Roman Walls & Gatehouse, St Albans
Posted by: 
bill&ben
N 51° 44.920 W 000° 21.056
30U E 682861 N 5736405
A short section of Roman City Walls in Verulanium (St Albans)
Waymark Code: WM7G7G
Location: Eastern England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 10/22/2009
Views: 8
Roman City walls in Verulanium Park, St Albans. There are two sites with wall segments. At the published coordinates is a section of the wall called St Germain’s Block. A short way away at N51 44.944 W000 21.148 a larger section of wall may be seen, adjacent to the foundations for the London Gate at N51 44.943 W000 21.127.
Today’s Park covers approximately one-half of the Roman town of Verulamium. The other half lies beneath land owned by Lord Verulam on the other side of Bluehouse Hill and includes the Theatre. Roman Verulamium became the third largest Roman town in area in Britain, and was given the formal title and status of municipium in the first century AD, possibly around AD 70.
The Roman City walls were constructed around AD 275. They were built over a previous earthwork defence, which had never been completed. The wall was over 3 m (10 ft) thick at foundation level and over 2 m (7 ft) thick higher up. It was built from flint, brick, flint rubble and mortar. Today the original facing of squared flints has gone and what can be seen is in fact the core of the wall. In total, the completed wall measured 3.6 km (2 1/4 miles) and enclosed an area of 82 ha. (203 acres).
The London Gate was excavated by a team of archeologists led by Sir Mortimer Wheeler in 1930. Large gateways controlled the four main entrances to the town. The best preserved of these is the London Gate on the south side of the town, straddling Watling Street.
Most Relevant Historical Period: Roman Empire > 27 B.C.
Admission Fee: Free
Condition: Some remaining traces (ruins) or pieces
Opening days/times: Not listed
Web Site: Not listed
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