Ratae Corieltauvorum was a town in the Roman province of Britannia. Today it is known as Leicester, located in the English county of Leicestershire. Main street in Bastrop, Texas, a small town A town is a residential community of people ranging from a few hundred to several thousands, although it may be applied loosely even to huge metropolitan areas. ... Map of the Roman Empire, with the provinces, after 120. ... Britannia on a 2005 £2 coin. ... Leicester (pronounced ) is the largest city in the East Midlands of England. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London (de facto) Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2006 est. ... Leicestershire (IPA: , abbreviated Leics) is a landlocked county in central England. ...

Name

Ratae is the Brythonic word for 'ramparts', suggesting the site was a defended Iron Age oppidum. Round houses from this era have been excavated in the city. The suffix, Corieltauvorum, refers to the Corieltauvi, the Celtic tribe who had their civitas capital there. Until 1983, the name of the town was thought to have been Ratae Coritanorum. However, newly discovered inscription evidence shows the recorded forms as corrupt and the name of the tribe has since been revised.^[1][2] Brythonic is one of two major divisions of Insular Celtic languages (the other being Goidelic). ... In the British Isles, the Iron Age lasted from about the 7th century BC until the Roman conquest and until the 5th century in non-Romanised parts. ... An oppidum (pl: oppida) was Latin for the main settlement in any administrative area of the Roman Empire. ... The roundhouse is a type of house with a circular plan, built in western Europe before the Roman occupation. ... The Coritani, or Corieltauvi, were one of the Celtic tribes living in the British Islands, previous to the Roman invasion of Britain. ... Celts redirects here. ... In the history of the Roman empire, civitas (pl. ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Fort

A Roman fort was established on the site of the Iron Age settlement around AD 50, with the native houses forming the surrounding vicus. Parts of the military ditch have been found and associated timber buildings. The army moved on about thirty years later and a street grid was laid out as the place became civilian in nature.^[3] Basic ideal plan of a Roman castrum. ... [edit] Events [edit] By place [edit] Roman Empire Londinium is founded by the Romans, taking over as capital of the local Roman province, from Colchester (approximate date) Roman Emperor Claudius appoints Agrippa II governor of Chalcis. ... In the history of the Roman empire, a vicus (pl. ...

Town development

Ratae seems to have remained a rather poor settlement at first. Although there was a rapid rebuilding programme to develop larger shops and houses. There were few amenities and none of the usual public buildings. Instead of a forum, there was a simple open market place at the centre. However, in the early 2nd century better quality spacious stone houses were erected with central courtyards. A particularly fine excavated example had tesselated and mosaic floors, decorative plaster walls and, around its courtyard, an elaborate frieze of architectural features, theatrical masks, doves, pheasants, cupids and flowers. It was not occupied for long, however, and part of it became a factory for the manufacture of horn objects. Other industires in the town included pottery production and metal and glass working.^[3] The Forum of Jerash, in Jordan. ... The 2nd century is the period from 101 - 200 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era. ... Mosaic is the art of decoration with small pieces of colored glass, stone or other material. ...

Eventually, the forum and basilica was built, though it did not fill the previous market place. The public baths soon followed, just to the west, around AD 145. Fed by an aquaduct, they are of an unusual plan and had a large exercise room alongside. A second market place was laid out in the early 3rd century and a basilican market hall erected. Its offices had decoratively painted plaster ceilings. A stone defensive circuit surrounded Ratae by the end of the 3rd century. There were four gateways with cemeteries outside each and a suburb to the north. Only two suggested temples have been discovered in the town, one a possible mithraeum.^[3] St. ... Roman public baths in Bath, England. ... For other uses, see number 145. ... This article is about the structure aqueduct, for the racecourse see Aqueduct Racetrack. ... Pompeii palaestra seen from the top of the stadium wall. ... // Overview Events 212: Constitutio Antoniniana grants citizenship to all free Roman men 212-216: Baths of Caracalla 230-232: Sassanid dynasty of Persia launches a war to reconquer lost lands in the Roman east 235-284: Crisis of the Third Century shakes Roman Empire 250-538: Kofun era, the first... Graves at Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. ... Housing subdivision near Union, Kentucky, a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio. ... Temple of Hephaestus, an Doric Greek temple in Athens with the original entrance facing east, 449 BC (western face depicted) For other uses, see Temple (disambiguation). ... A mithraeum found in the ruins of Ostia Antica, Italy. ...

Decline

In the late 4th century, Ratae was occupied by a detachment of the Roman army and towers may have been added to the town walls. However, a serious fire spread through the town centre and the forum, basilica and market hall were never rebuilt. Early Saxon burials in the cemeteries suggest these people took control of the town soon after their arrival.^[3] As a means of recording the passage of time, the 4th century was that century which lasted from 301 to 400. ... The famous parade helmet found at Sutton Hoo, probably belonging to King Raedwald of East Anglia circa 625. ...

Remains

• A large wall of the public baths survives and is known as the Jewry Wall
• The exercise room of the baths is incorporated into St Nicholas' Church
• A large collection of artefacts from Ratae are on display in the Jewry Wall Museum

The wall The ruins of the baths The Jewry Wall in Leicester, England is the remaining wall of the public baths of Roman Leicester along with foundations of the baths, which are laid out in front of the wall. ...

References

1. ^ Tomlin, R S O (1983). "Roman Leicester, a Corrigendum: For Coritani should we read Corieltauvi?". Transactions of the Leicester Archaeological and Historical Society 48. 
2. ^ Tomlin, R S O (1983). "Non Coritani sed Corieltauvi". The Antiquaries’ Journal 63. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d} Wacher, John (1995). The Towns of Roman Britain. London: B T Batsford.