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[[File:Old Exeter City wall - geograph.org.uk - 1286996.jpg|right|thumb|300px|City walls of Exeter]]
{{county|Devon}}
'''Isca Dumnoniorum''', also known simply as '''Isca''', was the major Roman town in the south-west of Britannia.  It began as a Roman legionary fortress for the Second Legion, the ''Legio II Augusta'', which was established around AD&nbsp;55. It is the site of present-day [[Exeter]] in [[Devon]]. 

The town grew up around the fortress and served as the tribal capital of the Dumnonii tribe, both during the Roman occupation and after the Romans' departure. The city walls of Exeter (some 70% of which survive) mark the former perimeter of Isca

==Name==
The name ''Isca'' is a Latinization of a native British name describing flowing water, in reference to the [[River Exe]]. Another suggestion is that the name originally meant "full of fish" (like the Welsh ''pysg''; "fish",<ref>Owen, H.W. & Morgan, R. 2007 Dictionary of the Place-names of Wales (Gomer Press) page 484.</ref> although it came to be a simple synonym for water (like ''uisge'' in Gaelic.<ref>{{Ekwall|p=171}}</ref> This is also reflected in the modern Welsh name for Exeter: ''Caerwysg'' meaning "fortified settlement on the river Uisc". The same name was used for the [[River Usk]] (''Afon Wysg'') in [[Monmouthshire]], causing the settlement there (modern [[Caerleon]]) to be distinguished as ''[[Isca Augusta]]'', while the Devonian Isca was called ''Isca Dumnoniorum'': Usk of the Dumnonians.
[[File:Roman mosaic under St Catherine's, Exeter - geograph.org.uk - 1140583.jpg|right|thumb|200px|A Roman mosaic floor discovered under the ruins of St Catherine's Chapel and Almshouses]]

==History==
===Prehistoric===
Exeter began as settlements on a dry ridge ending in a spur overlooking a navigable [[River Exe|river]] teeming with fish, with fertile land nearby. Although there have been no major]] finds, these advantages suggest the site was occupied early.<ref>Hoskins (2004), {{nowrap|pp. 4&ndash;}}5.</ref> Coins had been discovered from the Hellenistic kingdoms, suggesting the existence of a settlement trading with the Mediterranean as early as 250 BC.<ref>Hoskins (2004), p. 1</ref> This is disputed however by Prof T P Wiseman who alleges the hoard was not genuine.

===Roman===
Following their initial invasions, the Romans established a 42-acre 'playing-card' shaped fort at the site around AD&nbsp;55. It was the base of the Second Augustan Legion (the Legio II Augusta) for the next 20 years before they moved to [[Isca Augusta]] (modern [[Caerleon]] in Monmouthshire). Both Iscas were also home to their families as settlements are thought to have grown up outside the fortress gates, especially to the north-east.

Buildings within the fortress, such as barracks, granaries, and workship, were timber structures, the post-trenches of which were excavated in the 1970s in advance of the Guildhall shopping centre development. The only known building in the fortress not of timber was a stone-built military bathhouse. The water for the bathhouse was supplied by a natural spring via an aqueduct which entered the fortress through the rear gate (''porta decumana''). The excavations revealed the hot room (''caldarium'') and part of the warm room (''tepidarium''). The bathhouse was also supplied with an external exercise yard (''palaestra''), one corner of which was a cockfighting pit.<ref>Bidwell, P.T. ''The Legionary Bathhouse and Basilica and Forum at Exeter'', {{nowrap|pp. 42&ndash;}}43. 1979.</ref>

The legion had formed part of the Claudian invasion of Britain in AD&nbsp;43, under the command of the future emperor Vespasian. Vespasian led campaigns against both the Durotriges and Dumnonii. The presence of the legion at Exeter is supported by the discovery of a dolphin antefix (roof fitting) from levels within the military bathhouse dated to about AD&nbsp;60. The antefix appears to have been created from the same mould as an example from the legionary fortress at Caerleon—where the legion is known to have been stationed from around AD&nbsp;75.<ref>Bidwell, P.T. &&nbsp;al. ''Britannia'', Vol.&nbsp;7, {{nowrap|pp. 278&ndash;}}80. 1976.</ref> (The legion had previously suffered a defeat to the Silures of southern Wales in the year 52.) The legions of Britain were rearranged after Suetonius Paulinus's victory against the Boudiccan rebellion.

There was a small subsidiary fort at [[Topsham]]. A supply depot along the line between the Isca fortress and Topsham was excavated at the former St Loyes college site on Topsham Road in 2010. Initial dating suggests that it was occupied at the same time as the Isca fortress, 55&ndash;75. Another Roman fort was discovered in 2019 under the coach station near Bampfylde Street.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.exeter.gov.uk/remains-of-roman-defences-discovered-under-exeter-s-bus-station-site/ |title=Remains of Roman defences discovered under Exeter's Bus Station site|publisher=Exeter City Council|access-date=29 January 2020}}</ref>

