Caer Llugwy
Encyclopedia
Caer Llugwy, or Bryn-y-Gefeiliau, is the site of a Roman fort in a loop of the Afon Llugwy near Capel Curig
in Conwy
, Wales. It is notable in that there has been little development in the surrounding landscape: the valley in which it is situated being much as it was 2000 years ago. It is a Scheduled Historic Monument. The remains are on private land.
of around 500 men who policed the local population and controlled communications through the Llugwy and neighbouring valleys. There is a possibility that the outpost was also intended to control mining operations in the nearby hills, hence its Welsh name: Bryn-y-Gefeiliau; "Hill of the Smithies". It was drastically altered when a second fort was built in stone over its eastern defenses around AD 120; effectively leaving a western annex of about 0.8 hectares (2 acre).
This annex later contained a large courtyard building, thought to be a mansio
, whose remains still exist up to a metre in height. It is thought that the site was abandoned as a military garrison around the middle of the second century, although there is some evidence that it was reoccupied intermittently after this date, probably as a posting station as the building of a mansio attests. Much of the surrounding buildings and field walls are constructed with stone from the site.
Capel Curig
Capel Curig is a village and community in Conwy County Borough, in Wales. It lies in the heart of Snowdonia, on the River Llugwy, and has a population of 226...
in Conwy
Conwy
Conwy is a walled market town and community in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales. The town, which faces Deganwy across the River Conwy, formerly lay in Gwynedd and prior to that in Caernarfonshire. Conwy has a population of 14,208...
, Wales. It is notable in that there has been little development in the surrounding landscape: the valley in which it is situated being much as it was 2000 years ago. It is a Scheduled Historic Monument. The remains are on private land.
Background
From the conquest of Wales onwards the Romans attempted to contain guerrilla resistance in the highland areas by surrounding the mountains with a network of forts and roads in the valleys. Founded around AD 90, Caer Llugwy housed an auxiliary cohortCohort (military unit)
A cohort was the basic tactical unit of a Roman legion following the reforms of Gaius Marius in 107 BC.-Legionary cohort:...
of around 500 men who policed the local population and controlled communications through the Llugwy and neighbouring valleys. There is a possibility that the outpost was also intended to control mining operations in the nearby hills, hence its Welsh name: Bryn-y-Gefeiliau; "Hill of the Smithies". It was drastically altered when a second fort was built in stone over its eastern defenses around AD 120; effectively leaving a western annex of about 0.8 hectares (2 acre).
This annex later contained a large courtyard building, thought to be a mansio
Mansio
In the Roman Empire, a mansio was an official stopping place on a Roman road, or via, maintained by the central government for the use of officials and those on official business whilst travelling.-Background:The roads which traversed the Ancient World, were later surveyed,...
, whose remains still exist up to a metre in height. It is thought that the site was abandoned as a military garrison around the middle of the second century, although there is some evidence that it was reoccupied intermittently after this date, probably as a posting station as the building of a mansio attests. Much of the surrounding buildings and field walls are constructed with stone from the site.