Manduessedum or Manduesedum was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

and later a civilian small

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in the

Roman Province The Roman provinces (, pl. ) were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was ruled by a Roman appointed as Roman g ...

Britannia The image of Britannia () is the national personification of United Kingdom, Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used by the Romans in classical antiquity, the Latin was the name variously appli ...

. It was located on and immediately to the east of the site of the modern village of Mancetter, located in the English county of

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

, close to the modern town of

Atherstone Atherstone is a market town and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England. Located in the far north of the county, Atherstone is on the A5 national route, and is adjacent to the border with Leicestershire which ...

. The name is of Romano-Celtic origin, and is likely derived from the

Gaulish Gaulish is an extinct Celtic languages, Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium, ...

''essedum'', meaning '

chariot A chariot is a type of vehicle similar to a cart, driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid Propulsion, motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk O ...

', whilst the first element ''mandu'' was common in Gaulish place names, but its meaning is obscure. The fort was founded in around AD 50 on the

Watling Street Watling Street is a historic route in England, running from Dover and London in the southeast, via St Albans to Wroxeter. The road crosses the River Thames at London and was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the M ...

Roman road, guarding the point where the road crossed the River Anker. The final battle of the rebel queen of the Britons

Boudica Boudica or Boudicca (, from Brittonic languages, Brythonic * 'victory, win' + * 'having' suffix, i.e. 'Victorious Woman', known in Latin chronicles as Boadicea or Boudicea, and in Welsh language, Welsh as , ) was a queen of the Iceni, ancient ...

at the Battle of Watling Street in AD 60/61 may have taken place near Manduessedum. The British forces were defeated by the Roman general Suetonius Paullinus. The fort appears to have been fairly short lived, as there is little sign of military occupation at the site after AD 70. Manduessedum later developed into an important civilian settlement, and was the centre of an extensive

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...

making industry which primarily produced

Mortaria A mortarium (pl. "mortaria") was one of a class of Ancient Roman pottery kitchen vessels. They are bowls with thick sides that were likely used for crushing and grinding foodstuffs. They sometimes had grit embedded in the inner surface and a spou ...

(mixing bowls). The remains of up to 70 pottery

kiln A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or Chemical Changes, chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects m ...

s dating from the Roman period have been found in the area, as well as the remains of a Roman

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house that provided an escape from urban life. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the f ...

. The area has been listed as a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

References

* Slater, Terry, ''A History of Warwickshire'' (1981)

External links

Roman Mancetter
- page of the Atherstone Civic Society * {{Authority control Structures on the Heritage at Risk register in Warwickshire Populated places established in the 1st century History of Warwickshire Military history of Warwickshire Scheduled monuments in Warwickshire Roman fortifications in England Roman towns and cities in England