Roman cities in Britain


This is a list of cities in Great Britain during the period of Roman occupation from 43 AD to the 5th century.
Roman cities were known as civitas in Latin. They were mostly fortified settlements where native tribal peoples lived, governed by the Roman officials. The majority of the cities listed are either former Iron Age tribal capitals, strategic settlements on Roman roads, trading posts between tribal groups or, occasionally, ports, although the latter two were more usually not defined as civitas. A small number of these cities were settlements of Roman origin, the most famous of which is Aquae Sulis, modern day Bath. At least 26 of the current 63 cities in England and Wales were fortified civitates during the Roman era, the most famous being Camulodunum, modern day Colchester, the first capital of the Roman province of Britannia, and Londinium, modern day London, the later capital of the province and current capital of both England and the United Kingdom today.
This list covers cities throughout Great Britain but does not include Cornwall or Scotland where the Romans had less influence. The list shows the modern settlement names as well as the native Brythonic and Roman names for the settlement. Civitates were prefixed with Caer in Brythonic which roughly equates to the same word in modern Welsh, meaning "stronghold", "fortress", or "citadel", usually written in Anglo-Saxon as -caster, -cester, and -chester. The eighth century Welsh monastic author of the Historia Brittonum, Nennius, recorded 28 civitates, which together make up a large proportion of the cities in this list. However, "Caer Custoeint" and "Caer Brithon" are not included, the former having an unknown location and the latter being in Scotland and unlikely to actually have been a Roman civitas. Many of the Roman civitates transitioned into Anglo-Saxon settlements during the Dark Ages, remaining as cities or large towns today. Others, however, fell into disrepair and little but ruins remain, often close to small villages.
Modern SettlementBrythonic NameRoman NameTribe AssociatedHistoric CountyFlagCurrent StatusImageMentioned by Nennius
AlcesterCaer AlenAlaunaLocal TribeWarwickshireTownNo
AldboroughCaer IsurionIsurium BrigantumBrigantesWest Riding of YorkshireVillageNo
BathCaer BaddonAquae SulisRoman SettlementSomersetCityNo
BroughCaer PetuarPetuariaParisiEast Riding of YorkshireTownNo
Builth WellsCaer PerisUnknownOrdovices & SiluresBrecknockshireTownYes
CaernarfonCaer SegeintSegontiumOrdovicesCaernarfonshireTownYes
Caistor Caer CorreiCaistorCorieltauviLincolnshireTownNo
CambridgeCaer GrauthDuroliponteCatuvellauniCambridgeshireCityYes
CanterburyCaer CeintDurovernum CantiacorumCantiaciKentCityYes
CardiffCaer TeimTamiumSiluresGlamorganCityNo
Carlisle Capital of Britannia ValentiaCaer LigualidLuguvaliumCarvetiiCumberlandCityYes
CarmarthenCaer MerddynMoridunumDemetaeCarmarthenshireTownUnlikely
CatterickCaer CataraucCataractoniumBrigantesNorth Riding of YorkshireVillageYes
Chepstow Caer Guent Venta SilurumSiluresMonmouthshireTown Yes
ChesterCaer LegionDeva VictrixCornovii CheshireCityYes
ChichesterCaer CeiNoviomagus ReginorumRegniSussexCityNo
Cirencester Capital of Britannia PrimaCaer CeriCorinium DobunnorumDobunniGloucestershireTownNo
Colchester Early Capital of BritanniaCaer ColunCamulodunumTrinovantesEssexCity Yes
Conwy Caer Canovion Canovium DeceangorumDeceangliDenbighshireTown No
DoncasterCaer DaunDanumRoman SettlementWest Riding of YorkshireCity Yes
DorchesterCaer DurnacDurnovariaDurotrigesDorsetTownNo
DunsterCaer DraitouUnknownDumnoniiSomersetVillageYes
Durham Caer WeirVinoviaBrigantesCounty DurhamCity No
ExeterCaer UiscIsca DumnoniorumDumnoniiDevonCityNo
Gloucester Capital of Britannia SecundaCaer GloutGlevumDobuniiGloucestershireCityNo
Hereford Caer FawyddMagnae DobunnorumDobunniHerefordshireCity No
IlchesterCaer Pensa vel CoytLindinisLendinienses, part of Durotriges?SomersetVillageYes
LeicesterCaer LerionRatae CorieltauvorumCorieltauviLeicestershireCityYes
Lichfield Caer Luit coytLetocetumCornovii & CorieltauviStaffordshireCity Yes
Lincoln Capital of Britannia FlaviaCaer Lind-colunLindum ColoniaCorieltauviLincolnshireCityNo
City of London Later Capital of BritanniaCaer LondeinLondiniumCatuvellauni & TrinovantesMiddlesexCityYes
ManchesterCaer MaunguidMamuciumRoman SettlementLancashireCityYes
Monmouth Caer GuorthigirnBlestiumSiluresMonmouthshire / HerefordshireTown Yes, Probably
Norwich Caer Guin Truis Venta IcenorumIceniNorfolkCity No
Newport Caer legion guar uiscIsca AugustaSiluresMonmouthshireCity Yes
Portsmouth Caer PortusPortus AdurniBelgaeHampshireCity No
RochesterCaer DourbrufDurobrivae CantiacorumCantiaciKentTownNo
Salisbury Caer SallwgSorbiodunumAtrebatesWiltshireCityYes
Shrewsbury Caer GuriconViroconium CornoviorumCornovii ShropshireTown Yes
SilchesterCaer CelemionCalleva AtrebatumAtrebatesHampshireVillageYes
St AlbansCaer MunicepVerulamiumCatuvellauniHertfordshireCityYes
WhitchurchCaer MeguiddMediolanumCornovii ShropshireTownYes
WinchesterCaer Guent Venta BelgarumBelgaeHampshireCityYes
WorcesterCaer GuiragonVertisDobunii & Cornovii WorcestershireCityYes
York Capital of Britannia MaximaCaer EbraucEboracumBrigantesYorkshireCityYes