COLCHESTER.—51 miles N.E. of London, on the right bank of the Colne, 12 miles from the sea.

Colonia Victricensis, Camolodunum, or Camulodunum. (This colony is on the River Colne, even as another stream of the same name flows by the colony of Verulamium).

Before the Roman conquest it was the royal town of Cunobelin, the Cymbeline of Shakespeare. When Claudius had conquered the south-eastern part of the island, he founded a colonia here, which may be said to be the first in time of the Roman towns of Britain. Even now, the walls of Colchester are the most perfect Roman walls in England. There are other remains, including the guard-room at the principal gate. A large cemetery has been disclosed along the main road leading out of the town. A valuable collection of sepulchral remains has been made and placed in the local museum. The city was refounded and ultimately developed into a municipality, with discharged Roman soldiers as citizens, to assist the Roman dominion and spread Roman civilization.

Under Boadicea, the Iceni burnt the town and massacred the colonists.

CORSTOPITUM, or CORCHESTER.—In Northumberland.

This important station lies half a mile west of the little town of Corbridge, at the junction of the Cor with the Tyne, which is here crossed by a fine bridge of seven arches, dating from 1674. It has been suggested that the name Cor is associated with the Brigantian tribe of Corionototae. In regard to building operations hereabouts extensive use has been made of materials derived from Corstopitum. This—in its day—occupied a commanding position as a Roman Station, inasmuch as it furnished a storehouse for grain and a basis for the northward operations carried on about the time of Antoninus Pius. When these operations became unsuccessful, Corstopitum ceased to be a military centre, though it still furnished a basis of civilian occupation. The town was brought to desolation early in the fifth century, and was never again occupied. It was only to be expected that valuable finds should be unearthed from the remains. Many have been found by accident, as e.g., in 1734, a silver dish was dug up weighing 148 oz., and ornamented with figures of deities. Again, much later, in 1908, there was recovered a hoard of gold coins, wrapped in leadfoil, and thrust into the chink of a wall by a fugitive who was fated never to return and recover his treasure. The first-rate importance of the city in its relation to the Roman Wall, and military operations based on Corstopitum as a centre, was only fully revealed by systematic investigations begun in 1907. There were then uncovered, the foundations of several structures fronting a broad thoroughfare, one of which is the largest Roman building found to the present in England, with the exception of the Baths at Bath. Two of these warehouses were evidently granaries. All testified to the importance attached to Corstopitum as a storehouse and distributing centre.

The Roman Wall.