CELTIC AND ROMANO-BRITISH HERTFORDSHIRE 



that it had existed before the forum (see a in plan). This earlier wall was 

 of a substantial character. It was decorated on its south-east side with 

 coloured wall plaster of a red colour with a black band. The existence of 

 this wall suggests that the Roman type of building had been adopted at 

 Verulamium at a very early date. 



The forum as originally designed must have been a very handsome 

 building and its high colonnades would have had a very imposing effect. 

 It is the largest that has been discovered in this country, the total external 

 length being 373 ft. The surrounding buildings instead of being shops as 

 at Silchester and Caerwent appear to have been public offices and courts or 

 temples. The original building consisted of an open courtyard of rammed 

 gravel, 308 ft. by about 205 ft. surrounded by a corridor 26 ft. wide with 

 an opus signinum floor, and entered by a gate on the south-east side and 

 another probably on the north-west. In the middle of the courtyard 

 are remains of some masonry which have not been explored. On the 

 south-west side beyond the corridor was a series of large chambers ; the 

 opposite or north-east side could not be explored on account of the church- 

 yard, but there was a large building here, possibly the basilica. The 

 south-east and north-west sides of the corridors bordered on streets. The 

 inner wall of the corridor on the south-west side was broken by two 

 openings 65 ft. and 67 ft. respectively. Each open- 

 ing was filled by a colonnade of five columns 

 with an intercolumniation of 13 ft. 6 in. centre 

 to centre, as was shown by the beds for the stones 

 supporting the bases of the columns.*' The circular 

 base of one of the columns was found in position built 

 over by later work and showed a peculiar construc- 

 tion. It was 2 ft. 10 in. in diameter and was com- 

 posed of Roman bricks, triangular in shape, with one 

 side curved to form the outside of the base. A Plan of the Circular 

 similar base, now in the Herts. County Museum, was ^*=' "^ "^ ^°'-""'' 



found near, and many other triangular tiles with one 



face curved were met with during the excavations. A fragment of a 

 fluted column the diameter of which would be about 2 ft. 9 in. was also 

 found not far off. 



The intervening spaces between these openings were apparently built 

 up with walls, the upper parts of which were 2 ft. 6 in. thick. At each 

 end of these walls inside the corridor were pilasters corresponding to like 

 pilasters on the opposite side for withstanding the thrusts of the walls of the 

 chambers beyond. In the wall at the south-eastern end of this corridor, 

 between the pilasters, were the remains of the lower part of a doorway 

 4 ft. 6 in. wide (at b on plan). The jambs were extremely solid and of 

 carefully laid brickwork 4 ft. 4 in. thick with a deep chamfer on the inside. 

 The bricks were set in pink Roman mortar. 



So far as the inner wall of the corridor on the north-east side has been 

 uncovered it seems to correspond with the wall last described. The corridor 

 on the south-east side was 26 ft. wide and bounded by walls 3 ft. 4 in. thick. 



«9 These beds here showed the use of blocks of Barnack stone 4 ft. to 6 ft. in length and I ft. thick. 



