Durnovaria

Durnovaria is a suggested spelling for the Latin form of the name of the Roman town of Dorchester in the modern English county of Dorset, amended from the actually observed Durnonovaria [1]. Around AD 65–70, Durnovaria became a civilian settlement, apparently the civitas Durotrigum of the tribal confederacy of the Durotriges [1]. An organised street plan was laid out, ignoring earlier boundaries, the streets lined with timber-slot structures; public buildings including thermae were erected and an artificial water supply established [1]. The town still has some Roman features, including part of the town walls and the foundations of a Roman town house [1]. The Romans built an aqueduct to supply the town with water [1]. Near the town centre is Maumbury Rings, an ancient British earthwork converted by the Romans for use as an amphitheatre, and to the north west is Poundbury Hill [1]. Part of a Roman road, known today as High West Street, exists underneath the Dorset Museum [1]. The road ran through the centre of Durnovaria [1].