Cirencester

A site in Gloucestershire, southwest England, where the Romano-British Corinium, the capital of the Dobuni tribe, was located. At the junction of important Roman and British routes, a cavalry fort was erected during 43-70 AD and by the 3rd century the town walls enclosed c100 hectares. Remains within those walls include an amphitheater and many rich villas. Occupation continued well into the Anglo-Saxon period. Excavations have revealed much of the layout of the town and the plan of the forum and basilica, a market hall, shops and houses. Cemetery finds have shown that the skeletons contained high levels of lead, supporting the view that lead poisoning contributed to the decline of the Roman Empire. The town was the largest in Roman Britain after London and was probably a capital in the 4th century. The Corinium Museum houses a Roman collection. Saxons captured the town in 577, and it later became a royal demesne (dominion or territory).

[Corinium Dobunnorum]. Situated in Gloucestershire, southwest England, Cirencester was the site of a cavalry fort during the period ad 43-70. It subsequently became the civitas capital of the Dobunni tribe and by the 3rd century the town walls enclosed cl 00 hectares. Occupation continued well into the Anglo-Saxon period. Most of ancient Corinium lies under modem Cirencester, but part of the wall can still be seen and an amphitheatre to the southwest of the town. Excavations have revealed much of the layout of the town and the plan of the forum and basilica, a market hall, shops and houses. Work on the cemetery containing c450 individuals, published in 1982, has cast interesting light on the health of the population of The skeletons contained high levels of lead, lending suppport to the view that lead poisoning contributed to the decline of the Roman Empire. The lead level in the bones of some children was so high that they may have actually died of lead poisoning, although this cannot be ascertained from the skeletons. Other conditions identified in the skeletons include arthritis and gout.