If you were to ask most people outside Exeter, and even some within Exeter, about famous Roman cities you would probably receive the typical answers of Bath with the famous Roman spas, or Chester with its impressive amphitheatre and City Walls. 

But I doubt you would ever receive the answer Exeter or Isca Dumnoniorum, from anyone in England, even those that call Exeter home.  

While these places have impressive Roman features, Exeter has some of the most preserved and historic sites. With Roman Baths, a wall around Exeter city that is partly Roman, as well as plenty more discoveries such as forts and timber buildings around the city. These sites, in my opinion, should receive much more attention than those in cities like Bath - however Exeter doesn’t seem to get noticed for its place in Roman history. 

In this talk I will debate why it doesn’t get enough recognition and why it deserves more. 

I will begin by describing what I believe is the most significant site in Exeter, and the site that I believe should get far more attention. It is a site that thousands walk over every day, and many without the knowledge that just a few feet below them is one of the most amazingly preserved Roman baths in the world. It lies right outside the cathedral, and many will walk past it only noticing the 1000-year-old religious building in front of them, rather than the 2000-year-old baths beneath their feet.

 The site is supposed to be around the same size and style as the baths that are in Pompeii. At the time of building the baths, approximately in AD 60, it is believed they were only the second stone building in the UK - a fact I find incredible. The military bathhouse was inside the fortress and was not open to citizens. It was demolished when the legion left in 70AD.  However, a new public bathhouse was built for the new Roman town of Isca Dumnoniorum once the legion had left. 

The baths show excellent quality with underfloor heating, a hypocaust and tiled flooring laid throughout a range of rooms. Some of these tiles were excavated and put on a small display at the Royal Albert Museum in Exeter.  

Archaeologists studied the site in the 1970s, with plans quickly being established to open the remains up to the public - much like in Bath. However, due to the economic downturn, following the oil crisis, the baths were covered back up - the project was abandoned by the council who said ‘we are waiting for better times’.  

In 2015 a bid was made to the National Lottery, supported by local historians, residents, and the Local Authority. The bath site would have been opened again, giving Exeter a much-needed tourism resource. However, the city project was denied. Once again, the ‘better times’ that Exeter needed to fund the baths, could not happen.  

This has led to a lack of acknowledgement of Exeter's brilliant history. Children in local schools will need to continue to travel further to see the Roman Spa in Bath rather than the one right on their doorstep. 

There is a lack of knowledge that the Exeter baths are even there. Signage around the cathedral is very poor. The baths are also not particularly celebrated in Exeter’s own museum. Roman history in Devon only gets two aisles of display - most of which isn’t about Exeter but wider Devon instead. What chance has Exeter’s Roman history got of being recognised if its own museum doesn’t highlight its importance? 

Another piece of history, well deserved of more attention are the city walls that surround Exeter. Unlike most cities, where the walls that the Romans built or developed have been destroyed, Exeter’s partly Roman walls, are still 83 percent intact. While people in the city will know the walls exist, many will have a lack of clear information about them. Signage around the walls is very poor and the few information boards that are there include several that have been vandalised or burnt and haven’t been replaced for years. 

Other Key areas have no signs at all, for example, how many people know, that as they leave Marks and Spencer by the back door - they are walking on the remains of a Roman Road.  

To conclude, I find that even though, in Roman times, Isca was the capital of the southwest - where key Roman roads converged, with some sites that can even compare to those of Pompeii, this unique history isn’t recognised; if you drive past - along the M5 - most tourists wouldn’t even know it as a Roman city.  

We have seen in Bath how successful these projects can be, surely it is worth the investment - which would quickly be clawed back from tourism revenue.   

I truly believe that the Roman gateway to the Southwest, the capital of the Roman Southwest, and the place that is home to some of the most unique sites in the world should be given more recognition and investment. 

I’ve always been very interested in history partly because my Mum, from a very young age, took me to castles and other historic sites. But I also believe that it is due to my family's interesting part in history. My great grandad was the second man out of the real Great Escape in WW2, from Stalag Luft 3. This has captivated my love of history. Straight after the Great Debate Final we are traveling to Poland for the 80th Anniversary Commemorations of the Great Escape which I’m really excited about.