Roman Cunetio, now a flat field near Marlborough, was occupied from the 2nd century AD by Romano-British people until abandonment in the early 5th century. The settlement’s original defences were earthworks and an outer ditch but in the 4th century these were replaced by massive stone walls 4m thick, perhaps 8m high and with massive towers. A puzzle remains as to why Cunetio deserved so much expenditure on upgrading its defences when most Roman military engineering projects were focused on the Saxon Shore forts.
The entire town lay undiscovered until it was identified from aerial photos in the 1940s and although excavation has been limited, air photography and geophysical survey have revealed much of the layout of the town and demonstrated the complexity of the site.
This illustrated lecture will present and discuss the latest developments in trying to understand this important Wiltshire monument.
Mark Corney is a former Senior Investigator with the Royal Commission on the Historic Monuments of England where he led the field team based in Salisbury. He is now a freelance archaeologist pursuing interests in the Late Prehistoric and Romano-British archaeology of southern Britain and beyond.
The talk is taking place at the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution, 16 Queen Square, Bath, BA1 2HN on Thursday 14th March, 7.30pm, with an admission charge of £4 for members, and £5 for the general public. Pay on the door.