Deva Victrix

Etymology The name Deva Victrix derives from "goddess", and the Roman fortress was named after the goddess of the River Dee; the Latin for "goddess" is dea or diva. There is an alternative source for the naming of the settlement which suggests that the Roman name for the fortress was adopted directly from the British name of the river. It is thought that the title "victrix" in the name of the fortress was taken from the title of the Legio XX Valeria Victrix who were based at Deva; victrix is Latin for victorious. The name for the city of Chester derives from the Latin word castrum (plural: castra), meaning "fort" or "army camp"; "-chester" and "-caster" are common suffixes in the names of other English cities that began as Roman camps. Foundation roof tile showing the badge and standard of Legion XX, from Holt, in north Wales According to the 1st- and 2nd-century geographer Ptolemy, Deva was in the lands of the Cornovii. Their land bordered that of the Brigantes in the north and the Ordovices in the west and included parts of what is now Cheshire, Shropshire, and north Wales. When the Romans' treaty with the Brigantes—who occupied most of what is now Northern England—failed the Romans embarked on military conquest of the area. The campaigns were initially led by Sextus Julius Frontinus and later Gnaeus Julius Agricola. Their expansion into the north of Britannia during the reign of Vespasian meant that the Romans needed a new military base. Chester was a strategic site for a fortress, commanding access to the sea via the River Dee and dividing the Brigantes from the Ordovices. Legio II Adiutrix was sent to Chester and began the construction of a legionary fortress in the mid-70s AD. The river was navigable up to the sandstone ridge, so positioning the fortress beyond it would have made access to the harbour difficult. supplied by fresh water piped in from natural springs in the suburb of Boughton to the east. There may already have been military buildings on the site, but if so they were demolished to allow the construction of the fortress. The first buildings were constructed from wood, probably for convenience. Defence was provided by a rampart and a ditch wide and deep. The rampart was made from turf laid over sand, clay, rubble, and layers of logs. The fortress was laid out in the traditional "playing card" shape—rectangular with rounded corners—and had four gates: north, east, south and west. It covered , making it the largest constructed in Britain during the 70s. An estimated of timber was used in the first phase of the fortress's construction; buildings outside but associated with the fortress, such as the harbour and the amphitheatre, would have required an additional . The fortress contained barracks, granaries (horrea), headquarters (principia) and baths (thermae). The barrack blocks each measured and were built using wattle and daub. Under Legio XX Valeria Victrix In 88 AD, the Emperor Domitian ordered the Legio II Adiutrix to the lower Danube. The Legio XX Valeria Victrix was deployed to garrison Deva Victrix, abandoning the fort they had been building in Scotland, at Inchtuthil. On their arrival they began to rebuild Deva, first in timber and from the end of the 1st century in stone. Located at regular intervals, approximately apart, along the walls were 22 towers about square. The defensive ditch was re-dug and was wide and deep. The timber barracks were replaced with stone buildings of a similar size. depicting Caecilius Avitus, an optio in the Legio XX Valeria Victrix During the 2nd century, at least part of the Legio XX Valeria Victrix took part in the construction of Hadrian's Wall, leading to some sections of the fortress being abandoned and others being allowed to fall into disrepair. Following attacks against barbarians in the early 3rd century under Septimius Severus, the fortress at Deva was again rebuilt, this time using an estimated of stone. During the 4th century the size of the legion, and therefore of the garrison, may have diminished in line with the rest of the empire's forces. Decline and abandonment Most of the fortress's major buildings were still being maintained in the second half of the 4th century and the barracks were still inhabited. Before 383 AD, soldiers at Chester were being paid by coins from the imperial mints; after this the soldiers may have been removed by Magnus Maximus when he invaded Gaul in 383. The Notitia Dignitatum, written in around 395, does not record any military units garrisoned at Deva, indicating the fortress was no longer used by the military at this stage. The civilians probably continued to use the fortress and its defences as protection from raiders from the Irish Sea. The town nevertheless probably remained the military and administrative centre of the region. Medieval chroniclers believed the church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul—later the site of Chester Cathedral—to be of Roman origin, although no evidence has been discovered to support this. Much of the Roman masonry was reused in later periods. Later history and investigation In the 14th century, Ranulf Higden, a monk in Chester, described some of the Roman remains, including the sewers and tombstones. Antiquarians began to take interest in the remains in the 17th century and interest continued to grow in the 18th century, fed by accounts of Roman Chester and discoveries such as an altar to Jupiter Tanarus. Jupiter Tanarus—also Taranis—was the Romanised version of the god Taranis who was the equivalent of Jupiter the god of thunder. In 1725, William Stukeley recorded the Roman arches of the east gate; they were demolished in 1768. the Grosvenor Museum was opened in 1886 to allow the public to view the society's collection. The society continued to work in Chester, recording information on the fortress and its surrounding settlement, often as building works destroyed the sites. Between 1962 and 1999, about 50 excavations were carried out in and around the fortress, revealing new information about Deva Victrix. Between 2007 and 2009, excavations were carried out at the amphitheatre on behalf of Chester City Council and in association with English Heritage. == Civilian settlement ==

