Exeter: A Roman Legionary Fortress and Civitas Capital (Archaeopress Roman Sites Series)

Exeter has long been known as a Roman city, but it was only in 1971 that its origin as a legionary fortress of the mid-first century AD was revealed.That discovery was the result of excavation work undertaken by the first professional archaeological unit to be based in the city.The author was one of those involved and this book explains how innovative archaeological techniques introduced in the 1970s were employed, not only to construct a picture of the legionary fortress, but to demonstrate with some confidence that the 5,000 strong garrison which manned it was the Second Augustan Legion.Whilst at Exeter the legion built its own stone bathhouse.Constructed only around 15-20 years after the Roman invasion in AD 43, it is the earliest known monumental masonry building in the South-West of Britain.Significantly, it was also possible to establish that Exeter became a Roman regional capital around AD 80 after the departure of the legion to Wales.The redundant bathhouse was converted to a b