Durobrivae

Durobrivae was a Roman fortified garrison town beside the River Nene at Water Newton in Cambridgeshire. The settlement stood where Ermine Street crossed the river, linking the Catuvellauni to the south with the Corieltauvi to the north. Its name comes from Brythonic words meaning ‘fort by the bridges’. The town grew from a small camp built soon after the Roman invasion of AD 43. By the late second century it appears in the Antonine Itinerary, a Roman road guide. The site became famous for Nene Valley Colour Coated Ware, a fine red tableware made between the second and fourth centuries. Excavations show large pottery workshops and villas around the town. The Corieltauvi tribe organised trade and production here long before the Romans arrived. After the Romans left, the focus shifted to Medeshamstede, now Peterborough. Visitors today walk among earthworks and low mounds marking the old town walls. Fragments of Roman buildings and kilns can still be seen in fields near the river. The Water Newton Treasure, a hoard of late Roman silver, was found here in 1975. A quiet lane follows part of Ermine Street as it once did. The riverbank offers views across the Nene valley to where the town once stood.