 The Canterbury area has been inhabited since prehistoric times . Lower Paleolithic axes , and Neolithic and Bronze Age pots have been found in the area . Canterbury was first recorded as the main settlement of the Celtic tribe of the <unk> , which inhabited most of modern @-@ day Kent . In the 1st century AD , the Romans captured the settlement and named it Durovernum Cantiacorum . The Romans rebuilt the city , with new streets in a grid pattern , a theatre , a temple , a forum , and public baths . Although they did not maintain a major military garrison , its position on Watling Street relative to the major Kentish ports of Rutupiae ( Richborough ) , <unk> ( Dover ) , and <unk> ( <unk> ) gave it considerable strategic importance . In the late 3rd century , to defend against attack from barbarians , the Romans built an earth bank around the city and a wall with seven gates , which enclosed an area of 130 acres ( 53 ha ) . 
