Roman Isca, cathedral city, and gateway to Devon and Dartmoor
Exeter is the historic capital of Devon — a city that has been continuously occupied since the Romans built their fortress Isca Dumnoniorum here in 55 CE, with 2km of Roman walls still visible and a 4th-century Roman bath house excavated beneath the cathedral close. The medieval cathedral has the longest uninterrupted Gothic vault in the world (300 feet), and the city's underground passages — unique in Britain, built to carry medieval water pipes — are open to visitors.
Exeter was one of Rome's most westerly British towns, built as a legionary fortress and later becoming a civitas capital. The city was sacked by the Vikings twice (876 and 1003), the second time by Sweyn Forkbeard who burned it to the ground; it was rebuilt immediately and became a prosperous medieval wool and cloth trading centre. The Exeter Book (c.970 CE), the largest surviving collection of Old English poetry, was given to Exeter Cathedral by Bishop Leofric in 1072 and is still there.