ng midlands, were very thinly inhabited. Even densely peopled
areas like north Kent, the Sussex coast, west Gloucestershire and east
Somerset, immediately adjoin areas like the Weald of Kent and Sussex where
Romano-British remains hardly occur.

The administration of the civilized part of the province, while subject to
the governor of all Britain, was practically entrusted to local
authorities. Each Roman municipality ruled itself and a territory perhaps
as large as a small county which belonged to it. Some districts belonged to
the Imperial Domains, and were administered by agents of the emperor. The
rest, by far the larger part of the country, was divided up among the old
native tribes or cantons, some ten or twelve in number, each grouped round
some country town where its council (_ordo_) met for cantonal business.
This cantonal system closely resembles that which we find in Gaul. It is an
old native element recast in Roman form, and well illustrates the Roman
principle of local government by devolution.

In the general framework of Romano-British life the two chief features were
the town, and the _villa_. The towns of the province, as we have already
implied, fall into two classes. Five modern cities, Colchester, Lincoln,
York, Gloucester and St Albans, stand on the sites, and in some fragmentary
fashion bear the names of five Roman municipalities, founded by the Roman
government with special charters and constitutions. All of these reached a
considerable measure of prosperity. None of them rivals the greater
municipalities of other provinces. Besides them we trace a larger number of
country towns, varying much in size, but all possessing in some degree the
characteristics of a town. The chief of these seem to be cantonal capitals,
probably developed out of the market centres or capitals of the Celtic
tribes before the Roman conquest. Such are Isurium Brigantum, capital of
the Brigantes, 12 m. north-west of York and the most northerly
Romano-British town; Ratae, now Leicester, capital of the Coritani;
Viroconium, now Wroxeter, near Shrewsbury, capital of the Cornovii; Venta
Silurum, now Caerwent, near Chepstow; Corinium, now Cirencester, capital of
the Dobuni; Isca Dumnoniorum, now Exeter, the most westerly of these towns;
Durnovaria, now Dorchester, in Dorset, capital of the Durotriges; Venta
Belgarum, now Winchester; Calleva Atrebatum, now Silchester, 10 m. south of
Reading; Durovernum Cantiacorum, now Canterbury;