This post was last updated on July 6th, 2024 at 02:23 pm
The era we refer to as Roman Wales began in 48 AD and endured until the Romans finally abandoned Britain in 383 AD. History has left us much evidence that due to the rugged terrain and uncooperative Celtic tribes occupying it, Rome never entirely conquered some parts of Wales. However, there’s no denying that the Roman presence changed Britain forever.
The period known as Roman Wales lasted approximately 335 years. Cultural changes imposed during this time, however, lasted far longer. The Brythonic language, for example, adopted Latin words for common items such as books, windows, forts, and rooms. These words were then carried forward into Welsh.
It took about 25 years from 43 AD, when Governor Aulus Platius led the Romans into Britain, to get the job done. It was no small feat. Troops struggled to overcome the challenging terrain and tribal opposition in Wales. However, unlike the extensively Romanized southern and eastern parts of the island of Britain, some areas of Wales were never fully subdued. Part of this was due to the fact that the Roman Empire was already in decline by the time it reached Wales. Holding a strong presence in this far-flung, foreign, and hostile land was expensive and difficult to maintain.
Despite a somewhat incomplete subjugation, in Roman Wales people were affected in all aspects of life. This included everything from trade to art to the way the tribes of pre-Roman Wales practiced religion. For example, the invasion of Ynys Môn (Anglesey, Wales) on two separate occasions eradicated the Druids. It also left Wales with some of Britain’s most illuminating Roman sites.
This post is about 3 forts built in Roman Wales.
Forts of Roman Wales
Although Wales as an entity did not exist in the same way it does today, “Roman Wales” refers to the period in history when the region was under Roman rule. It began in 48 AD, five years after the Romans invaded Britain in 43 AD. When did the Romans leave Wales? The era ended with the withdrawal of Roman forces from the island in the late 4th century, making the Roman Wales timeline from 48 AD to 383 AD. Although the Romans never fully conquered Wales, as they did with the south and east of Britain, their influence was still profound. Wales contains some of the most significant Roman remains in Britain.
What is the Roman name for Wales? They didn’t have a name for the region itself, which we now know as Cymru (Wales). Romans might have referred to a particular tribal territory within Wales, such as “the land of the Ordovices.” However, they called the island of Great Britain “Brittania Major.”
Below, we’ll cover three essential forts built and occupied by Romans in Wales: Caersws, Segontium, and Cardiff.
Caersws Roman Forts
The Caersws Roman Forts are situated in Caersws, Powys, Mid Wales. They consist of two Roman military camps known as “castra.” These camps served as stations for troops during the Roman occupation of Great Britain from the 1st to the 5th centuries. At this time, the region was part of the Roman province called “Britannia Major” (Great Britain). A segment of a Roman road leading to the forts still remains. It can be found to the west of the encampments.
During the Roman conquest of Britain, a temporary fort was built at Caersws between 43 and 84 AD in a bend of the River Severn at Llwyn-y-Brain. It was located 0.75 miles (1.21 km) east of the present-day village of Caersws. This larger-than-usual fort was constructed of earth and timber. It featured three parallel long ditches for defense, an entrance in the center, and an outer earthwork fortification.
Around 78 AD, as the Romans reinforced their military efforts, they replaced their temporary camp with a permanent square fort for additional troops. It was located closer to the confluence of the Rivers Carno and Severn, beneath the present-day village of Caersws. Although smaller than the earlier temporary fort, it had a bank and triple ditch enclosing 7.75 acres (3.14 ha) for added defense. By around 200 AD, its main building and walls were reconstructed in stone. The facility included a military bathhouse and a civilian vicus (the smallest administrative unit of a town). Occupation of this fort continued into the early 4th century.
What Was Caersws Called Originally?
We still don’t know the original Latin names of these two forts. However, their locations have led historians to associate them with the town of “Mediolanum” of the Ordovices tribe described in Ptolemy’s Geography. Some say they’d likely be connected to Llanfyllin or Meifod. Others propose that both sites reflect Mediolanum, mentioned in the Antonine Itinerary. (The Antonine Itinerary is a work composed of 225 lists of stations and distances along different roads in the empire.) Mediolanum is confirmed to be the town of Whitchurch in Shropshire.
Caersws may be the location of Ptolemy’s Mediolanum. If that’s the case, then it might be identical to Cair Meguaid, which the 8th-century Welsh monk Nennius listed among the 28 cities of Britain in the History of the Britons. However, Meguaid has more often been associated with the Powysian court at Meifod.
