Manduessedum
MANDUESSEDUM a Roman station in Britain (It. Ant. p. 470), the site of which is supposed to be occupied by Mancester in Warwickshire.
[C.R.S]The name appears in the Antonine Itinerary. In and around here are Roman sites which can be summarized as follows:
1) At the village of Mancetter is at least one fort, datable to the period of Nero.
2) A civil settlement lies along the Roman road (Watling Street) and has been traced for at least 1.6 km.
3) Over a large area S of the road there was a large-scale pottery industry; its peak of activity was in the second half of the 2d c., continuing into the 3d c. A variety of vessels was produced for the Midland markets, including mortaria. The potters Gratinus, Minomelus, Iunius, Sennius, Maurus, Vitalis IV, and Sarrius and G. Attius Marinus are known to have worked here. The industry extended as far as the high ground at Hartshill where stone quarrying has destroyed many kilns over the last 100 years. A small glass furnace has also been found.
4) A small defended enclosure with a wall bank and ditch system was established early in the 4th c., similar to others along Watling Street.
BIBLIOGRAPHYPottery industry: Institute of Archaeol. Bulletin 5 (1965) 25-43; Trans. Birmingham Arch. Soc. 84 (1971) 18-44; 85 (1973) 211-12.
G. WEBSTER