Editing Calleva Atrebatum (section)

==History==
[[File:Iter.Britanniarum.jpg|thumb|300px|A map of [[Antonine Itinerary|major 2nd-century]] [[Roman roads in Britain|Roman roads]], showing the importance of Calleva as a crossroads and also point of trifurcation of the routes leading to Glevum (Gloucester), South Wales and the South West Peninsula from [[Londinium]] (London)]]
Unusually for an [[British Iron Age|Iron Age]] tribal town in Britain, its exact site was reused for the Roman town.<ref name=unireading/> The Romans changed the layout and defences.<ref name=unireading/> 

Calleva Atrebatum ("Calleva of the [[Atrebates]]") was an Iron Age [[oppidum|settlement]], as capital of the Atrebates [[civitas|tribe]]. It became a walled town in the [[Roman province]] of [[Roman Britain|Britannia]].<ref name=unireading>Silchester: http://www.reading.ac.uk/silchester/about-silchester/sil-about-silchester-calleva.aspx</ref> 

===Celtic beginnings===
The Romanised Celtic "Calleva" can be translated to 'woods' or 'woody place'. The settlement was surrounded by dense woodlands that were used for fuel and to build structures. Given its access to east, west and northern domestic markets it was a centre of trade within Britain and with civilisations across the Channel and as far away as the Mediterranean.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Fulford |first1=Michael |title=City of the Dead: Calleva Atrebatum |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/archaeology/city_dead_01.shtml |website=BBC |access-date=4 December 2020}}</ref>

===Iron Age===
The Late Iron Age [[oppidum|settlement]] at Silchester has been shown by archaeology and coins of the British Q series{{clarify|date=October 2023|reason=What is this "British Q series"?}} to link Silchester with the seat of power of the [[Atrebates]]. Coins found stamped with "COMMIOS" show that [[Commius]], king of the Atrebates, established his territory and mint here after moving from Gaul.<ref>{{cite book|first=Boon|last=G|title=Roman Silchester|publisher=Max Parrish and Co.|location=London|year=1957}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Creighton|first=John|title=Britannia: the Creation of a Roman Province|publisher=Cambridge|location=Cambridge|year=2006|pages=21–22}}</ref> The inner earthwork, constructed {{circa|1}} AD, enclosed {{convert|32|hectare}} and at a similar time others were built in the surrounds.

Small areas of Late Iron Age occupation were first uncovered on the south side of the inner earthwork<ref>Boon, G. 1969. Belgic and Roman Silchester: excavations of 1954-8 with an excursus on the early history of Calleva. ''Archaeologia'' 102: 1-81.</ref> and around the south gate.<ref>Fulford, M. 1984. Silchester: Excavations on the Defences 1974–80. London: Society for Antiquaries. Britannia Monograph Series No. 5</ref> More detailed evidence for this was excavated below the forum/basilica. Several roundhouses, wells and pits were in a northeast–southwest alignment, dated to {{circa|25}} BC &ndash; 15 BC. Occupation of {{circa|15}} BC to AD 40 or 50 resulted in metalled streets, rubbish pits and palisaded enclosures. Imported Gallo-Belgic fine wares, [[amphorae]] and iron and copper-alloy brooches show that the settlement was high status. Distinctive food was identified, including oyster shell, a large [[briquetage]] assemblage and sherds from various [[Amphora|amphorae]] for olive oil, fish sauce and wine.<ref>Fulford, M. and Timby, J. 2000. Late Iron Age and Roman Silchester: Excavations on the Site of the Forum Basilica, 1977, 1980-86. London: Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies. Britannia monograph Series No. 15</ref>

