Exeter Devon UK

Irene Burdell
Exeter Devon UK by Irene Burdell
Exeter Devon UK by Irene Burdell

Exeter Devon UK

Cottages adjacent to the Cathedral.
Exeter city Devon Uk.

Exeter began as a Roman town. The Romans arrived in the Southwest about 50 AD they built a wooden fort on a hill near the river Exe at the lowest point where it could be easily crossed. (Exe is derived from a Celtic word meaning ‘the water’). However the local Celtic tribe put up little resistance to Roman rule and about 75 AD the soldiers moved on. A town was then created on the site of the fort. The Romans called it Isca.

Like all Roman towns Isca had a rectangular space called the forum. This was the market place. It was also lined with shops and the basilica, a kind of town hall. There were also public baths in Isca. In Roman times people went to the baths not just to get clean but also to socialise. It was the Roman equivalent of going down the pub.

The Romans made Isca the administrative centre of Southwest England. However Roman civilisation was skin deep in this part of the country. Further west it faded away altogether. In town of Isca rich people lived in houses of stone with mosaic floors and even a form of central heating but poor people lived in simple wooden huts. Isca does not seem to have been a particularly prosperous town.

In the 2nd century the Romans built a sturdy wall around the town, which lasted for centuries. However in the 4th century Roman civilisation began to decline. The populations of the towns fell.

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Exeter Devon UK belongs to the following groups:

Architectural Photography, Happy Haven, HDR Photography, Landscape Photography, Sepia-Toned and United Kingdom

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