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Verulamium was a town in Roman Britain. It was sited in the southwest of the modern city of St Albans in Hertfordshire, Great Britain. A large portion of the Roman city remains unexcavated, being now park and agricultural land, though much has been built upon (see below).〔(Boundary of settlement walls ) , Pleiades〕 The ancient Watling Street passed through the city. Much of the site and its environs is now classed as a scheduled ancient monument.〔 and related schedules.〕 ==History== Before the Romans established their settlement, there was already a tribal centre in the area which belonged to the Catuvellauni. This settlement is usually called Verlamion. The etymology is uncertain but the name has been reconstructed as *Uerulāmion, which would have a meaning like "(tribe or settlement ) of the broad hand" (''Uerulāmos'') in Brittonic.〔Isaac, Graham R. "Place-Names in Ptolemy's Geography: An Electronic Data Base with Etymological Analysis of the Celtic Name-elements". Aberystwyth : CMCS Publications, 2004. Computer file : CD-ROM.〕 In this pre-Roman form, it was among the first places in Britain recorded by name. The settlement was established by Tasciovanus, who minted coins there. The Roman settlement was granted the rank of ''municipium'' around AD 50, meaning its citizens had what were known as "Latin Rights", a lesser citizenship status than a ''colonia'' possessed. It grew to a significant town, and as such received the attentions of Boudica of the Iceni in 61, when Verulamium was sacked and burnt on her orders: a black ash layer has been recorded by archaeologists, thus confirming the Roman written record. It grew steadily: by the early 3rd century it covered an area of about , behind a deep ditch and wall. It is the location of the martyrdom of the first British martyr saint, St Alban, who was a Roman patrician converted by the priest Amphibalus.〔This story is recorded by Bede and also by the monks of the abbey of the town, notably Brother Matthew Paris in his Anglo-Norman ''Vie de Seint Auban''.〕 Verulamium contained a forum, basilica and a theatre, much of which were damaged during two fires, one in 155 and the other around 250. One of the few extant Roman inscriptions in Britain is found on the remnants of the forum (see Verulamium Forum inscription). The town was rebuilt in stone rather than timber at least twice over the next 150 years. Occupation by the Romans ended between 400 and 450. There are a few remains of the Roman city visible, such as parts of the city walls, a hypocaust still in situ under a mosaic floor, and the theatre, which is on land belonging to the Earl of Verulam – as well as items in the Museum (below). More remains under the nearby agricultural land which have never been excavated were for a while seriously threatened by deep ploughing. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Verulamium」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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