Further such material was uncovered by the Insula {{tooltip|IX|See Roman numerals}} 'Town Life' project, including a great boundary ditch probably made about 40 to 20 BC, a large rectangular hall which could have been built any time between 25 BC to AD 10, and the laying out of lanes and new property divisions from about AD 10 to AD 40 or 50.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Fulford|first1=M|last2=Clarke|first2=A|last3=Pankhurst|first3=N|last4=Lucas|first4=S|title=Silchester Insula IX: the 'Town Life' Project 2012|publisher=Department of Archaeology, University of Reading|location=Reading|year=2013}}</ref> Archaeobotanical studies have demonstrated the import and consumption of celery, coriander and olives in Insula IX before the Claudian Conquest.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Lodwick|first=Lisa|author-link=Lisa Lodwick|date=2014-09-01|title=Condiments before Claudius: new plant foods at the Late Iron Age oppidum at Silchester, UK|journal=Vegetation History and Archaeobotany |language=en|volume=23|issue=5|pages=543–549|doi=10.1007/s00334-013-0407-1|s2cid=128753215|issn=0939-6314}}</ref>

===Roman===
After the [[Roman conquest of Britain]] in 43 AD the settlement developed into the Roman town of Calleva Atrebatum. 
[[File:Silchester mosaic.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Mosaic from Calleva Atrebatum]]
It was slightly larger, covering about {{convert|40|ha}}, and was laid out to a clear, new street grid. The town had several public buildings and flourished until the early [[Anglo-Saxon England|Anglo-Saxon period]].

A large [[mansio]] was in Insula VIII, near the South Gate, consisting of three wings arranged around a courtyard.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Boon|first1=George|title=Roman Silchester: The Archaeology of a Romano-British Town|url=https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.6925|date=1957|publisher=Max Parrish|location=London}}</ref> A possible [[nymphaeum]] was near to the amphitheatre to the north of the walled city.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Fulford|first=Michael|date=June 2018|title=The Silchester 'Nymphaeum'|journal=Britannia|volume=49|language=en|pages=7–11|doi=10.1017/S0068113X18000235|s2cid=165431898|issn=0068-113X|url=http://centaur.reading.ac.uk/81092/5/Silchester%20%2527Nymphaeum%2527%20text.pdf}}</ref>

Calleva was a major [[Roman roads in Britain|crossroads]]. The [[Devil's Highway (Roman Britain)|Devil's Highway]] connected it with the provincial capital [[Londinium]] (London). From Calleva, this road divided into routes to various other points west, including [[Roman road from Silchester to Bath|the road]] to [[Aquae Sulis]] ([[Bath, England|Bath]]); [[Ermin Way]] to [[Glevum]] ([[Gloucester]]); and the [[Port Way]] to [[Sorviodunum]] ([[Old Sarum]] near modern [[Salisbury]]).

The earthworks and, for much of the circumference, the ruined walls are still visible. The remains of the [[amphitheatre]], added about AD 70–80 and outside the city walls, can also be clearly seen. The area inside the walls is now largely farmland with no visible distinguishing features other than the enclosing earthworks and walls, with a tiny [[mediaeval]] church in one corner. At its peak, the Roman amphitheatre would have housed around seven thousand spectators. Within, bear fighting, [[gladiator]] fighting, and other forms of entertainment were put on. Around the third century, renovations were made to the stadium including two new stadium entrances were added and the shape was turned into a more elliptical layout. After the Romans retreated, the British and the [[Anglo-Saxon|Anglo-Saxons]] continued to use the amphitheatre.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Johnson |first1=Ben |title=Silchester Roman Town (Calleva Atrebatum) |url=https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryMagazine/DestinationsUK/Calleva-Atrebatum-Silchester-Roman-Town/ |website=Historic UK |access-date=4 December 2020}}</ref><ref name="Hampshire County Council">{{cite web|title= Calleva Atrebatum - Roman Silchester|url= http://www.hants.gov.uk/discover/places/silchester.html|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070930220021/http://www.hants.gov.uk/discover/places/silchester.html|date= 2006-04-03|archive-date= 2007-09-30|work= Discover Hampshire|publisher= Hampshire County Council|access-date= 2009-08-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title= Silchester Roman City Walls and Amphitheatre|url= http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/silchester-roman-city-walls-and-amphitheatre/|publisher= [[English Heritage]]|access-date= 2005-09-22}}</ref>

