Durovernum Cantiacorum (Canterbury)

[Senium]

Hello all. Im new here and pleased to be in such August company.

 

My querries about Roman Canterbury are two fold. Here goes...

Was there an ancient pilgrimage or otherwise important religious site that the Romanized Celts used in Durovernum Cantiacorum, more than just what would be normal for a Roman-Celtic time. But something really important? Was it a religious center of some sorts up until the late fourth century?

 

And my second question...Did the Christianization of Kent (and Roman Britain in general) lead Durovernum Cantiacorum to begin a decline and depopulation even sooner than th rest of Roman Britain?

 

Your thoughts are greatly appreciated.

[caldrail]

The romanized celts made up a proportion of the people in that area, not the entire population. That said, being in the southeast meant a great many of them were indeed adopting Roman lifestyles. Canterbury had been the tribal centre for the Cantiaci I believe, so it was an important site politically at least.

 

Druidic influence had reached a position of domination four hundred years earlier and I would have expected some to be present up until the Romans arrived. Although the druids were broken by the Romans, they persisted into the dark ages as rare individuals and never regained their former power, but the druids had largely displaced earlier religious belief systems in Britain. Again, given the area, it's unlikely that any druidic influence persisted into the Roman period but you never know.

 

Certainly the Romans would have adopted local gods into their own system, which they did as a matter of policy, so as Canterbury was an important site then yes, it is likely that some religious site was there or nearby. As to how important it was, the emphasis has to be local.

 

I doubt the adoption of christianity had any meaningful effect on Cantebury's success as a community. This was more likely to be a an effect of changing commercial infrastructure, spreading disease, or security issues with the threat of saxon raids. I don't know if Theodosius had a wall built at Canterbury. If not, he had written the town off and the decline was already well in place.

Edited August 5, 2010 by caldrail