Tripontium (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

for "Place of three

bridges A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somet ...

") was a town in

Roman Britain Roman Britain was the territory that became the Roman province of ''Britannia'' after the Roman conquest of Britain, consisting of a large part of the island of Great Britain. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. Julius Caes ...

. It lay on the

Roman road Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...

later called

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 ...

(and known today as the A5) at a site now chiefly within the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

Churchover Churchover is a small village and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Parish The population of the parish in the 2001 census was 230, increasing to 251 at the 2011 census. It is located around 4 miles (7 km) north of Rugby, Warwickshir ...

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 ...

and partly in

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

, some 3.4 miles north-east of Rugby and 3.1 miles south of

Lutterworth Lutterworth is an historic market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Harborough District, Harborough district of Leicestershire, England. The town is located in southern Leicestershire, close to the borders with Warwicks ...

Character

Tripontium was established as a military frontier post soon after the

Roman invasion of Britain The Roman conquest of Britain was the Roman Empire's conquest of most of the island of Britain, which was inhabited by the Celtic Britons. It began in earnest in AD 43 under Emperor Claudius, and was largely completed in the southern half o ...

in AD 47. Its name references the bridges over the River Avon and two of its tributaries. Tripontium later developed into a civilian town which was inhabited for around 400 years, peaking in the

2nd century The 2nd century is the period from AD 101 (represented by the Roman numerals CI) through AD 200 (CC) in accordance with the Julian calendar. It is considered part of the Classical era, epoch, or historical period. Early in the century, the ...

, before being abandoned in the late

4th century The 4th century was the time period from 301 CE (represented by the Roman numerals Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Mid ...

when the Romans left Britain.

Excavations

The exact position of Tripontium remained a mystery for centuries, but it was found by the antiquarian

Matthew Bloxam Matthew Holbeche Bloxam (12 May 1805 – 24 April 1888), a native of Rugby, Warwickshire, England, was a Warwickshire antiquary and amateur archeologist, author of a popular guide to Gothic architecture. He was the original source of the legend ...

in 1836. Excavation works at the site were begun in 1961 by the Rugby Archaeological Society and have continued to 2006. From its out-of-the-way location, it was initially thought that Tripontium was a small wayside settlement of little importance. Excavations of the site have, however, revealed that it was an important

Romano-British The Romano-British culture arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest in AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, ...

town, with large public bath houses, an extensive administrative building, and an inn (') . Numerous pieces of

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 ...

, Roman

coin A coin is a small object, usually round and flat, used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by ...

s, and other remains have been found. Some of the area of the town has been destroyed by gravel extraction in modern times and part of the site is unavailable for excavation. Nevertheless, it seems highly likely that more buildings, such as the remains of a

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

or a forum, remain to be found at the site. The excavation of Tripontium has been the largest of its type to be carried out by an amateur archaeological society. Tripontium was probably the most important Roman settlement in the area. The town is some 8 miles south of Venonae (

High Cross A high cross or standing cross (, , ) is a free-standing Christian cross made of stone and often richly decorated. There was a unique Early Medieval tradition in Ireland and Britain of raising large sculpted stone crosses, usually outdoors. Th ...

), the point at which Watling Street crossed the

Fosse Way The Fosse Way was a Roman road built in Britain during the first and second centuries AD that linked Isca Dumnoniorum (Exeter) in the southwest and Lindum Colonia ( Lincoln) to the northeast, via Lindinis ( Ilchester), Aquae Sulis ( Bat ...

. The large size of the bathhouses and inn have led historians to conclude that Tripontium is likely to have been an important stopping-place for travellers, both military and civilian. It was probably also an administrative centre for the surrounding area. The town was mentioned as a stopping place in the Antonine Itineraries, a third century document which recorded the places the Roman Emperors stopped and those they passed through. The site is a

scheduled ancient 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 ...

. It has been placed on the

Heritage at Risk Register An annual ''Heritage at Risk Register'' is published by Historic England. The survey is used by national and local government, a wide range of individuals and heritage groups to establish the extent of risk and to help assess priorities for acti ...

due to the risks from unlicensed metal detecting and its condition is declining. The site is not open to the public, but many of the finds from the excavations are on display at the Rugby Art Gallery and Museum and the Lutterworth Museum.

References

External links

Rugby Archaeological Society's website
* {{EHbarName, Tripontium Structures on the Heritage at Risk register in Warwickshire Populated places established in the 1st century Roman fortifications in England Roman towns and cities in England History of Warwickshire Former populated places in Warwickshire Scheduled monuments in Warwickshire Borough of Rugby

Character

Excavations

Further reading

References

External links