Wroxeter Roman City

Okay, so this year has been the year of The Romans for me, what with Pompeii, Herculaneum, and a return trip to Hadrian's Wall...  Naturally, I had to add Wroxeter to the list - it's billed as the 4th largest Roman city in Britain, so surely it has to be worth a look...

In restrospect...  It was worth a look.  Most definitely.  But I have to admit that I found it something of an anticlimax compared to everything else on the Roman Archaeology 'To Do' list...

Before I introduce you to Wroxeter, let me share one last view of The Wrekin with you, as seen from Wroxeter (and look!  There's that mobile phone mast!!  How lovely!!!):-

I can imagine the scene: some elderly Romano-British wifey or gent taking their kiddy for a walk and saying, "See that big hill up there?  I used to live there when I was your age!  In a mud hut that stank to high heaven.  And there were no baths!  Can you believe it????"

Now, what I hadn't actually grasped before I visited Wroxeter was that the vast majority of the site has still not been excavated.  There was I, foolishly anticipating something like Caerleon or Vindolanda or whatever, and all I got was  - one bath-house.  Okay, it was a very nice bath-house as bath-houses go, but next to the baths at Herculaneum and Pompeii, it was a wee bit of a let down.

Still, it had a lovely hypocaust (under floor heating system):-

And the surviving stretch of walling of the basilica that was built upon the site towards the end of the city's life was impressive:-

This massive structure would originally formed part of a colonnaded hallway which functioned as a space where inhabitants could gather (thus avoiding the rain...). 

A useless fact now, courtesy of Wroxeter Roman City by Roger White (the English Heritage guidebook, published in 1999).  Evidently, theft was rife in Roman bath-houses.  If you were rich, you could afford a slave who could look after your belongings in your absence.  If you were poor, you didn't have that luxury.  There was an attendant who was responsible for everyone's belongings, but naturally, he couldn't be everywhere all of the time, and pilfering was common.   

A curious feature at Wroxeter was this small outdoor bathing pool.  Not surprisingly, it was filled in early on in the site's history -  at the point no doubt where our friends the Romans realised just how daft it was to have an outdoor bathing located in an area with such an inclement climate:-

After experiencing the delights of Pompeii and Herculeum, I was disappointed by how drab and dull everything was in comparison.  It's not that there wasn't any artwork.  Here, for example, is a piece of painted plaster revealed during the excavations:-

There were also some magnificent mosaics, but sadly they were not on display.  They appear to have been reburied following the excavations.

So...  What did Wroxeter have to offer that the other Roman sites I've visited so far this year have not?  Well, apart from a reconstructed Roman villa (more of that tomorrow!) and a pretty late nineteenth/early twentieth century farmsteading (!) not that much,

Except for this piece of archaeological history, which was detailed in the visitor centre:-

A poignant reference indeed...  Every archaeologist worth their salt has heard of Sir Mortimer Wheeler - but what of those who worked with him at Wroxeter, and who failed to return from the trenches?  Would they have had as much of an impact on their craft as he did in his career?

We shall never know now, unfortunately.

And that, dear readers, is how I will remember Wroxeter.  As a memorial to four archaeologists who never had the opportunity to continue their work after the Great War.