The vicus
Who lived in the vicus?
The population included a mix of Romans and Britons. Traders and craftsmen came to settle in the vicus as soon as the fort was built in AD 71. Soldier’s families also lived in the vicus. Some soldiers may also have settled here permanently after leaving the army. As the Britons and Romans adopted parts of each other’s lifestyles, the vicus population is best described as ‘Romano-British’.
People continued to live and work here for about 80 years after the army left. They were able to keep trading with travellers using the Roman road. The vicus was abandoned in about AD 180.
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1. The vicus lay to the south west and west of the fort. Unlike the fort, it was not protected by defences. The main buildings were along the main Roman road leading to the fort.
What did the vicus look like?
The earliest buildings were rows of houses and workshops. These were built from timber. Later the wooden structures were replaced with larger stone buildings such as a guest house, a market and a pottery shop.
The archaeologists were only able to investigate a small part of the vicus, so we don’t know how far it stretched.
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Timeline:
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