Bath city walls the Romans, to surround their town (known then as "Aquae Sulis"), probably in the 3rd century. The Anglo-Saxons by the 10th century had established Bath as a fortified "burh" (borough), utilising the existing town walls, and maintaining Bath as a centre of regional power. Bath, located on the northern edge of the kingdom of Wessex, would have guarded against any attack from neighbouring Mercia, which was held by the Danes for a time. The height of the walls was increased on the orders of King Stephen during The Anarchy. Bath's medieval walls included four gates. The North and South Gates
Nomen (Roman name) Nomen (Roman name) The nomen gentilicium, or "gentile name", designated a Roman citizen as a member of a gens. A gens, which may be translated as "race", "family", or "clan", constituted an extended Roman family, all of whom shared the same nomen, and claimed descent from a common ancestor. Particularly in the early Republic, the gens functioned as a state within the state, observing its own sacred rites, and establishing private laws, which were binding on its members, although not on the community as a whole. Although the other peoples of Italy also possessed nomina, the distinction between Romans and