The Praetorium
riverboat.engine.gainsArtis Trail Map - 7. The Praetorium
- Distance 4 km
- Time 1 h 0 min
- Speed 4.0 km/h
- Min altitude 6 m
- Peak 19 m
- Climb 50 m
- Descent 50 m
- Distance Instructions
Our Augmented Reality experience will ask for permission to use your phone's camera, microphone and storage.
Follow on-screen instructions to create the Portal - walk towards it to 'go inside'. Press the circular camera button at the bottom of the screen to take a photo. Keep it held down to record video. You can share your photos and videos to social media and tag us in @NeneParkPboro or #LoveNenePark
Use the small + icon in the bottom left to re-align the Portal's position or reset the experience.
* use the arrow keys to move and hold right click and drag to look around
The Praetorium, was located on the hill in Castor close to the Church, it was a huge palatial structure. It is thought to have been an important Roman administrative base with likely connections to the nearby Roman town of Durobrivae.
An illustration by Edmund Artis with St. Kyneburgha church, Castor in the background.
In the 1920’s Edmund Artis excavated the site and published a volume of illustrations about his finds. There were at least eleven rooms with tessellated floors and mosaics, at least two bathhouses and several hypocausts.
An artist's impression of the Roman Praetorium.
By the 5th century the Praetorium had been abandoned, until the 7th century when it is thought to have been the site of the Nunnery of St. Kyneburgha.
For more information visit
Castor Church Trust
Professor Stephen Upex talks about the scale and importance of the Roman Praetorium
Local Historian Andrew Nash talks about St. Kyneburgha.
The floors of buildings owned by wealthy Romans were often decorated with mosaics made from small fragments of stone or glass. Instead of carpets or wooden floors, mosaics provided a waterproof, durable and an easy to walk on surface. Only the floors of the servants' rooms were left bare. The mosaics often depicted scenes from history or everyday life, creatures and patterns.
What design would you choose to have on your floor?
Thank you for taking part in the Artis Trail - we hope you enjoyed the walk. Don't forget to tag us in @NeneParkPboro or #LoveNenePark with any of your fantastic nature/wildlife or fun Augmented Reality photos!
The Artis Trail was funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund through the Nenescape Landscape Partnership Scheme.
If you'd like to find out more about the significant history of the local area please take a look at the following links. Note that the links open in a new browser tab and are not officially part of the Artis Trail web app.
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