Roman Fortress Wales: Segontium
Segontium is known in Old Welsh as “Cair Segeint.” This Roman fortress is located on the outskirts of Caernarfon in Gwynedd, North Wales. The stronghold, used until the end of Roman rule in Britain, was manned by Roman supplementary troops who came from what is now Belgium and Germany. During its use, the fort quickly became the center of military and administrative activity in the region.
The fort likely gets its name from the Afon Seiont (“River Seiont” in English) or a nearby settlement named after the river. The name is a Latinized version of “seg-ontio” from the Brythonic language, which means “strong place.” Seg-ontio sounds similar to a tribe mentioned by Julius Caesar: the Segontiaci. Not much is known about them, but they may have been a smaller offshoot of the Ordovices. While the name is similar, there’s no evidence linking the fort to the Segontiaci.
Segontium is another fort strongly believed to be listed among the 28 cities of Britain in the History of the Britons, either as Cair Segeint or Cair Custoeint. In the 11th century, the Normans erected a mound of earth nearby, laying the groundwork for present-day Caernarfon a half mile away. Following King Edward’s conquest in the 13th century, he replaced the earlier fort with Caernarfon Castle.
Most of the fort’s foundations remain preserved despite the A4085 road to Beddgelert intersecting the site. Guidebooks, available at various Cadw sites, including Caernarfon Castle, give more information on the site’s history. Additionally, a cemetery, the remnants of a civilian settlement, and a Roman temple of Mithras (the Caernarfon Mithraeum) have been found in the vicinity of the fort.
Who Founded Segontium?
Segontium was founded by the Roman general Agricola in 77 or 78 AD after defeating the Ordovices in North Wales. It served as the primary Roman fort in the northern part of Roman Wales and was designed to house around a thousand auxiliary infantry. Connected by a Roman road to the legionary base at Chester, Deva Victrix, Segontium occupied higher ground to the east. This gave soldiers a more strategic view of the Menai Straits. The original timber defense structures were later replaced with stone in the first half of the 2nd century. They were also accompanied by a more luxurious courtyard house with its own bathhouse.
Archaeological findings tell us the military presence lessened by 120 AD. An inscription from the 3rd century reveals garrisoning by the Cohors I Sunicorum from Gallia Belgica (a province in Roman Gaul). The fort’s number of occupants diminished in size through the 3rd and 4th centuries, as its primary role shifted to defending the north Wales coast against Irish raiders and pirates. Coins discovered at Segontium suggest the fort was used until at least 394.
Roman Wales History: Cardiff Roman Fort
Cardiff Roman Fort remains an enigmatic historical site of Roman Wales. Its original Latin designation is uncertain, and its remnants are a part of Cardiff Castle in the present capital city of Wales.
The crumbling fort is often mentioned in the medieval romance of Geraint and Enid, a story from the Mabinogion. In the tale, the fort is portrayed as the dwelling place of “King Ynwyl.” The man named Geraint, who was believed to be a 5th-century King of Dumnonia, adds another layer of historical intrigue to the fort’s history. Dumnonia, named for the Dumnonii tribe, was a Brythonic kingdom located in what is now southwestern England.
The fort’s name itself is also still a puzzle. Some archaeologists have suggested “Tamium” from the Ravenna Cosmography. Others say it could be Bovium (corrected from Bomio) according to the Antonine Itinerary. However, Tamium may be a river name and could mean the River Taff.
Two Earlier Forts
Before the Cardiff fort was built, the location was the site of at least two earlier Roman forts. The initial establishment, likely a temporary camp built around AD 55 during attempts to conquer the Silures tribe, was followed by a new, smaller Roman auxiliary fort about twenty years later. This second fort, along with an accompanying civilian vicus, was in use until the era of Emperor Hadrian. Civilian timber structures were added between the late 2nd and mid-3rd centuries to accommodate ironworking.
Around 290 AD, a large shore fort measuring 9 acres (3.57 hectares) was built. It looks much like the well-preserved example at Portchester in Hampshire. With ten-foot thick walls, it strategically controlled access to the upper extent of the River Severn. Watch towers may have once stood on the eroded cliffs to the west. Historians believe this construction to be Emperor Carausius’ response to heightened Irish raids.
To tour these and other sites from Roman Wales, visit Cadw, Wales’ historic preservation service. For a Roman Wales map showing all the Roman forts and roads in Wales, click here.
This post was all about 3 forts built in Roman Wales.
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