Verulamium Park

Verulamium Park is a park in St Albans, Hertfordshire. Set in over 100 acres (0.40 km²) of beautiful parkland, Verulamium Park was purchased from the Earl of Verulam in 1929 by the then City Corporation. Today the park is owned and operated by St Albans City and District Council.

The park is named after the Roman city of Verulamium on which it stands. The City walls and outline of the main London Gate can still be seen. Archaeological excavations were undertaken in the park during the 1930s by Sir Mortimer Wheeler and his wife Tessa, during which the 1800-year-old hypocaust and its covering mosaic floor were discovered. The Hypocaust Mosaic is on view to the public and currently protected from the elements by a purpose-built building in the park. On the outskirts of the park is Verulamium Museum, which contains hundreds of archaeological objects relating to everyday Roman life in what was a major Roman city. A pub, Ye Olde Fighting Cocks, is also located on the edge of the park. This pub has been listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest such establishment in England.

Verulamium

Coordinates: 51°45′00″N 0°21′14″W / 51.7500°N 0.3539°W / 51.7500; -0.3539

Verulamium was a town in Roman Britain. It was sited in the southwest of the modern city of St Albans in Hertfordshire, Great Britain. A large portion of the Roman city remains unexcavated, being now park and agricultural land, though much has been built upon (see below). The ancient Watling Street passed through the city. Much of the site and its environs is now classed as a scheduled ancient monument.

History

Before the Romans established their settlement, there was already a tribal centre in the area which belonged to the Catuvellauni. This settlement is usually called Verlamion. The etymology is uncertain but the name has been reconstructed as *Uerulāmion, which would have a meaning like "[the tribe or settlement] of the broad hand" (Uerulāmos) in Brittonic. In this pre-Roman form, it was among the first places in Britain recorded by name. The settlement was established by Tasciovanus, who minted coins there.