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The
Balkerne Gate
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Pass the site
of the Victorian St Mary's Hospital on your left. The building was demolished
a couple of years ago, and the area is now a housing estate.
This is the
site of a Civil War fort constructed during the Siege of Colchester in
1648. Although there is nothing to see today the strategic importance
of this area is still obvious.
At the top of the hill turn left along Pope's Lane and cross Balkerne
Hill via the footbridge.
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Roman
Wall
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A large volume
of material was excavated to create the roadway below and directly ahead
is the comparatively well-preserved Roman Balkerne Gate, the western entrance
into the walled town of Camulodunam (Colchester).
Originally one of the largest gateways in Roman Britain with four carriageways,
it stood over the Roman Road from Colchester to London.
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Snapdragons
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On either
side is one of the finest surviving stretches of the Roman wall, built
nearly 2,000 years ago. Notice the layers of tile and septaria, nodules
derived from the 50 million year old London Clay deposits which underlie
much of Essex. This is the oldest Roman wall in Britain, built between
AD65 and AD80 just after defeat of Boudica in AD60.
The walls
are an important habitat for wallflowers, snapdragons, 0rare lichens and
rare lichens (colonies of fungi and simple algae) are the first colonisers
of bare rock.
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