- Isca Dumnoniorum
Isca Dumnoniorum was a town in the
Roman province ofBritannia . Today it is known asExeter , located in the English county ofDevon .Fortress
Isca was established as a 42 acre 'playing-card' shaped Roman fort on a spur of land overlooking the banks of the
River Exe around AD50 . It was the base of the 5,000 strong Second Legion for the next twenty-five years, before they moved toIsca Augusta . It also became home to their families as settlements grew up outside the fortress gates, especially to the north-east. Most of the buildings within the fort, such as barrack blocks and granaries, were timber structures apart from a very large military bath house. The water was supplied by a natural spring via anaqueduct . Entertainment at the complex included a cockpit.Civilian town
About AD
80 , the fort was converted to a civilian settlement and became thecivitas capital of theDumnonii tribe. The military baths were too large for the local population and were largely demolished for, though partially incorporated into, the administrative forum andbasilica built on the site. New town baths were built to the south-east In the late 2nd century, the town walls were demolished and a new set erected at some distance, thus increasing the size of the town by two and a half times. There was much domestic occupation within the walls, but there is also evidence of copper and bronze working. A possible stock-yard has also been identified and Isca was clearly a key market centre for livestock and agricultural produce, as well as pottery, produced in the surrounding countryside.Decline
The forum and basilica were demolished around the middle of the 5th century when a cemetery, probably Christian, was established on the site. It continued in use into the Anglo-Saxon period when the town became known as 'Isca-Castra' or Exeter.
Remains
*Much of the Roman town wall survives as the lower courses or inner core of the medieval city walls, 70% of which remains to be seen around Exeter.
*Finds from the Roman town, particularly the Roman Fortress Baths excavations of 1971-76, may be seen in theRoyal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter.
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