In the southeast of the city were the thermal baths. They belong to the earliest stone buildings of the city, which were perhaps built around 50 AD. The baths are not aligned with the later city grid, and the entrance area was rebuilt to fit into the new road network. Several construction phases can be distinguished. At first they consisted of a portico, a [[palaestra]] and the bath rooms behind. The portico was later removed and the bathrooms divided in half, presumably so that men and women could bathe separately.

There is a [[spring water|spring]] that emanates from inside the walls, near the original baths, and flows south-eastwards where it joins [[Foudry Brook|Silchester Brook]]. The Roman Calleva flourished (to nearly 10,000 inhabitants in the third/fourth century) around these springs that served the Roman baths excavated in summer 2019.<ref>[https://research.reading.ac.uk/silchester/the-silchester-bathhouse/ Calleva-Silchester bathouse]</ref>

===Sub-Roman and medieval===

After the Roman withdrawal from Britain, Calleva Atrebatum remained inhabited, but its fortunes began to falter. Major buildings at the site were used {{circa}} 400–430, but evidence of occupation begins to decline sharply after AD 450. According to Daniel G. Russo the hypothesis that the city remained in use during the sixth century, thanks to its sturdy walls, is "attractive," but based largely on guesswork, as "there is no firm written or archaeological evidence that organised Romano-British urban life existed at Calleva beyond {{circa}} 450 at the latest."<ref>{{Cite book| publisher = Greenwood Publishing Group| isbn = 978-0-313-30079-0| last = Russo| first = Daniel G.| title = Town Origins and Development in Early England, C.400-950 A.D.| date = 1998}}</ref> This is in contrast to most other Roman towns in Britain, which continued to exist after the end of the Roman era; Calleva is one of the six that did not survive the sub-Roman era, and disappeared in the Middle Ages.<ref>{{Cite book| publisher = Archaeological Institute of America| title = Archaeological Fieldwork and Opportunities Bulletin| date = 2002|page=63}}</ref>  (That said, the historian David Nash Ford identifies the site with the Cair Celemion of [[Nennius]]'s list of the [[Caer#Britain|28 cities]] of [[Sub-Roman Britain]], which, if true, would mean that the site was at least partially extant during the [[Early Middle Ages]].)<ref name=nashford>{{cite web|author=Ford, David Nash|url=http://www.britannia.com/history/ebk/articles/nenniuscities.html|title=The Archaeology of Nennius' 28 British Cities|publisher=Britannia|date=2000|archive-date=27 January 2001|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010127024500/http://www.britannia.com/history/ebk/articles/nenniuscities.html|access-date=28 February 2020|url-status=dead}}</ref>

A hypothesis has emerged that the Saxons deliberately avoided Calleva after it was abandoned, preferring to maintain their existing centres at [[Winchester]] and [[Dorchester, Oxfordshire|Dorchester]].<ref>{{cite news |first= Maev |last= Kennedy |author-link= Maev Kennedy |title= Burials 'show Roman city was cursed' |url= https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/apr/09/maevkennedy1 |work= The Guardian |date= 1999-04-09 |access-date= 2008-12-17}}</ref> There was a gap of perhaps a century before the twin Saxon towns of [[Old Basing|Basing]] and [[Reading, Berkshire|Reading]] were founded on rivers either side of Calleva. As a consequence, Calleva has been subject to relatively benign neglect for most of the last two millennia.<ref>{{cite web |title= A Guide to Silchester |url= http://www.silchester.rdg.ac.uk/guide |date=June 2009 |work= Silchester Insula IX|publisher= University of Reading |access-date= 2005-09-22}}</ref>