Tripontium - Definition


Tripontium - Definition

Tripontium was a Roman town, in England upon the Watling Street Roman road (now known as the A5).

It is situated on the Warwickshire/Leicestershire border, roughly 4 miles (6km) north-east of Rugby in Warwickshire, and 4 miles south of Lutterworth in Leicestershire.

Tripontium was initially a military frontier post established soon after the Roman invasion of Britain around AD 50. It later developed into a civilian town. The town was inhabited for around 400 years until it was abandoned in the late fourth century when the Romans left Britain.

The name "Tripontium" means place of the "three bridges", in reference to nearby bridges over the River Avon and two of its tributaries.

Excavations

The exact position of Tripontium remained a mystery for centuries, but it was located by the antiquarian Matthew Bloxam in 1836. Excavation work on the site began in 1961 by the "Rugby Archeological Society" and have continued ever since.

It was initially thought that Tripontium was a small wayside settlement of little importance, however excavations of the site have revealed it to be an important Romano-British town, with large public bath houses, a large administrative building and a mansio (hotel) building. Numerous pieces of pottery Roman coins and other remains have been found.

Some of the area is presently unavailable for excavation. Unfortunately some of the area of the town has been destroyed due to modern gravel extraction. However it seems highly likely that more buildings remain to be found at the site such as the remains of a temple or a forum. The excavation of Tripontium has been the largest of its type to be carried out by an amateur archeological society.

Tripontium was probably the most important Roman settlement in the area. The town is located some 8 miles south of Veronae (High Cross): the point at which the Watling Street crossed the Fosse Way. Due to the large size of the bath houses at Tripontium and the large mansio building, historians have concluded that it was probably an important stopping place for travelers and passing armies. It was probably also an administrative centre for the surrounding area.

It is also believed that at least one Roman emperor visited Tripontium. The town is recorded in the Antonine Itineraries, a third century document which recorded the journeys taken by the Roman Emperors. Tripontium is featured as a stopping place in at least one of these documents.

The site is not presently open to the public but many of the excavations are on public show at a museum in Rugby.

Excavations

Further reading

External Link