A substantial Roman wall was constructed in about AD 270. It covered a total length of about 2.4 kilometres.
The outer face of the wall originally consisted of hammer-dressed flint and stone, but now only the core with its lime mortar is visible. At its base the wall was about three metres wide.
This town wall is unusual in the way it uses stone rather than ceramic tile for the levelling courses. These greensand and limestone blocks were sourced from as far away as the Bath-Cirencester region. Given that clay suitable for tile is abundant around the town, the decision to choose more expensive stone is a measure of the prestige of the project.
The gates were constructed before the town wall. Four of the seven gates remain, and include the single carriageway north, south and amphitheatre gates. A small, postern gate to the south-east is also visible.
It has been estimated that the wall contained about 40,000 cubic metres of construction material. This would have been about 150,000 cartloads of stone, representing an enormous building project.
Disclaimer
The text and pictures on this page are derived from the 'Heritage Unlocked' series of guidebooks published in 2004. We intend to review, update and enhance the content in the near future as part of the Portico project, whose objective is to provide information on the history, significance, research background and sources for all English Heritage properties.
