Download Alderney was part of the Roman Empire for over 400 years. It was

Alderney was part of the Roman Empire for over 400 years. It was one of the islands called the
Insulae Lenuri and was known as Riduna. Not much was known about Romans in the Channel Islands
until the 1980’s when Roman buildings were found in St Peter Port and a shipwreck was raised
from its harbour. At least four more Roman shipwrecks are now suspected around Guernsey.
Jersey also had the remains of a small temple
The Romans commanded by Julius Caesar conquered the nearby coasts of Gaul in 56BC. Guernsey
may already have been friendly to the Romans before this as ships had been stopping there
carrying Roman pottery and wine possibly as early as 120 BC. Guernsey was on the route taken by
merchant ships sailing up the Atlantic Coast of Gaul and into the Channel. Most would have avoided
Jersey as it did not have a good harbour and was ‘in the corner’ surrounded by dangerous reefs.
Alderney’s rocks and currents were also to be avoided. Ancient sailors however liked to sail in sight
of land so it is likely they would have used Alderney as a navigation point when sailing north from
Guernsey, or south out of the Channel.
Roman objects found in the islands came from modern France, Germany, Britain, Spain, Italy, North
Africa and Palestine. Trade goods included olive oil and fish sauce carried in amphorae (large jars).
Each style of amphora came from a different region and experts have worked out what many of
them carried.
Remains of Roman buildings have been found two metres under the sand at Longis Common.
Longis was a natural harbour and seems to have been the main settlement in Roman times. It is
possible that a whole village is buried under the sand at Longis. Roman graves called ‘cists’ were
found eroding out of the sand-dunes on the
top of the beach before the Germans built
their sea wall. Roman roof tile is also found on
the beach. It is possible that the Channel
Islands were governed from the Roman town
of Constantia (modern Coutances).
A Roman small fort was built at the Nunnery
to guard the harbour at Longis. The fort was
probably built in the middle of the fourth
century, but there may have been an earlier
building on the same site. It is the best surviving small fort in Britain, with the walls still standing up
to 5m high. It is approximately 40 metres square with walls up to 2m thick. It has rounded corners
with semi-circular bastions that may have been designed to carry bolt-shooting catapults (ballistae).
Originally it had a massive square tower in the centre, with walls 2.8 metres thick.
The Nunnery was probably a base for the Roman navy, which would have mounted patrols against
pirates and raiders to stop them sailing through the Race. It was built at a dangerous time for Rome
when ‘barbarian’ tribes were attacking from the direction of Germany and the North Sea. The
Romans used small fast warships called ‘picti’ which were painted blue to hide them while hunting
pirates. The Nunnery also stopped the pirates themselves using Alderney as their base. The
Nunnery would have come under the command of a Roman general known as the Duke of Armorica
(dux tractus Armoricani et Nervicani).
In AD 410 the Romans abandoned Britain and in AD 486 the Franks defeated the Roman armies and
took control of Gaul. We do not know exactly when, but at some time between AD 400 and AD
500, Alderney ceased to be controlled by Rome.