Cunetio

Cunetio was a large walled town in a valley of the River Kennet in Wiltshire. It stood near the present village of Mildenhall, about two and a half kilometres east of Marlborough. Romano-British people occupied the site from the 2nd century AD until the early 5th century. The settlement was defended by massive stone walls and seventeen external towers. Aerial photographs in the 1940s revealed the town’s outline to scholars for the first time. Excavations uncovered thousands of Roman coins and everyday objects. In 1978 workers found the Cunetio Hoard, over fifty-five thousand coins. The town grew around a mansio at the crossing of two Roman roads. Its eastern side had a regular grid of streets and stone buildings. The western part retained less orderly structures and later received stronger defences. Visitors today see grassy mounds marking the line of the stone walls. The remains of the western gateway still show grooves for iron gates. The towers stood about thirty-seven metres apart along the defences. Artefacts on display include kitchenware and personal items from daily life. The site lies in a quiet valley near the Kennet, offering a sense of how the town once thrived.