- Caersws Roman Forts
The Caersws Roman Forts were two forts in the
Roman province of what was to becomeBritannia Superior . Their originalLatin names are unknown, although they may have been called Mediomanum. Their remains lie beneath and adjacent toCaersws in the Welsh county ofPowys .Campaign camp
The first fort at Caersws was built in a bend of the
River Severn at Llwyn-y-Brain, three quarters of a mile east of the present village. It is large for such a fort and may have been erected in the reign of eitherClaudius orNero .Auxiliary fort
About AD
78 , the campaigning camp was replaced by a permanent square fort forRoman auxiliary troops as the conquest ofRoman Wales was consolidated. It was smaller and built closer to the confluence of the Rivers Carno and Severn on the site of present-day Caersws. A bank and triple ditch enclosed 7.75 acres (3.18 hectares). The headquarters building of the surrounding fort walls were rebuilt in stone around200 . There was a military bath house and a civilianvicus . Occupation lasted into the early4th century .Name
Either or both of the forts may have been called "Mediomanum", a name which appears in the
Ravenna Cosmography . The location fits the Caersws forts, although historians such as Rivet and Smith identify this entry withMediolanum of Ptolemy and theAntonine Itinerary , further east.References
*cite book | last = Rivet | first = A L F | coauthors = Smith, Colin | title = The Place-Names of Roman Britain | publisher = B T Batsford | date = 1979 | location = London
*cite web | last = White | first = Kevan W | title = Mediomanum?: Large Roman Fort & Minor Romano-British Settlement | work = Roman-Britain.org | date = 2006 | url = http://www.roman-britain.org/places/caersws.htm | accessdate = 2007-02-16External links
* [http://www.roman-britain.org/places/caersws.htm Caersws Roman Forts on the Roman Britain website]
* [http://www.gtj.org.uk/item.php?lang=en&id=21630&t=1 A gold coin from the Roman fort at Caersws on Gathering the Jewels]
* [http://www.gtj.org.uk/item.php?lang=en&id=13369&t=1 An aerial photo of Caersws Roman site taken in 1995]
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