What is Verulamium?
[[File:20050410-009-verulamium-wall.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Remains of the city walls]] [[File:RomanTheatreVerulamium-PS1.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Roman theatre]] '''Verulamium''' was an ancient town in [[Roman Britain]]. It was in the southwest of the modern city of [[St Albans]] in [[Hertfordshire]]. Much of the Roman city is unexcavated, with the modern city built over it.<ref>[http://pleiades.stoa.org/places/79739/boundary-of-settlement-walls-approx./ Boundary of settlement walls], Pleiades</ref> The ancient [[Watling Street]] passed through Verulamium, which was one of the most important towns in [[Roman Britain]]. Much of the site and its environs is now a [[scheduled ancient monument]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://list.english-heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1003515 |title=1003515 - The National Heritage List for England |access-date=2014-06-30 |archive-date=2013-12-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131223014956/http://list.english-heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1003515 |url-status=dead }} and related schedules.</ref> Before the Romans, it was a settlement of the [[Catuvellauni]] tribe, which called it Verlamion. It was among the first places in [[Great Britain|Britain]] recorded by name. Verulamium was burnt to the ground and its people slaughtered by [[Boudica]] of the [[Iceni]] in AD 61. A black ash layer has been found, confirming the Roman written record. The town was rebuilt, and grew to about {{convert|125|acre|km2}} by the early 3rd century. It was defended by a deep ditch and wall. It is the location of the martyrdom of the first British martyr saint, [[Saint Alban|St Alban]], who was a Roman [[patrician]] converted to Christianity.<ref>This story is recorded by [[Bede]] and also by the monks of the abbey of the town, notably Brother [[Matthew Paris]] in his Anglo-Norman ''Vie de Seint Auban''.</ref> Verulamium had a [[Roman Forum]], a [[basilica]] and a Roman [[theatre]]. Much was damaged by fires in AD 155 and AD 250. The town was rebuilt in [[Rock (geology)|stone]]