The settlement of Isca Dumnoniorum seems to have developed around the Roman fortress. It is one of the four cities attributed to the Dumnonii by Claudius Ptolemy in his 2nd-century ''Geography'' and it served as the tribal capital (''civitas'') of the Dumnonii.<ref name=B56/> It was also listed on the late-2nd century Antonine Itinerary, where it forms the southern terminus of route 15 (Iter XV) on the [[Fosse Way]], and on the 7th-century Ravenna Cosmography, where it appears as the apparently confused entry of ''Scadu Namorum''.<ref name=RBOID>{{cite web|url=https://www.roman-britain.co.uk/places/isca_dumnoniorum/ |title=isca dvmnoniorvm |publisher=Roman Britain Site}}</ref>

The fortress was given up around AD&nbsp;75 and shortly afterwards its grounds were converted to civilian purposes.<ref name=B56>Bidwell (1980), {{nowrap|p. 56}}.</ref> The military baths were too large for the local population and were largely demolished, although parts were incorporated into the forum and basilica built on the site.<ref name=B56 /> A smaller bathhouse was then built to the southeast. In the late 2nd century, the ditch and rampart defences around the fortress were replaced by a bank and wall enclosing a much larger area, some 92&nbsp;acres.<ref name=B59>Bidwell (1980). p. 59</ref> There is evidence of copper and bronze working. A possible stock-yard has also been identified and Isca was clearly a key market for livestock, crops, and pottery produced in the surrounding countryside.<ref>Bidwell (1980). pp. 69–76, 80</ref> The importance of Isca as a trading centre is demonstrated by the discovery of more than a thousand Roman coins around the city. However, the dates of these coins suggest that the city was at its most prosperous in the first half of the 4th century; virtually no coins dated after AD&nbsp;380 have been found, suggesting a rapid decline.<ref>Hoskins 2004, p.14</ref>

[[File:Exeter, 1563.jpg|right|thumb|200px|A map of Exeter in 1563 showing the city walls]]
===Mediæval===
Bishop Ussher identified the ''Cair Pensa vel Coyt'' by Nennius, composed after AD&nbsp;830, listed among the 28 cities of Britain by his ''Historia Brittonum'' as Isca,<ref name=shusher>Newman, John Henry &&nbsp;al. [http://www.mocavo.co.uk/Lives-of-the-English-Saints-St-Gilbert-Prior-of-Sempringham-Volume-3/527392/459 ''Lives of the English Saints: St. German, Bishop of Auxerre'', Ch.&nbsp;X: "Britain in 429, A.&nbsp;D.",<!--sic--> p.&nbsp;92.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160321234154/http://www.mocavo.co.uk/Lives-of-the-English-Saints-St-Gilbert-Prior-of-Sempringham-Volume-3/527392/459 |date=21 March 2016 }} James Toovey (London), 1844.</ref> although Ford read it as a reference to [[Penselwood]] and thought it more likely to be [[Lindinis]] (modern [[Ilchester]]). Isca was also known to the British as ''Caer Uisc'' but, after the Roman withdrawal from Britain around 410, there is very little evidence of habitation in Exeter for almost 300 years except for the remains of a building (possibly a church) in the area of the demolished forum and a few nearby graves dated to the 5th, 6th, and 7th centuries.<ref>{{cite book|last=Harvey|first=Hazel|title=The Story of Exeter|publisher=Phillimore|location=Andover|year=2011|isbn=978-1-86077-678-6|page=9}}</ref> After this, the historical record picks up again around 680 with a document that reporting that St Boniface was educated at the abbey in Exeter.<ref name="HOS15">Hoskins 2004, p.15</ref>

==Remains==
[[File:Isca Dumnoniorum RAMM.JPG|right|thumb|200px|Some of the items from Isca at the Albert Memorial Museum]]
Much of the Roman wall survives as the lower courses or inner core of the mediæval city walls, 70% of which still exist, largely built on the orders of Alfred the Great to protect the far west of his kingdom following the Viking occupation of 876. The legionary bath complex was excavated in the 1970s,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britarch.ac.uk/ba/ba65/feat2.shtml|title=Great Sites: Exeter Roman Baths|work=British Archaeology magazine|date=June 2002|access-date=12 July 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.exeter.gov.uk/timetrail/02_romanfortress/bath_house.htm|title=The Roman Fortress at Exeter: The Roman Bath House|access-date=12 July 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080604101008/http://www.exeter.gov.uk/timetrail/02_romanfortress/bath_house.htm |archive-date=4 June 2008}}</ref> but because of its proximity to the cathedral it was not practicable to retain the excavation for public view. Artifacts from the excavation, however, are displayed with other discoveries at the city's [[Royal Albert Memorial Museum]].

==Location==
*Location map: {{wmap|50.722|-3.534}}

==Outside links==
{{commons}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

*{{cite book
|last=Bidwell|first=Paul T.
|title=Roman Exeter: Fortress and Town
|publisher=Exeter City Council
|year=1980
|isbn=0-86114-270-5}}
*{{cite book
|last=Higham|first=Robert
|title=Making Anglo-Saxon Devon
|publisher=The Mint Press|location=Exeter
|year=2008
|isbn=978-1-903356-57-9}}
*{{cite book
|last=Hoskins|first=W. G.
|title=Two Thousand Years in Exeter
|publisher=Phillimore|location=Chichester
|year=2004
|edition=Revised and updated
|isbn=1-86077-303-6}}

{{Major towns of Roman Britain}}

[[Category:Exeter]]
{{Roman town}}