Derventio was a small

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

in the

Roman province The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...

Britannia Britannia () is the national personification of Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used in classical antiquity, the Latin ''Britannia'' was the name variously applied to the British Isles, Grea ...

. Today the area is known as Little Chester, on the outskirts of

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

, located in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

county of

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

Description

The first

Roman fort In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, the Latin word ''castrum'', plural ''castra'', was a military-related term. In Latin usage, the singular form ''castrum'' meant 'fort', while the plural form ''castra'' meant 'camp'. The singular and ...

in the area was built on the opposite bank of the River Derwent at Strutts Park. It was replaced about AD 80 by a fort on the present site, but this only lasted about forty years, then was decommissioned. There was extensive Roman activity prompted by the fort, which was connected westward by a road to the

Icknield Street Icknield Street or Ryknild Street is a Roman road in England, with a route roughly south-west to north-east. It runs from the Fosse Way at Bourton on the Water in Gloucestershire () to Templeborough in South Yorkshire (). It passes through ...

, and to the east by a road to Sawley on the

River Trent The Trent is the third-longest river in the United Kingdom. Its source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midlands. The river is known for dramatic flooding after storms and ...

. A fort-vicus which manufactured pottery and worked iron was founded 600m to the east on the Sawley Road. The fort was later re-occupied and re-used for a further twenty five years. The defensive bank and timber

palisade A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a fence or defensive wall made from iron or wooden stakes, or tree trunks, and used as a defensive structure or enclosure. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymology ''Palisade ...

were now remodelled and stone gates built. Then it lay unoccupied until the late 3rd century when a stone wall was built around the town. It did not outlive the end of the 4th century. The modern Old Chester Road bisects the site of the fort, and in the nineteenth century the south east corner was cut by a line of the Great Northern Railway.

History

It is not known which tribal group occupied the area of Derby, though the

Corieltauvi The Corieltauvi (also the Coritani, and the Corieltavi) were a tribe of people living in Britain prior to the Roman conquest, and thereafter a ''civitas'' of Roman Britain. Their territory was in what is now the English East Midlands. They were ...

and

Cornovii The Cornovii is the name by which two, or three, tribes were known in Roman Britain. One tribe was in the area centred on present-day Shropshire, one was in Caithness in northernmost Scotland, and there was probably one in Cornwall. The name h ...

are the most likely. In AD 46-47 the Roman Army under the direction of governor Aulius Plautius had probably occupied the lands to the south of the

, so in AD 50 this was the front line. There is a shortage of written documentation about these years so reliance is made on archaeological excavations. Late in 47 the new governor of Britain, Ostorius Scapula, began a campaign against the tribes of modern-day

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, and the Cheshire Gap. During these times Strutt’s Park Roman fort was one of the new forts built along the new supply road from

Wroxeter Wroxeter is a village in Shropshire, England, which forms part of the civil parish of Wroxeter and Uppington, beside the River Severn, south-east of Shrewsbury. '' Viroconium Cornoviorum'', the fourth largest city in Roman Britain, was site ...

to Rossington. The campaign to conquer the Silures continued under the governor Quintus Veranius and his successor

Gaius Suetonius Paulinus Gaius Suetonius Paulinus (fl. AD 41–69) was a Roman general best known as the commander who defeated the rebellion of Boudica. Early life Little is known of Suetonius' family, but it likely came from Pisaurum (modern Pesaro), a town on the Ad ...

but by now Strutt’s Park's rôle was to maintain the peace. Around AD 74, the lands north of the River Mersey became unstable, when Queen Cartimandus had to ask for Roman assistance to fight off a rebellion. Then in AD78, Gnaeus Julius Agricola, made famous through the highly laudatory biography of him written by his son-in-law,

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...

, was made governor. He consolidated the forts, improved the road infrastructure and led some now well documented campaigns- firstly in AD78, he reconquered North Wales, then in AD79 he conquered the

Brigantes The Brigantes were Ancient Britons who in pre-Roman times controlled the largest section of what would become Northern England. Their territory, often referred to as Brigantia, was centred in what was later known as Yorkshire. The Greek geog ...

and Parisii taking all of Northern England up to the present Scottish border. Strutt's Park fort was vacated in AD 80 when Derventio was built. Derventio was occupied for 40 years until around 120AD. To put this in context, the Emperor

Hadrian Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania ...

visited Britannia in AD120 and ordered his

wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or, is decorative. There are many kinds of walls, including: * Walls in buildings that form a fundamental part of the s ...

to be built. Though Britannia always had a large garrison, focus now changed to industrial production. Derby produced pottery and had access to the lead mining to the north in the

Peak District The Peak District is an Highland, upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It includes the Dark Peak, whe ...

, later it became a centre for metalworking. This continued for the next 200 years.

References

Bibliography

* "Exploratory excavations at Little Chester, Derby" in ''Derbyshire Archaeological Journal'' vol. 102 (1982) pp. 74–83 * M. Brassington, "The Roman roads of Derby" in ''Derbyshire Archaeological Journal'' vol. 101 (1981) pp. 88–92 * M. Brassington, "Little Chester, Derby: The 1926 excavations" in ''Derbyshire Archaeological Journal'' vol. 113 (1993) * Barry C. Burnham, John Wacher, ''The Small Towns of Roman Britain''. London: Batsford, 1990 * J. D'Arcy, ''A City within a City. Little Chester, Derby AD 80 - AD 2000''. Derby, 2005 * M. Dearne, "The military vici of the South Pennines: retrospect and prospect" in R. Hodges, K. Smith, eds, ''Recent Developments in the Archaeology of the Peak District'' (Sheffield: Sheffield University Press, 1991) pp. 69–84 * J. Dool, H. Wheeler and others, ''Roman Derby - Excavations 1968-1983''. 1986. (''Derbyshire Archaeological Journal'' vol. 105, 1985) * R. Langley, C. Drage, "Roman Occupation at Little Chester, Derby: salvage excavation and recording by the Trent and Peak Archaeological Trust 1986-1990" in ''Derbyshire Archaeological Journal'' vol. 120 (2000) * A. L. F. Rivet, Colin Smith, ''The Place-Names of Roman Britain'' (London: Batsford, 1979) p. 334 * C. B. Sherwin, "Roman Remains at Little Chester" in ''Derbyshire Archaeological Journal'' vols 46/47 (1924/1925) * C. Sparey Green, "Excavations on the south eastern defences and extramural settlement of Little Chester, Derby, 1971-2" in ''Derbyshire Archaeological Journal'' vol. 122 (2002) * D. F. Williams, ''Roman amphorae from Derby, Little Chester''. London: English Heritage, 1991 (''AML Report'', 28/91)

External links

Derby City Council list of Scheduled Ancient Monuments

Discover Derby

Discover Derby
Derventio Coritanorvm
Roman Britain
Derventio Roman Fort
Pastscapes, English Heritage

(''Study Group for Roman Pottery'') * * Andrew Myers,
An Archaeological Resource Assessment of Roman Derbyshire
(East Midlands Archaeological Research Framework) {{Derby Museum Roman Derby Roman towns and cities in England Former populated places in Derbyshire Roman sites in Derbyshire