Gwynedd Archaeological
Trust Regional Historic Environment Record
Roman Activity, Area of, Caernarfon
Primary Reference Number (PRN) : 92420 Trust : Gwynedd Community : Caernarfon Unitary authority : Gwynedd NGR : SH4845562509 Site Type (preferred type first) : ROMAN OCCUPATION SITE / ROMAN SETTLEMENT
Summary : An area of activity associated with a roadside viscus, and the nearby fort of Segontium.
Description : The excavated area lies to the east of what appears to be a vicus if it is assumed that the ‘ill-defined remains of wooden booths or hutments’ identified by Wheeler lie alongside the Roman road. There has been little excavation in similar areas in Wales but geophysical surveys have indicated that there was considerable activity to the rear of vicus buildings. This is particularly evident at Canovium where there are large numbers of thermoremnant anomalies and/or pits in a comparable area (Hopewell 2005). These somewhat peripheral areas are potentially of great interest because they could provide information both about the activities that were carried out in the vicus buildings and about craft/light industrial activity associated with the fort.
The number of features, principally ovens, wells and pits, and the amount of Roman finds from the excavation indicate that this was an area of intense and sustained activity almost certainly associated with a roadside vicus. The range of finds suggests activity from the late first/early second century until at least the third. The ovens could indicate either bread-making or metalworking. The wells were presumably dug to provide water for the inhabitants of the vicus (Hopewell, 2020).
