Early Urban Development: Camulodunum, Fishbourne and Aquae Sulis

Roman influence through particular places

Following the invasion of AD 43, Roman rule brought changes to Britain’s settlements, religion and ways of life. Camulodunum, Fishbourne and Aquae Sulis show different kinds of development during the period ending around AD 84: a military base became a Roman colony, a supply site developed into a luxurious palace, and hot springs became the centre of an impressive religious and bathing complex.

Early development concerns how a place changed during the first decades of Roman rule. It is more than a list of buildings: the important connection is between what developed, how it was used and what this reveals about Roman influence.

Romanisation means the spread and adoption of Roman practices. Urbanisation—the development of towns—is one part of this wider process, but changes in religion and lifestyle also matter. These three places did not develop in identical ways, and Fishbourne’s palace should not be treated as a town.

Camulodunum: from fortress to colony

Camulodunum, modern Colchester, became an important centre of Roman power after the invasion. In AD 43, Claudius entered it and received the submission of British rulers. The army then built a legionary fortress on high ground, establishing a military presence from which Roman control could be maintained.

By AD 49, the fortress had been converted into a civilian settlement called Colonia Claudia, named after Claudius. It became the first capital of the new province of Britannia. A colonia was a privileged Roman settlement; this one was populated mainly by retired soldiers. These veterans brought Roman habits and helped maintain Roman influence after the legion moved on.

Some military buildings were retained and adapted for civilian use. New public buildings included a theatre and a senate house, providing spaces for entertainment and civic government. Together, these developments show the change from a settlement organised around an army to one with Roman urban institutions.

The grandest building was the Temple of Claudius, built to worship the emperor after his death and deification in AD 54. Deification meant recognising him as a god. The temple therefore connected religion with Roman political authority: worship of the emperor helped express loyalty to Roman rule.

Camulodunum: destruction and rebuilding

The colony’s development also exposed tensions beneath Roman rule. Its military defences had been dismantled, leaving it vulnerable. During Boudicca’s revolt in AD 60, the town was attacked and burnt. The Temple of Claudius became a last refuge, but its defenders were overwhelmed after holding out for a couple of days.

The temple was not simply an impressive Roman building. Local taxation had helped pay for it, and it became a focus of resentment towards Roman domination. Camulodunum therefore illustrates both the establishment of Roman urban life and hostility to what that development represented.

The town was quickly rebuilt, this time with a substantial defensive wall. Rebuilding shows that the revolt did not end Roman settlement there; the addition of defences also shows how experience of resistance changed the town’s development.

Fishbourne: from military supplies to elite luxury

Fishbourne, near Chichester on the south coast, developed differently. Its access to a natural harbour made it useful for supplying the Roman army. The earliest Roman buildings included large timber granaries, possibly built in the winter of AD 43–44. These stored supplies needed during the conquest.

Residential timber buildings followed. Around AD 60, they were replaced by a substantial stone residence, sometimes called a proto-palace: an earlier stage of the later palace. It included a courtyard garden, colonnades and a bath suite. Painted walls, decorative plasterwork and coloured marble panels made it much more than a functional military building.

Around AD 75–80, this residence was incorporated into a much larger palace. Four wings surrounded a formal garden bordered by colonnades. An impressive entrance stood in the east wing, while the west wing contained state rooms and a ceremonial reception room. The arrangement provided space both for private living and for receiving visitors in a setting designed to display wealth and status.

The palace’s mosaics, wall paintings, imported marble and bathing facilities demonstrate Roman influence on elite lifestyles. Foreign craftsmen helped create its elaborate decoration. The formal garden also required careful planning and engineering, including levelling the site and providing water for fountains.

Cogidubnus, a British client king loyal to Rome, is a possible owner of Fishbourne, but this identification is not certain. If the palace belonged to him, it would show how a British ruler could adopt Roman luxury while cooperating with Roman power. Regardless of its owner, the palace demonstrates exceptionally wealthy living rather than the experience of most Britons.

Dating the decoration matters. Many original mosaics were black and white; some of the colourful mosaics associated with Fishbourne today belong to later alterations and cannot demonstrate what existed by about AD 84.

Aquae Sulis: a sacred spring transformed

Aquae Sulis, modern Bath, developed around naturally hot springs and an important river crossing. The springs appear to have had religious significance before the conquest. A Late Iron Age causeway leading towards the spring and finds of Celtic coins support the interpretation that people approached the water and made offerings there. The native goddess Sulis was associated with the springs.

In the AD 60s, the Romans built the Temple of Sulis Minerva. Its dedication joined Sulis with the Roman goddess Minerva, showing that Roman religious influence could combine with an existing local tradition rather than simply replace it.

Roman engineering transformed the setting. Previously, the hot water had bubbled up through open marshes. A lead-lined reservoir collected the spring water, while a sluice-gate arrangement helped manage the sand it brought to the surface. The reservoir formed a sacred pool near an altar in the temple courtyard.

The precinct included thermal baths, using the naturally hot water. Worship, bathing, health and social interaction therefore came together in one complex. The temple and baths demonstrate Roman influence through both monumental architecture and the organised use of a natural feature that already mattered to local people.

Aquae Sulis: settlement as well as sanctuary

The temple was not the sole starting point for settlement at Aquae Sulis. Finds around Cleveland Bridge date to AD 48–63, before the temple was constructed. Good communications, a river crossing and passing trade encouraged activity in the Walcot Street and London Street area.

This settlement contained homes and industrial activity, with timber and small masonry buildings later replaced by more substantial masonry structures. Its development was largely separate from that of the temple-and-baths precinct. Aquae Sulis therefore shows two connected but distinct forms of Roman influence: growth around transport and trade, and the monumental development of a sacred site.

What the three places reveal

Camulodunum demonstrates Roman military settlement becoming civic and religious authority. Fishbourne demonstrates elite wealth and the adoption of Roman architecture and lifestyles. Aquae Sulis demonstrates engineering, bathing and the combination of local and Roman religious traditions.

Physical evidence makes these changes concrete. A building’s layout can suggest its function, while its decoration can reveal cultural influences. Dating is essential: a surviving Roman feature is evidence of early development only if it belongs to the period being studied.