the term was not applied to the Cornish or the Breton peoples, who are of similar heritage, culture, and language to the Welsh. The word came into use as a self-description probably before the 7th century and it is attested in a praise poem to Cadwallon ap Cadfan c. 633. Thereafter Cymry prevailed as a reference to the Welsh, until c.1560 the word was spelt Kymry or Cymry, regardless of whether it referred to the people or their homeland. The Latinised forms of names, Cambrian, Cambric and Cambria, survive as lesser-used alternative names for Wales, Welsh
11.
Celtic Britons
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They spoke the Common Brittonic language, the ancestor to the modern Brittonic languages. The earliest evidence for the Britons and their language in historical sources dates to the Iron Age, after the Roman conquest of Britain in the 1st century, a Romano-British culture emerged, and Latin and British Vulgar Latin coexisted with Brittonic. During and after the Roman era, the Britons lived throughout Britain south of the Firth of Forth, with the beginning of Anglo-Saxon settlement in the 5th century, the culture and language of the Britons fragmented and much of their territory was taken over by the Anglo-Saxons. The extent to which cultural and linguistic change was accompanied by wholesale changes in the population is still a matter of discussion. During this period some Britons migrated to mainland Europe and established significant settlements in Brittany as well as Britonia in modern Galicia, Common Brittonic developed into the distinct Brittonic languages, Welsh, Cumbric, Cornish and Breton. Although none of his own writings remain, writers during the time of the Roman Empire made much reference to them, the group included Ireland, which was referred to as Ierne inhabited by the race of Hiberni, and Britain as insula Albionum, island of the Albions. The term Pritani may have reached Pytheas from the Gauls, who used it as their term for the inhabitants of the islands. The first inhabitants were the Britons, who came from Armenia, the Latin name in the early Roman Empire period was Britanni or Brittanni, following the Roman conquest in AD43. Brittonic languages is a recent coinage intended to refer to the ancient Britons specifically. In English, the term Briton originally denoted the ancient Britons and their descendants, most particularly the Welsh, who were seen as heirs to the ancient British people. After the Acts of Union 1707, the terms British and Briton came to be applied not just to the remaining Brittonic peoples themselves, the Britons spoke an Insular Celtic language known as Common Brittonic. Brittonic was spoken throughout the island of Britain, as well as islands such as the Isle of Man, Scilly Isles, Orkneys, Hebrides. Thus the area today is called Brittany, Common Brittonic developed from the Insular branch of the Proto-Celtic language that developed in the British Isles after arriving from the continent in the 7th century BC. The language eventually began to diverge, some linguists have grouped subsequent developments as Western and Southwestern Brittonic languages, Pictish is now generally accepted to descend from Common Brittonic, rather than being a separate Celtic language. Welsh and Breton survive today, Cumbric became extinct in the 12th century, Cornish had become extinct by the 19th century but has been the subject of language revitalization since the 20th century. Ideas about the development of British Iron Age culture changed greatly in the 20th century, by this time Celtic styles seem to have been in decline in continental Europe, even before Roman invasions. Throughout their existence, the inhabited by the Britons was composed of numerous ever-changing areas controlled by Brittonic tribes. Part of the Pictish territory was absorbed into the Gaelic kingdoms of Dál Riata and Alba
12.
Corinium Dobunnorum
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Corinium Dobunnorum was the Romano-British settlement at Cirencester in the present-day English county of Gloucestershire. Its 2nd-century walls enclosed the 2nd-largest area of a city in Roman Britain and it was the tribal capital of the Dobunni and is usually thought to have been the capital of the Diocletian-era province of First Britain. A Roman fort was established at Corinium in the territory of the tribe of the Dobunni about a year after the Roman conquest of Britain. The main settlement in the area at the time was the hillfort at Bagendon, three main Roman roads met in Corinium, the Fosse Way, Akeman Street, and Ermin Street. By the mid-70s CE, the military had abandoned the fort, over the next twenty years, a street grid was laid out and the town was furnished with an array of large public stone buildings, two market places, and numerous shops and private houses. The forum and basilica were bigger than any other in Britain, the basilica was decorated with beautifully carved Corinthian capitals, Italian marble wall veneers and Purbeck marble mouldings. Unfortunately, it was built over the ditch of the old fort, there appears to have been a cattle market adjoining the forum with a market hall and several butchers shops. A system of water pipes indicates there was also an aqueduct. The amphitheatre stood to the south-east of the town in the now called the Querns. It was built on the site of an old quarry aligned with the street grid, as yet, no temples have been located, although numerous fine sculptures show much religious activity in the town. The missing Christian bishop represented by a deacon at the Council of Arles in 314 may come from Corinium, the town was fortified in the late 2nd century. There were five gates and polygonal towers were added to the walls. About fifty years after their construction, there appears to have been a partial collapse and these may have been animal pens, convict cells, or small shrines. Corinium seems to have been the home to a number of early private stone houses of wealthy individuals. Such buildings continued to be built and occupied throughout the life of the town, but were particularly luxurious during the 4th century, there were also bakers, glass makers, blacksmiths and goldsmiths within the walls. Development continued until the 4th century and it remains unclear just where the Diocletian-era provinces of the Diocese of the Britains were located, but Corinium is now usually thought to have been the capital of Britannia Prima. Around the time of the Roman withdrawal from Britain in 410, the walls were repaired. It was finally abandoned around 430, the amphitheatre was the site of a large timber building associated with 5th and 6th-century pottery
