Silchester Roman City Walls and Amphitheatre

Originally a tribal centre of the Iron Age Atrebates, Silchester became the large and important Roman town of Calleva Atrebatum. Unlike most Roman towns, it was never re-occupied or built over after its abandonment in the 5th century, so archaeological investigations give an unusually complete picture of its development.

Silchester was originally the site of an important Iron Age settlement, which subsequently developed into a Roman town.

With a defended area of about 32 hectares, Calleva was the centre of the Iron Age kingdom of the Atrebates tribe from the late first century BC.

After the Roman conquest in AD 43 the settlement developed into the Roman town of Calleva Atrebatum. Covering a slightly larger area (about 40 hectares) and laid out along a distinctive street grid pattern, the town contained a number of public buildings and flourished until the early Anglo-Saxon period.