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The Roman Theatre at
The Roman Theatre at St Albans
St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...
, Hertfordshire, England is an excavated site within the Roman walled city of Verulamium
Verulamium was a town in Roman Britain. It was sited southwest of the modern city of St Albans in Hertfordshire, England. The major ancient Roman route Watling Street passed through the city, but was realigned in medieval times to bring trad ...
. Although there are other Roman theatres
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of Roman civilization
*Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
in Britain (for example at Camulodunum
Camulodunum ( ; ), the Roman Empire, Ancient Roman name for what is now Colchester in Essex, was an important Castra, castrum and city in Roman Britain, and the first capital of the province. A temporary "wikt:strapline, strapline" in the 1960s ...
), the one at Verulamium is claimed to be the only example of its kind, being a theatre with a stage rather than an amphitheatre
An amphitheatre (American English, U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meani ...
.
The theatre differs from the typical Roman theatre in being built on a site that is only slightly sloping (where possible Roman theatres took advantage of the natural terrain), and in its plan (although there are theatres with similar plans in Northern Gaul).
The theatre was built in about 140AD. Urban life continued in Verulamium into the 5th century. However, by that time the theatre had fallen into disuse. It was used as a rubbish dump in the 4th century.
Excavation
It was excavated in the 19th century, and again in the 1930s byKathleen Kenyon
Dame Kathleen Mary Kenyon, (5 January 1906 – 24 August 1978) was a British archaeologist of Neolithic culture in the Fertile Crescent. She led excavations of Tell es-Sultan, the site of ancient Jericho, from 1952 to 1958, and has been called ...
.
Access and use
The theatre is on land belonging to the Earl of Verulam and is regularly opened to the public. The excavated theatre was occasionally used for theatrical performances, and these have now become regular with a Roman Theatre Open Air Festival.See also
*List of Roman theatres
Roman theatre (structure), Roman theatres built during the Roman period may be found all over the Roman Empire. Some were older theatres that were re-worked.
See also
* Roman architecture
* Roman amphitheatre
* Theatre of ancient Rome
* List ...
* St Albans Museums
References
{{reflist, 30em 2nd-century establishments in Roman Britain Outdoor theatres Roman sites in St Albans Theatres in Hertfordshire Theatres in Roman BritainExternal links
* https://ovo.org.uk/roman-theatre