246 
ST. ALBANS AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD. 
Wheatliampstead, but as yet no other indications of habitation 
have been seen. The Bronze Age has yielded nothing but some 
rough lumps of metal found at Westwick in St. Michael’s 
parish. During the two last-named periods, however, this district 
was dense forest, which would have been incapable of supporting 
a population, and therefore the objects discovered are probably 
merely the relics of a few chance inhabitants and not of a settled 
population. 
It is not till we arrive at the Late Celtic Age, when implements 
of iron were brought into use to clear the forest, that there was 
any organized settlement. The site where St. Albans now 
stands was within the area of south-eastern Britain overrun 
about b.c. 200 by Belgic tribes, who came from north-east G-aul. 
Their civilization was in advance of that of the native inhabitants. 
They introduced coinage and carried on a fairly considerable 
traffic with the continent. The tribe which settled in what 
became Hertfordshire was the Catuvelauni. It may be to this 
people that we can attribute the original earthworks surrounding 
Yerulam, their chief seat, and the causeway now leading to 
Verulam Woods, for as yet no objects of a date earlier than Late 
Celtic have been found at Verulam. It was to the oppidum of 
Cassivellaunus, the Prince of this tribe who led the coalition of 
British tribes against the Homans, that Caesar during his second 
invasion in b.c. 54 directed liis march, and eventually took it. 
This oppidum it is reasonable to identify with Verulam, which 
well agrees with the description given by Caesar of the strong¬ 
hold of Cassivellaunus. Caesar’s invasion was only of the 
nature of a punitive expedition. It established a Homan 
influence and opened up political and trading relations between 
Britain and the Homan Empire, but it left the government of 
this country in the hands of native princes. 
One of the results of the Roman influence was the inscription 
of British coins in Latin, the earliest British inscribed coins 
being struck at Verulam by Tasciovanus, who succeeded 
Cassivellaunus about b.c. 30. Tasciovanus was succeeded about 
a.d. 5 by Cunobeline, the Cymbeline of Shakespeare, who died 
shortly before the Emperor Claudius began the conquest of 
Britain under Aulus Plautius in a.d. 43. The south-east of 
Britain was soon placed under Homan rule. Verulam, being the 
most important town in the south if not in all Britain, was 
made a municipium or town which enjoyed self-government, and 
was the only Romano-British town that was ever thus privileged. 
Together with Colchester and London it was sacked by Boadicea 
in a.d. 62, and shortly after this date it was probably somewhat 
overshadowed by the trading town of London then rising into 
wealth. From the little we know of its buildings, it must, 
however, have continued a place of considerable importance till 
the withdrawal of the Homan Legions in a.d. 410, and probably 
for some time later. 
The episode for which Verulam is perhaps best known is the 
