In January 2022 I visited the cathedral city of St Albans as I have a few hours to spare waiting for my wife attending lessons from the nearby university in Hatfield. The city is just a 15-minute drive from Hatfield, which is an hour and 15 minutes drive from my city of Peterborough. I decided to just visit two famous places in the city that are close to each other - St Albans Cathedral and the ruins of the Roman Theatre of Verulamium.
In the southwest of St Albans lies the remains of the Roman Britain town of Verulamium. A few remains of Verulamium are still seen at Verulamium Park like parts of the city wall and a hypocaust (a central heating system in the Roman period) as well as items that are found in the museum. The ruins of the Roman theatre, however, is now part of the nearby Gorhambury Estate.
The Roman Theatre of Verulamium is unique. Built in about 140AD it is the only example of its kind in Britain, being a theatre with a stage rather than an Amphitheatre. Initially, the arena would have been used for anything from religious processions and dancing, to wrestling, armed combat and wild beast shows. From about 180AD the stage came into greater use and the auditorium was extended. By about 300AD, after some redevelopment work, the Theatre could seat 2000 spectators.The ruins one can see today were unearthed in 1847 and 1935. Subsequent excavations in 1957 and 1961 revealed a row of shop foundations, a Roman Villa and a secret shrine, all thought to date from the First Century.
I parked in the Verulamium Museum car park although it was a bit of a walk to the Cathedral but I will be walking through the beautiful Verulamium Park anyway. I wanted to take photos of the park but as I was pressed for time I just decided to enjoy the sceneries as I walk hurriedly first to the Cathedral and then come back to the car park and onto the ruins of the Roman theatre.
The Roman Theatre is open to visitors for a small fee. I spent a good amount of time in the ruins imagining myself as one of the those Roman settlers entertained by the actors and gladiators of the day. It must have been such a joyous occasion watching those drama plays and mime shows back then. Or be thrilled by those bloodthirsty armed combatants fighting to the death (think the movie Gladiator) or the occasional public executions.
All photos were taken with a micro four thirds camera (https://amzn.to/2Qjtg8h) attached with a telephoto zoom lens (https://amzn.to/32TeGWA).
Picture Gallery
