SILCHESTER  , a

parish in the north of Hampshire, England, about to m . S. of Reading, containing the site of the Romano-British town Calleva Atrebatum . This site has been lately explored (1890-1909) and the whole plan of the ancient town within the walls recovered; unfortunately the excavators had to abandon their task before the suburbs, cemeteries and what-ever else may lie outside the walls have been examined . The results are published in Archaeologia, the official organ of the London Society of Antiquaries (see BRITAIN: Roman) . As the excavations proceeded, the areas excavated were covered in again, but the ruins of the town hall, which have been famous since the 12th century, still remain . The smaller and movable objects found in the excavations have been deposited by the duke of Wellington, owner of the site of Calleva, in the Reading museum .