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Roman Fort, Caerphilly
Primary Reference Number (PRN) : 00697m
Trust : Glamorgan Gwent
Community : Caerphilly
Unitary authority : Caerphilly
NGR : ST15388729
Site Type (preferred type first) : Roman Fort
Summary :
Roman auxillary fort, occupied 1st-2nd century. The defences consisted of a clay and turf rampart on a cobble foundation and double ditch, with a metalled surface, presumably the via sagularis adjacent to the rampart. Foundation trenches for at least three phases of timber building probably represented barrack blocks.
Description :
The fort at Caerphilly was discovered during excavation of part of the Civil War earthwork north-west of Caerphilly Castle in 1963, when two trenches were dug near its northern corner. One trench ran through the north-western defences where they had been badly disturbed by the Civil War earthwork, and the other through the north-eastern defences. Geophysical survey located possible evidence for ditches on the south-eastern and south-western sides; if this is correct, the fort would measure about 120x150m, with an internal area of c1.7 hectares.
The fort was constructed midway between Cardiff and Gelligaer in a basin between Caerphilly Mountain and Mynydd Eglwysilan, on a glacial mound, commanding good views of these mountains and the Rhymney Valley. The defences consisted of a rampart and double ditch. A metalled surface on a bed of larger stones ran inside the rampart, presumably the via sagularis. Foundation trenches for at least three phases of timber building probably represented barrack blocks. There was also a hearth in the first phase.
The rampart was constructed of clay and turf on a cobble foundation, with a low bank of small stones against the back, apparently to consolidate its tail. One posthole of a palisade was found in the top of the rampart, which was 7.3m wide and preserved to a maximum height of c0.6m. The two V-shaped ditches, about 1.5m apart, were each about 3m wide at the top and 1m deep. Against the outer scarp of the inner ditch was a concentration of building stone, interpreted by the excavator as a revetment to support a bank of stones and clay between the ditches to increase their depth. The material from this postulated bank formed the fill of the outer ditch.
Pottery suggests a date-range from the 70s until at least the middle of the 2nd century.
Evans 2011
he Roman fort at Caerphilly, although suspected by certain antiquarians (e.g. Camden 1637; written c 1540), was not located until 1963, when excavations on the site of the Civil War Redoubt also revealed traces of the Roman defences (Lewis 1966). The investigations were brief, and as the excavator commented, they had only sought to determine its [the fort] existence and to follow up the discovery would have been beyond the scope of the excavation (Lewis 1966, 69).
The excavations, coupled with a resistivity survey (reported in Jarrett 1969), have established the broad plan of the installation. It has been shown to be located on a low mound of glacial drift, the central part of which is now a flat-topped tree-covered earthwork. The line of the south and east walls has not been determined; the southeast corner of the fort may have extended into the area now occupied by the lake associated with the medieval castle. Pottery evidence from the excavations tentatively suggest that the fort was established c AD 75, and certainly during the last quarter of the 1st century. Three main phases of activity were detected, with occupation continuing into the middle of the 2nd century (Jarrett 1969, 64-5). The location of any vicus has certainly yet to be ascertained, although negative evidence abounds. Roman finds have been markedly absent from recent archaeological works immediately east and south of the medieval castle.
Pearson 2002, 13-14.
Sources :
Evans, E. , 2010 , Caerphilly
Jarrett, M. G. , 1969 , Roman Frontier In Wales
Lewis, J M , 1966 , The Roman fort and Civil War earthwork at Caerphilly castle, Glamorgan , Archaelogia Cambrensis : 115 : 67-87
Pearson, A , 2002 , Roman roads and vici in Southeast Wales. GGAT report no. 2002/061
Wilson D.R. , 1964 , Roman Britain In 1963: Sites Explored , Journal of Roman Studies : 54 : 152-153
Wright R.P. , 1968 , Roman Britain in 1967. II. Inscriptions , Journal of Roman Studies : 58 : 210-214
03/PM Desc Text//Lewis JM/1966/Archaeol Cambrensis/Vol115 pp67-87;
02/PM List//RCAHM/1976/Glam Invent/Vol1 part2 No736;
01/MM Record Card/OS//1968/ST 18 NE 14/;
05/PM Mention//Alcock L/1963/Morgannwg/Vol7 pp125-7;
07/PM Desc Text//Hague DB/1971/Glam County Hist/pp423-6;
04/PM Desc Text/DOE//1979/Mid Glam Implication Report/4.2.2;
09/PM List//Wright RP/1968/J Roman Stud/Vol58 pp210 214
08/PM Note//Wilson DR/1964/J Roman Stud/N054 pp152-3;
06/MM Record Card/OS//1980/ST 18 NE 3 and 14/;
Events :
E005937 : Virginia Park Golf Club, Caerphilly, Glamorgan (year : 2016)
E008634 : Caerphilly Interchange (year : 2021)
Related records
GGAT Historic Environment Record (HER) 07881m
Compiled date : 01-10-1977
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February 7, 2026, 3:30 pm
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