One of the major cities of Roman Britain, the site of modern Wroxeter.
Originally the site of a Roman legionary fortress built around 60 AD, that commanded an important crossing of the river Severn, some thirty years later the city of Viroconium Cornoviorum was built on the site. (The legion having moved north to their new legionary base at Deva (modern Chester.))
Viroconium was the civitas of the Celtic tribe known as the Cornovii whose territories comprised the upper reaches of the Severn valley. It developed into the fourth largest city in Roman Britain with an area of some 78 hectares encompassed within the city walls.
Today, modern Wroxeter is a rural village nestling occupying only one small corner of the site of the Roman city, its role effectively supplanted nearby Shrewsbury from early medieval times. This has allowed the site to escape largely unscathed from the ravages of later development.
Recent excavation shows evidence of continuing occupation in the post-Roman period indicating that it may well have acted as a regional capital.