Sulloniacis or Sulloniacae was a mansio on the Roman road known as

Watling Street Watling Street is a historic route in England that crosses the River Thames at London and which was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the Middle Ages. It was used by the ancient Britons and paved as one of the main ...

Roman Britain Roman Britain was the period in classical antiquity when large parts of the island of Great Britain were under occupation by the Roman Empire. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. During that time, the territory conquered wa ...

. Its existence is known from only one entry in the '' Antonine Itinerary'', a listing of routes and facilities for the

cursus publicus The ''cursus publicus'' (Latin: "the public way"; grc, δημόσιος δρόμος, ''dēmósios drómos'') was the state mandated and supervised courier and transportation service of the Roman Empire, later inherited by the Eastern Roma ...

, the official courier service of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

. ''Sulloniacis'', which is recorded in ''Iter'' II (Itinerary II) for the route that ran between ''Portus Ritupis'' (

Richborough Richborough () is a settlement north of Sandwich on the east coast of the county of Kent, England. Richborough lies close to the Isle of Thanet. The population of the settlement is included in the civil parish of Ash. Although now some dist ...

, Kent) and ''

Deva Victrix Deva Victrix, or simply Deva, was a legionary fortress and town in the Roman province of Britannia on the site of the modern city of Chester. The fortress was built by the Legio II ''Adiutrix'' in the 70s AD as the Roman army advanced north ag ...

'' ( Chester, Cheshire), was nine

Roman miles The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English ...

from ''

Verulamium Verulamium was a town in Roman Britain. It was sited southwest of the modern city of St Albans in Hertfordshire, England. A large portion of the Roman city remains unexcavated, being now park and agricultural land, though much has been built upon ...

'' ( St Albans) and 12 from '' Londinium'' (

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

). Roman remains found at Brockley Hill near

Edgware Edgware () is a suburban town in northern Greater London, mostly in the London Borough of Barnet but with small parts falling in the London Borough of Harrow and in the London Borough of Brent. Edgware is centred north-northwest of Charing Cros ...

in the

London Borough of Barnet The London Borough of Barnet () is a suburban London borough in North London. The borough was formed in 1965 from parts of the ceremonial counties of Middlesex and Hertfordshire. It forms part of Outer London and is the largest London borough ...

have been identified as those of ''Sulloniacis''.

Toponym

The name may mean 'Estate of the family/descendants of Sullonios', Sullonios being a personal name which is not known from any other source. However, it could refer to a geographical feature.

Location dispute

Research on ''Sulloniacis'' began in 1937. Since then, several small-scale excavations have found well-preserved remains of 14 kilns and workshops, clay extraction pits, puddling holes, wells, preparation floors and large accumulations of kiln waste. Evidence showed it had been occupied since AD 60 with production reaching a peak towards the end of the First Century AD. After pottery production ended around AD 160, it became a domestic settlement until the Fourth Century AD. This settlement being ''Sulloniacis'' mentioned in the Second Century AD ''Antonine Itinerary''. However, senior British archaeologist Harvey Sheldon, a specialist on Roman London from the

Museum of London The Museum of London is a museum in London, covering the history of the UK's capital city from prehistoric to modern times. It was formed in 1976 by amalgamating collections previously held by the City Corporation at the Guildhall Museum (fou ...

, has challenged the claim that the site found at Brockley Hill is ''Sulloniacis''. Aside from the evidence of pottery production and some domestic buildings, modern excavations have failed to find any remains of ''mutationes'' (stations for changing horses) or ''mansiones'' (accommodation for official travellers). Sheldon suggested several alternative locations, particularly one further south in the vicinity of

Edgware Road Edgware Road is a major road in London, England. The route originated as part of Roman Watling Street and, unusually in London, it runs for 10 miles in an almost perfectly straight line. Forming part of the modern A5 road, Edgware Road undergoes ...

in Burnt Oak Broadway, a location where the Hendon and District Archaeological Society has already found Roman remains nearby. However it is feasible that all these sites were within the boundaries of the estate named ''Sulloniacis'', together with a possible Roman occupation site nearby on the hill at Hendon.

Nature reserve

A Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation, Grade II, located immediately south-east of the Brockley Hill archaeological site at Grid Ref has been named Sulloniacis Pastures. The site is on grassland which slopes up eastwards from the

A41 road The A41 is a trunk road between London and Birkenhead, England. Now in parts replaced by motorways, it passes through or near Watford, Kings Langley, Hemel Hempstead, Aylesbury, Bicester, Solihull, Birmingham, West Bromwich, Wolverhampton, ...

. Located on

London Clay The London Clay Formation is a marine geological formation of Ypresian (early Eocene Epoch, c. 56–49 million years ago) age which crops out in the southeast of England. The London Clay is well known for its fossil content. The fossils from t ...

, it has many flowers typical of clay pasture, such as greater bird's-foot-trefoil and burnet-saxifrage.

Toponym

Location dispute

Nature reserve

See also

References

Further reading