A civilian settlement (canabae legionis) was gradually established outside the walls of the fortress; it probably began as a collection of traders who became prosperous from dealing with the fortress. The settlement was administered by an elected council rather than by the legion. The Grosvenor Museum has over 150 tombstones, the largest collection of Roman tombstones from a single site in Britain. Most of them were used to repair the north wall in the 4th century. shops fronted the roadside for about beyond the fortress walls. To the east was the legion's parade ground, civilian baths were built to the west, and to the south was a mansio, a large coaching house for travelling government officials. The buildings of the canabae legionis were originally timber, but during the early 2nd century began to be rebuilt in stone. The settlement expanded throughout the 2nd and 3rd centuries as the population increased. Once the legion had left, the civilian settlement continued, eventually becoming part of the town of Chester. Indeed, scholars such as Christopher Snyder believe that during the 5th and 6th centuries—approximately from 410 AD when Roman legions withdrew, to 597 AD when St. Augustine of Canterbury arrived—southern Britain preserved a sub-Roman society that was able to survive the attacks from the Anglo-Saxons and even use a vernacular Latin (called British Latin) for an active culture. There is even the possibility that this vernacular Latin lasted to the late seventh century in the area of Chester, where amphorae and archaeological remnants of a local Romano-British culture at Deva Victrix have been found. == Legionary quarry ==

The Roman fortress of Deva was constructed from local sandstone, which was quarried across the river to the south of the fortress. perhaps by the quarry workers. Despite heavy weathering, the figure can be seen holding a spear and a shield with an owl above the left shoulder to symbolise wisdom. There is also a carving of an altar where offerings were left. The only rock-cut Roman shrine still in situ in Britain, the Minerva shrine is a Grade I listed building. == Legionary baths ==

under-floor heating system using recovered remains from the Legionary baths. Deva Victrix had a large legionary bath complex (thermae) for the soldiers to maintain good hygiene and to use for leisure time. The baths were sited near the south gate and measured by . They were completed towards the end of Vespasian's reign. The complex was constructed from concrete and faced with stone. The walls were thick and the barrel-vaulted buildings rose as high as . The water was supplied from the springs in Boughton through underground lead pipes linked to the main aqueduct near the east gate. A large area of the baths was destroyed by building works in 1863 and during the construction of the Grosvenor Shopping Mall in 1963. A section of hypocaust remains in situ and is on display in the cellar of 39 Bridge Street. ==The Port==

An essential part of the Roman supply lines to all its Britannia legionary fortresses was good access for sea-going ships. Deva needed reliable and regular supplies of foodstuffs, most notably grain and other supplies shipped directly from the Mediterranean area, Gaul, Spain and the Rhinelands. It also expected to have good access to the heavy and bulky raw materials needed to build and maintain a fortress, such as lead and copper from North Wales, and bricks, tiles and pottery from elsewhere in the province. The fortress served as a stepping-off point for military expeditions further north or west, in which ship transport was a key feature. A strategic advantage to siting the fortress here was that the River Dee was navigable and presumably had effective and convenient harbour facilities. The longheld belief has been that the area west of the fortress was where the harbour lay. The western gate can only lead to the river, via a strip of higher ground to a larger area that is now reclaimed land known as the Roodee. The higher ground became part of the Roman civilian Canabae, and is enclosed within the Norman town walls. At the base of these are Roman stoneworks traditionally identified as the quay wall of the Roman harbour, thought to have stood beside an expanse of open navigable water which silted up in late- or post-Roman times. A 2002 re-interpretation suggests the wall was too high above sea-level to be a quay. The Roman stonework reaches to 11 metres OD, seven metres above the highest high tides, with all the appearance that this was not the top of these 2 metre wide masonry walls. Even a high-sided ship would be too far below the quay to unload easily. If these were not quay walls, could they have been defensive walls, enclosing the civilian settlement? If so, the harbour would need a different access. Evidence of Roman timber piles out on the Roodee had been found by Victorians building a gas works. Mason (2002) suggests these could have carried a pier the 300 metres across the mudflats, providing access to the deepwater river frontage to the west. == Market Hall inscription ==

This is a fragment of a much larger inscription, finely carved onto Welsh slate, which was discovered close to the fort's principia. Archaeologist David J.P. Mason has said that: Examples of important inscriptions of this nature include treaties with local tribes and declarations of rights. The text of this inscription cannot be reconstructed from this small fragment, but it appears to talk about the "fortress", an "amicable conclusion", and someone being "against the regime". == Amphitheatre ==

