City of the Dead: Calleva Atrebatum

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• 1. The lost town
• 2. Celtic roots
• 3. Our introduction to Calleva
• 4. Early excavations
• 5. Immigrants from France?
• 6. The Roman town
• 7. 6th-century abondonment
• 8. Find out more
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The lost town

The Iron Age and Roman town of Calleva Atrebatum can be found deep in the north Hampshire countryside in the parish of Silchester. But where once there was a busy, populous centre, now there are only green fields. All that is now visible above ground, of a settlement that thrived for more than 500 years between the first century BC and the fifth or sixth century AD, are sections of the late Iron Age fortifications of rampart and ditch, the Roman amphitheatre and, most impressive of all, the entire circuit of the late Roman town walls.

'Why is there no successor medieval and modern town?'

Most Roman towns evolved into modern counterparts, either directly over the site of the ancient city, such as at Chichester, Winchester or London, or close by such as at St Albans or Norwich.

So two very reasonable questions to ask about Calleva are: why did a major settlement develop in this location; and why is there no successor medieval and modern town? There are no certain answers to either of these questions, but trying to resolve them is one of the eternal fascinations of Calleva.

'Enemies would find it hard to approach unseen...(and) there is plenty of water'

At first sight the setting does not seem the obvious location to build a major settlement, with the Thames, a major means of potential communication, lying some ten miles to the north, but the site did have other practical advantages. A spur of relatively high ground was chosen, with commanding views to the east and south, so enemies would find it hard to approach unseen. Also, beneath the shallow gravel that caps this promontory, there is plenty of water, easily accessed from relatively shallow wells.

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