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The city centre is the historic core of Manchester, around which the modern city grew. It evolved from the civilian vicus associated with the Roman fort of Mamucium, which was established c. AD 79 on a sandstone bluff near the confluence of the rivers Medlock and Irwell, in a position defensible from the Brigantes. Once the Romans had abandoned Britain, the focus of settlement in Manchester shifted to the confluence of the rivers Irwell and Irk. During the Dark Ages which followed - and persisted until the Norman Conquest - the settlement at Manchester was in the territory of several different petty kingdoms. In the Middle Ages, what is now the city centre was the township of Manchester. Extensively redeveloped since the Manchester Blitz (1941) and 1996 Manchester bombing, the city centre remains the commercial and cultural centre of Manchester, the site of much of its retail and office space and many of its heritage centres. The majority of the tallest buildings and structures in Manchester are located in the city centre, including Manchester Town Hall in Albert Square which houses the city's ceremonial and part of the administrative functions, and the Beetham Tower, in Deansgate, the tallest building in the United Kingdom outside London. |