Deva Victrix

Deva Victrix, or simply Deva, was a legionary fortress and town in the Roman province of Britannia on the site of the modern city of Chester [1]. The fortress was built by the Legio II Adiutrix in the 70s AD as the Roman army advanced north against the Brigantes, and rebuilt completely over the next few decades by the Legio XX Valeria Victrix [1]. In the early 3rd century the fortress was again rebuilt [1]. A civilian settlement, or canaba, grew around the fortress [1]. Chester's Roman Amphitheatre, south-east of the fortress, is the largest-known military amphitheatre in Britain [1]. The civilian settlement remained after the Romans departed, eventually becoming the present-day city of Chester [1]. The fortress contained barracks, granaries, headquarters, military baths, and an unusual elliptical building which had it been finished may have been intended to act as the governor of Britain's headquarters [1].