Colchester and the emperor Hadrian?

Today (27th January) in AD 98, Trajan became Roman emperor. He reigned until AD 117. In AD 117, his successor Hadrian became Roman emperor and, interestingly, Tuesday (the 24th January) was the anniversary of the day that Hadrian was born in AD 76. 2017 is, therefore, the 1,900th anniversary of Hadrian’s accession as emperor (on the 11th August). Hadrian – full name Publius Aelius Hadrianus Augustus – is considered to be one of the ‘good emperors’ of Rome *. During his reign (AD 117-138, died AD 138), Hadrian travelled to nearly every province of the Roman empire, including Britannia in the far north of the empire (see Roman history by Dio Cassius and the Historia Augusta). Carole Raddato (Following Hadrian) says that ‘… Hadrian travelled very extensively throughout the Empire, and imperial visits generally gave rise to programmes of rebuilding and beautification of cities …’. In Rome, Hadrian commissioned the rebuilding of the Pantheon and the buildng of the Temple of Venus and Roma. His building projects around the Roman empire included the famous ‘Hadrian’s Wall’ in Britannia: in AD 122, he had visited Britannia after a period of rebellion here, and he travelled north from London, the capital of the province, to the northern limit of the empire and commissioned the building of the great defensive wall.

There was a major Roman road from London to Colchester and a network of major roads from Colchester to Carlisle (later on Hadrian’s Wall) and beyond **. It is very probable that Hadrian visited Colchester on his journey north. Colchester was an important Roman town and was also where the emperor Claudius had received the submission of tribal leaders and formalised the Roman conquest of Britannia in AD 43. Colchester included the great Temple of Claudius with its precinct and monumental arcade. The arcade of the Temple of Claudius may have been enhanced with polychromatic veneers during the reign of Hadrian (see Cultural identity in the Roman Empire, edited by by Dr J Berry and R Laurence, 1998), and the Colchester Roman circus was built during his reign. The temple and Roman circus here were associated elements of the imperial cult. Interestingly, the Trust excavated a coin of Hadrian from a Roman burial at our Butt Road site in 1976-9, and this had been framed and modified to form a pendant: perhaps this was a memento of a visit to Colchester by this emperor… A large number of Hadrianic coins have also been found in Colchester. The British Museum in London holds a bronze head of Hadrian from the River Thames near London Bridge and also a bust of Hadrian. In AD 122, Hadrian went from Britannia to Tarraco in Spain, where he commissioned the restoration of a temple.

Historic England suggest that Hadrian commissioned the building of the Colchester Roman circus (see www.pastscape.org.uk/hob_id=1462692 ). We think that the building of the Roman circus here was paid for by local sponsors (see CAT Report 412), and Trust director Philip says that there is no evidence of a Hadrianic connection with this Roman circus. Known Hadrianic projects in Britain are Hadrian’s Wall and the forum at Wroxeter, dedicated with an inscription to Hadrian: suggested projects include the town walls of London and Verulamium, and projects at Leicester, Caistor-by-Norwich, and in the Fens, including a tower at Stonea Grange which marked the site of a victory by the Roman army over the Iceni tribe in AD 47 (see A history of Roman Britain by Peter Salway, 1997).

If Hadrian did visit Colchester in AD 122, then the town could claim visits by one dictator of the Roman republic and three Roman emperors… (ie Julius Caesar in 54 BC; the emperor Claudius in AD 43; possibly the emperor Vespasian when he was a general in the Roman army, in AD 43; and possibly the emperor Hadrian in AD 122).

The images show a reconstruction painting of the Colchester Roman circus (by Peter Froste); a drawing of the modified coin of Hadrian from our Butt Road site, featuring an equestrian representation of Hadrian (from Colchester Archaeological Report 2); and the bronze head of Hadrian now held by the British Museum. The photo. was taken by Carole Raddato (Following Hadrian) and she generously published it online in the public domain on her web-site at https://followinghadrian.com/ . (There is an unusual connection between the emperor Claudius and the emperor Hadrian in Britain: there is a bronze head of Claudius from the RiverAlde in Suffolk and a bronze head of Hadrian from the River Thames at London!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* ‘… The reign of Hadrian arguably represented the greatest ‘Golden Age’ of the Roman Empire. Stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the landlocked Caspian Sea in the east, the Empire’s territory encompassed southern and western Europe, northern Africa, and a sizable swath of western Asia – the furthest that its borders would ever reach. It was also the most economically prosperous period in Roman history, with unprecedented regional stability allowing trade to pass freely through the various provinces. The many cities of the Empire underwent expansive building programs, bringing public baths, forums, theaters, and circuses to citizens on three continents …’ – at www.archdaily.com/802201/ad-classics-roman-pantheon-emperor-hadrian .

** Iter V of the Antonine Itinerary (thought to have been compiled during the 3rd century and edited in the late 3rd century) is published online at http://roman-britain.co.uk/antonine_itinerary.htm . The Antonine Itinerary probably gives the routes of imperial travels and of the Roman army. Iter V is headed ‘Item a Londinio Luguvalio ad vallum’ (from London to Carlisle on the Wall) and it gives this route: Londinium (London) – Caesaromagus (Chelmsford) – Colonia (Colchester) – ?Scole – Icinus (Caistor St Edmund) – ?Lackford – Duroliponte (Cambridge) – Durobrivae (Water Newton) – ?Ancaster – ?Saltersford – ?Sapperton – Lindum (Lincoln) – Segelocum (Littleborough) – Danum (Doncaster) – Castleford? – Eboracum (York) – Isurium Brigantum (Aldborough) – Cataractonium (Catterick) – Lavatris (Bowes) – Verteris (Brough Castle) – Brocavum (Brougham) – and Luguvalium (Carlisle).

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