Вероламий: Древний город римской Британии

Ancient town in Roman Britain

Verulamium was a town in Roman Britain. It was sited southwest of the modern city of St Albans in Hertfordshire, England. A large portion of the Roman city remains unexcavated, being now park and agricultural land, although due to ploughing on the privately owned agricultural half of the city a lot of damage has been done, as proven by parts of mosaic floors that have been found on the surface, and results of ground penetrating radar show outlines of buildings as smudges rather than clearly defined walls like those protected by the parkland. Part of the Roman city has been built upon, such as St Michael's church and other parts along the centre of the medieval village. The major ancient Roman route Watling Street passed through the city. Much of the site and its environs is now a scheduled monument.

Although there are other Roman theatres in Britain (for example at Camulodunum), the one at Verulamium has been claimed to be the only full excavated example of its kind, being a theatre with a stage rather than an amphitheatre. The theatre is on the grounds of and therefore run by the Gorhambury Estate.

St Albans Abbey and the associated Anglo Saxon settlement were founded on a hill outside the Roman city. The site of the abbey may have been a location where there was reason to believe that St Alban was executed or buried. More certainly, the abbey is near the site of a Roman cemetery, which, as was normal in Roman times, was outside the city walls. It is unknown whether there are Roman remains under the medieval abbey. An archaeological excavation in 1978, directed by Martin Biddle, failed to find Roman remains on the site of the medieval chapter house. David Nash Ford identifies the community as the Cair Mincip ("Fort Municipium") listed by Nennius among the 28 cities of Britain in his History of the Britons. As late as the eighth century the Saxon inhabitants of St Albans nearby were aware of their ancient neighbour, which they knew alternatively as Verulamacæstir or, under what H. R. Loyn terms "their own hybrid", Vaeclingscæstir, "the fortress of the followers of Wæcla".

The city was quarried for building material for the construction of medieval St Albans; indeed, much of the Norman abbey was constructed from the remains of the Roman city, with Roman brick and stone visible. The modern city takes its name from Alban, either a citizen of Verulamium or a Roman soldier, who was condemned to death in the 3rd century for sheltering Amphibalus, a Christian. Alban was converted by him to Christianity, and by virtue of his death, Alban became the first British Christian martyr. Since much of the modern city and its environs are built over Roman remains, it is still common to unearth Roman artefacts several miles away. A complete tile kiln was found in Park Street some 6 mile (10 km) from Verulamium in the 1970s, and there is a Roman mausoleum near Rothamsted Park 5 mile (8 km) away. Within the walls of ancient Verulamium, the Elizabethan philosopher, essayist and statesman Sir Francis Bacon built a "refined small house" that was thoroughly described by the 17th century diarist John Aubrey. No trace of it is left, but Aubrey noted, "At Verulam is to be seen, in some few places, some remains of the wall of this Citie". Moreover, when Bacon was ennobled in 1618, he took the title Baron Verulam after Verulamium. The barony became extinct after he died without heirs in 1626. This title was revived in 1790 for James Grimston, a Hertfordshire politician. He was later made Earl of Verulam, a title still held by his descendants.

The Verulamium Museum, part of St Albans Museums, is in Verulamium Park (adjacent to St Michael's Church). It contains much information about the town, both as a Roman and Iron Age settlement, plus Roman history in general. The museum was established following the excavations carried out by Mortimer Wheeler and his wife, Tessa Wheeler, during the 1930s. It is run by the district council.

It is noted for the large and colourful mosaics and many other artefacts, such as pottery, jewellery, tools and coins, from the Roman period. Many were found in formal excavations, but some, particularly a coffin still containing a male skeleton, were unearthed nearby during building work.

The asteroid 4206 Verulamium was named in honour of the ancient city.