Post-Roman History
After Roman occupation, the lands of the Cornovii became a centre of military and economic operations. Viroconium Cornoviorum became one of the most important cities in Roman Britain, where Legio XIV Gemina was garrisoned for some time. The Romans also exploited metals such as copper, lead and silver in the area. Some Romanised Cornovii are known to have served as Roman legionaries.
The 5th century saw continued town life in Viroconium but many of the buildings fell into disrepair. However, between 530 and 570 there was a substantial rebuilding programme in timber with most of the old basilica being demolished and replaced with new buildings. These probably included a very large two-story timber-framed building and a number of storage buildings and houses. In all, 33 new buildings were constructed. The archaeologists responsible for the most recent excavations comment that "their construction was carefully planned and executed..." and "were skillfully constructed to Roman measurements using a trained labour force". Who instigated this rebuilding program is not known, although it may have been a bishop. Some of the buildings were renewed three times and the community probably lasted about 75 years until for some reason many of the buildings were dismantled.
Read more about this topic: Cornovii (Midlands)
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