colour scheme
Timeline
Roman Town
The Town
Following the departure of the legion, Exeter was chosen as the regional capital (‘civitas capital’) of the people of Devon and Cornwall - the Dumnonii. It was known as Isca Dumnoniorum. A new stone forum was laid out at the centre of the old fortress site, and local people who accepted Roman authority and customs soon set up shops and houses on the plots surrounding it.
A century later, the city had grown beyond the limits of the old fortress, and when Exeter, like other regional capitals in Britain, began building town defences around AD 180-200, they enclosed a considerably larger area of 93 acres. In the third and fourth centuries the town seems to have been at least modestly prosperous. Four buildings are known to have had costly mosaic floors. Our impression is however that it was not as prosperous as the neighbouring towns of Ilchester and Dorchester, still less the larger towns.
By the late 4th century Exeter was in terminal decline. The suburbs had already been abandoned by about AD 360; by the 380s the money supply ceased and the population had contracted to the centre of town. At this time farming was being practised in much of the walled area. Soon - probably not long after AD 400 - urban life had ceased.
Settlements outside the walled town
Excavation in Exeter has always been concentrated within the walled area. There must, however, have been many scattered settlements in the surrounding countryside. Roman coins, collected casually by members of the public and donated to our museum over the last 150 years, offer the most extensive evidence of this rural activity. The find-spots of many of these coins were poorly recorded, so are not plotted here. Those shown below are among the examples for which we have detailed records.
Reconstruction view of Roman town in the early 4th century
A Roman street
The City Wall
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The City Wall at Quay Lane
The rear of the wall
Reconstruction of the Roman South Gate
Reconstruction of the Roman town wall at Paul Street
Excavation in the forum, 1947
Excavation of the basilica
The steps up to the basilica
Reconstructed plan of the basilica
Plaster fragment from the basilica
Photograph of the town baths during excavation
The city aqueduct
The Broadgate statuettes
Figurine of a Dea Nutrix
Sherd with a Christian monogram
Mosaic from Catherine Street, Exeter
Drawing of a mosaic fragment from Catherine Street
Excavation of the corridor mosaic at Catherine Street
The corridor mosaic at Catherine Street
Reconstruction of Catherine Street mosaics
The site of the Pancras Lane mosaic
The mosaic at the Old Police Station
Mosaic fragment found beside Mary Major church
Late Roman farmyard
Early Roman timber buildings
A stone bowl
Black Burnished ware
A samian bowl
South Devon ware
Wooden spade head
Metalworking
Tiles with paw prints
A baker’s oven
A Mediterranean amphora
North African amphorae
Ceramique a l’eponge
Slates from the Topsham bakehouse
Carving of an animal in jet
A selection of Roman brooches
A timber–lined well
A child burial
A Roman lamp from Lion’s Holt
Excavation of the legionary defences
Plan of the Roman town c AD 75–150
Plan of the Roman town c AD 150–400
The hoard of coins found in St Thomas
Two Roman coins found at Heavitree House
A coin of Diocletian (obverse)
A coin of Diocletian (reverse)
Coins of Trajan
A Roman coin from Cowick Fields (obverse)
A Roman coin from Cowick Fields (reverse)
Roman coin found in Union Road (obverse)
Roman coin found in Union Road (reverse)
A Roman coin from Danes Castle (obverse)
A Roman coin from Danes Castle (reverse)
A Roman coin found near Ladysmith Road (obverse)
A Roman coin found near Hazel Road (obverse)
Roman coin from Silver Terrace
A mortar imported from the Rhineland
Evidence of gold–refining
Glass flask
Bone hairpin
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Bone hairpin
Metal hairpin
Bone needle
Metal bracelet
Fragment of a shale bracelet
Ring key
Melon bead
Detail of a willow basket
Fragments of Roman glass
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