[Si]
Roman and medieval town in the heart of the Cotswolds in central southern England, 5km northeast of the head of the Thames. Excavations since the late 1950s by Graham Webster, John Watcher, Alan McWhirr, Timothy Darvill, and Neil Holbrook among others have revealed something of the size and complexity of the town. Founded as a Roman military settlement in the later 1st century ad its initial role was probably in relation to the nearby tribal centre of the Dobunni at Bagendon and as a station on the first major frontier created across southeastern England after the conquest—the Fosse Way frontier. By the 2nd century, however, a civilian settlement had been established which was to become the civitas capital of this agriculturally rich region: Corinium Dobunnorum. By the 4th century the town was the second largest in the province of Britannia, next to London, and perhaps the seat of a regional governor. Walls were added to the town's defences in the 3rd century ad. There were temples, a fine forum and basilica, and a theatre inside the town, with extensive cemeteries and a large amphitheatre immediately outside the walls. Occupation continued through Anglo-Saxon times, Cirencester becoming one of the main market towns of the Cotswolds in the medieval period.
[Sum.: T. Darvill and C. Gerrard, 1994, Cirencester: town and landscape. Cirencester: Cotswold Archaeological Trust]
