Ratae Corieltauvorum

Ratae Corieltauvorum or simply Ratae was a town in the Roman province of Britannia [1]. Today it is known as Leicester, located in the English county of Leicestershire [1]. Ratae is a latinate form of the Brittonic word for "ramparts", suggesting the site was an Iron Age oppidum [1]. This generic name was distinguished by "of the Corieltauvians", the name of the Celtic tribe whose capital it served as under the Romans [1]. The native settlement encountered by the Romans at the site seems to have developed in the 2nd or 1st centuries BC [1]. Excavations starting in 2016 have revealed luxurious, highly decorated houses in central locations of the town [1]. In the late 4th century, Ratae was occupied by a detachment of the Roman army and towers may have been added to the town walls [1]. The settlement is generally identified as the Cair Lerion mentioned among the 28 cities of Britain by the later History of the Britons traditionally attributed to Nennius [1].