The amphitheatre was discovered in 1929, and the Chester Archaeological Society—with support from then Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald—protected it from the construction of a road over the site. Excavations have revealed traces of late Iron Age cultivation, and they show that Deva's amphitheatre was built in two phases. The first amphitheatre was constructed from timber soon after the fortress and measured . There is no evidence of repairs to the timber structure, and its foundations were only deep, so it may have been a temporary structure. In the Flavian period the amphitheatre was rebuilt in stone. This second phase was larger than the first and measured . Its size has been used as an indicator of Deva's large civilian population, and of the presence of wealthy citizens. The amphitheatre served a variety of purposes. As it was close to the fortress, it would have been used as a venue for weapons training as well as hosting spectacular entertainments involving acrobats, wrestlers, and professional gladiators. The buttresses were too insubstantial to be structural, so must have been decorative. Part of a slate frieze depicting a retiarius, or net-fighter, was discovered in 1738, most likely dating to the 2nd century; it was probably used to decorate the tomb of a gladiator. Other finds included a small bronze statuette of a gladiator, and part of a gladius sword handle. == Elliptical building ==

In 1939, some paving and the walls of two unusual elliptical buildings were discovered, one atop the other. These "elliptical" buildings were partially uncovered behind Chester's market hall, and no similar buildings have been found in other legionary fortresses. The buildings were located near the centre of the fortress and they had their own bath buildings and a range of store rooms around the outside. The presence of a second bath building is unusual because legionary fortresses generally had just one set of internal baths. Construction on the site began around 77 AD and this was confirmed by a length of lead piping, which served a central water feature or fountain, which was stamped with the name of Emperor Vespasian. The first building was a prestigious edifice made with concrete foundations and finely dressed stonework, and was probably the finest building in the entire fortress. Technically speaking it was not elliptical, but arcuate, with the central hall being formed from two intersecting arcs, and this makes it unique in the Roman Empire. Its function is unknown. There was no seating within the arcs, which precludes a theatre, and the best guess of the archaeologists was that the twelve alcoves may have contained images of the gods, with the temple being dedicated to the twelve primary gods of the Roman pantheon. The completed building measured by , and had an oval courtyard with a water feature at its centre, by , surrounded by 12 "wedge-shaped" rooms. Traces of the concrete foundation for the water feature and its lead pipe work have been excavated. The 12 rooms surrounding the courtyard had large arched entrances, wide and at least high. It is not certain if the first building was ever completed, but it had certainly been destroyed by the 90s AD and the site was subsequently used as the fortress rubbish dump for many decades. The second elliptical building was built on top foundations of the first, and although the architect must have been aware of the exact layout of the previous building, the design of the second was slightly modified. Although the it looks very similar to the first, it used different diameters of arc to achieve a slightly "fatter" design. The second "elliptical" building was not constructed until about 220 AD, and this was confirmed by a coin of Emperor Elagabalus under one of the pavement slabs. It is thought that the second building may have survived until the end of Roman rule and influence in Britain. == Possible capital of Britannia ==

The elliptical building is one of several differences between the fortress at Chester and other Roman fortresses in the province. Another is the Large Courtyard Building that occupies a vast section of the north-central area of the fortress, that came to light in 1979-81. This is some by in size. The enormous stone building began construction at the same time as the first timber fortress was being built. However it was barely above ground level when work stopped for a decade or so. When work recommenced, the plans changed and numerous small rooms were built around its perimeter, and from then on it appears to have been a storage area. Its original, highly ambitious intentions remain a mystery. Deva was 20% larger, , than the fortresses of Eboracum (York)—later capital of Britannia Inferior—and Isca Augusta (Caerleon). Also, the stone curtain wall at Chester was constructed without mortar, using large sandstone blocks; this required greater skill and effort than the methods used to build the walls of Eboracum and Isca Augusta, and was usually reserved for the most important structures such as temples or city walls rather than town walls. The presence of unusual buildings at the heart of the fortress—accounting for the by which Deva was larger than other fortresses—has been taken as evidence that their construction was specifically ordered by the provincial governor. The governor (Legatus Augusti pro praetore) when construction first started was Gnaeus Julius Agricola. Lead piping found in the elliptical building bears his name, the only evidence in Britain of a building under his direct control. These differences suggest that Deva may have been Agricola's administrative headquarters—in effect the capital of Britannia. Another factor pointing to Deva Victrix as a provincial capital is the presence of a port. From Deva, Ireland (Hibernia) was also accessible, a land which Agricola had plans to conquer. Also, the Flavian dynasty was expansionist, and Deva was closer to what would then have been the front, making administration quicker and easier. Regardless of the empire's plans for Deva, Londinium, the province's economic and trading centre, emerged as the capital of Britannia, reflecting a change in imperial policy from expansionism to consolidation. == See also ==