Magnis (Kenchester)

Magnis was a small Roman town in the province of Britain (south of Kenchester , Herefordshire ). It was about 9 hectares and was in the area of the Civitas of the Dobunni . The name of the city appears in the Itinerarium Antonini and the geographer of Ravenna .

The place seems to have been a wealthy market town. He had numerous stores. Residential buildings with mosaics were found and a Gallo-Roman temple was about 400 m from the city center. The deity worshiped here is unknown, but an altar was found near Michaelchurch with an alleged dedication to an otherwise unknown deity Tridamus (reading errors possible). This altar probably originated from Magnis. There was at least one bathhouse. There were five Doric capitals in the 19th century , which further emphasize that there were at least some important buildings here.

The city was surrounded by a wall. A main road ran from west to east through the town, from which streets branched off irregularly. A milestone was found near the city, which perhaps names the Dobunni and which is dated under the Emperor Numerian (283 to 284 AD). This may indicate that the city became the capital of a civitas in the third century , as milestones mostly refer to such capital. Another option is that Magnis was the center of a pagus . Furthermore, the city seems to have been expanded during this time, which in turn suggests its growing importance. In the middle of the fourth century the west gate of the city wall was reinforced, and further construction work on this gate dates to the end of the fourth century. The gate with two entrances was transformed into one with one. The street was also made smaller accordingly. The fate of the city in the following period is unknown, but there is no medieval settlement.

Individual evidence

↑ Stephen R. Cosh, David S. Neal: Roman Mosaics of Britain, Volume IV, Western Britain , The Society of Antiquaries of London, London 2010, ISBN 978-0-85431-294-8 , pp. 298-303.

literature

Barry C. Burnham and John Wacher: The Small Towns of Roman Britain . Berkeley and Los Angeles 1990, ISBN 0-520-07303-7 , pp. 70-76.

Web links

52.080541 -2.817693Coordinates: 52 ° 4 ′ 49.9 ″ N , 2 ° 49 ′ 3.7 ″ W.

[1] Stephen R. Cosh, David S. Neal: Roman Mosaics of Britain, Volume IV, Western Britain , The Society of Antiquaries of London, London 2010, ISBN 978-0-85431-294-8 , pp. 298-303.