Ad Pontes
Ad Pontes was a Roman settlement on the Thames . It is today's Staines . The name means on the bridges and indicates that there was a bridge over the Thames here. The place is on the road from Londinium to Calleva Atrebatum ( Silchester ). The ancient name has been handed down in the Antonini Itinerary .
Ancient remains of the settlement have been found during occasional excavations in the town center of Staines. The oldest remains of the settlement date back to pre-Roman times. The Roman settlement may have started with a military camp. Militaria were found. During the Boudicca uprising , 60-61 AD, the place was burned down. Numerous layers of fire were found during the excavations. The actual settlement, which flourished especially in the second century AD, extended over 200 m along the Thames and was about 500 m long inland. During excavations, the remains of both wooden and stone buildings were found. Wall paintings, hypocausts , window glass and mosaics point to a considerable standard of living, at least for some residential buildings. The ancient bridge could not yet be identified with certainty, although a bridgehead was found. There was probably also a hostel ( mansio ) in the place , as the place is named in the Antonini itinerary, which mainly mentions places with hostels. Even this has not yet been localized with certainty. The place was probably also the production center for the South-East English Group . This is lead-glazed pottery. These goods were often decorated with barbotine decorations .
After the second century, the settlement began to decline, although it remained settled in the fourth century.
literature
- Christine Lake: Up Pontes, The Establishment and Development of the Roman Town of Staines, Middlesex . Ashford 1997, ISBN 09515376211 .
Web links
Coordinates: 51 ° 26 ′ N , 0 ° 31 ′ W