Archaeology News Network
The discovery of the Roman fort at the St Loye's site changes much of what was previously known about the Roman occupation of Exeter and how the native population of the time was subdued.
The Roman army reached Exeter around AD 50-55 during the conquest of south-west Britain on the orders of Emperor Claudius, commanded by a future Emperor, Vespasian.
It is likely that the newly discovered fort, rectangular and of wooden construction, was used as a base to quell uprisings by local chieftains as the army sought to establish a new base on the River Exe that would be more easily defensible.
This was ultimately created on a spur overlooking the Exe — a 42-acre "playing card-shaped" legionary fortress was built. This became the base for the 5,000-strong Second Augustan Legion and home to their families as settlements grew up outside the fortress gates, especially to the north-east.
This fortress could be defended on two sides by steep valleys. The defences and buildings of the fortress were constructed almost entirely from timber and clay. The one exception was the bath house, which had walls of volcanic stone quarried from Rougemont Hill.
It was excavated in 1971-73 beneath the Cathedral Close; the remains, now covered over, have been preserved in sand.
In about AD 75, the legion was transferred to Caerleon in South Wales and the fortress was abandoned.
A few years later work began to convert the site into a civilian town, known as Isca Dumnoniorum. Its public buildings included a forum and basilica, a market place and public baths. It was the capital of the Dumnonii tribe, a British Celtic tribe who inhabited the South West alongside the Romans. "
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