Balkerne Gate facts for kids
The Balkerne Gate is a very old Roman gateway in Colchester, England. It was built a long time ago, in the 1st century AD. This gate is the biggest Roman gateway still standing in Roman Britain. It was built where a main Roman road from Londinium met the town wall. Today, it is a very important historical building, known as a Grade I listed building.
History of the Gate
This gate is the best-preserved Roman gateway in all of Britain. It was built around the years AD 70 to 96. The main part of the gate, called the gatehouse, used to have two large arched paths for carts. It also had separate smaller arched paths on both sides for people walking. Most of this original gatehouse has now disappeared over time.
What we see today is mainly the arched path that was on the south side, which was for people. You can also still see some remains of a guard tower that once stood there. The Balkerne Gate was truly huge! It had two wide paths for carts, each about 17 feet (5 meters) wide. There were also two smaller paths for people, each about 6 feet (1.8 meters) wide. The entire gate stuck out about 30 feet (9 meters) from the town wall. Its total width was an impressive 107 feet (32.6 meters).
How the Gate Was Built
Roman town gates often had one or two entrances. Sometimes they had as many as three. But the Balkerne Gate was special because it had four gates! It also had unusually wide paths for carts.
You won't find any other gates with four entrances like this in Britain. However, there are a few similar gates in other parts of Europe. For example, you can find them in places like Nîmes and Autun in France, and Turin in Italy.
