Roman Occupation - 43 A.D to 4th Century A.D.

1st Century:

Evdidence suggests that Worcester may have been called Vertis by the Romans which means: "A place on a river which had a sharp bend"

The Romans landed the shores of ancient Britain in A.D 43 and arrived in the Severn Valley some 10 to 15 years later. A road linking 2 legionary fortresses at Kingsholm and Wroxeter was built which passes through what is now Worcester (paralell to the High Street, approx. 150m west). The river in Worcester was still tidal (this remained the case until the 19th Century when the building of locks prevented the tidal flows up to Worcester), as a result it was easily crossed in low tide, this may have also made the site an attractive settlement. The Romans would have built on the Iron Age settlements that existed. This provided an exceptionally useful intial military adavantage allowing access to all areas of the Severn Valley and surrounding forts such as British Camp in Malvern.

As the Romans military strategy moved elsewhere around Britian, Vertis became more involved in agriculture. The flood plains provided the land with an inexhaustible supply of minerals and it is likely that the area was fairly prosperous. Argricultural structures have been found suggesting this. Whilst at the same time the newly built road from Droitwich bought salt from the mines to the boats in the Severn where it could be traded up and down stream.

Sidbury 1976: Excavations reveal a glass intaglio, the item depicts Roma and was cut for a signet ring possibly even before the invasion. This may well have been an antique by the person who last lost it. (Source Worcester City Council)

2nd Century:

Roman development increased within the area, the first traditional Roman buildings would have appeared around this time. Around this time, huge investment into heavy industry helped to turn Worcester into a large centre for Iron Smelting and Works (most of the materials needed were available locally). Vertis prospered as a result of this and grew to cover an area of 16 Hectares (~ 40 Acres). With the river, trade was easy in the area and the site became specialised and continued to prosper and grow. There are the remnants (including a possible temple) of the settlement as far afield as Sidbury.

Beyond the 2nd Century:

The settlement continued to survive and grow through recession because of its economic benefits and location until the 3rd Century. At this point the city was larger than the area enclosed by the walls in the later Medieval settlement. After this time, huge economic depression finally hit Vertis and the settlement began to contract as the Roman occupation of Britain fell.