Caersws Roman Forts
Encyclopedia
The Caersws Roman Forts were two forts
in the Roman province
of what was to become Britannia Superior
. Their original Latin
names are unknown, although they may have been called Mediomanum. Their remains lie beneath and adjacent to Caersws
in the Welsh
county of Powys
.
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 either Claudius
or Nero
.
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 around 200. There was a military bath house and a civilian vicus
. Occupation lasted into the early 4th century.
. The location fits the Caersws forts, although historians such as Rivet and Smith identify this entry with Mediolanum
of Ptolemy
and the Antonine Itinerary
, further east.
Castra
The Latin word castra, with its singular castrum, was used by the ancient Romans to mean buildings or plots of land reserved to or constructed for use as a military defensive position. The word appears in both Oscan and Umbrian as well as in Latin. It may have descended from Indo-European to Italic...
in the Roman province
Roman province
In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and, until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of Italy...
of what was to become Britannia Superior
Britannia Superior
Britannia Superior was one of the provinces of Roman Britain created around 197 AD by Emperor Septimus Severus immediately after winning a civil war against Clodius Albinus, a war fought to determine who would be the next emperor. Albinus was the governor of Britannia during that civil war...
. Their original Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
names are unknown, although they may have been called Mediomanum. Their remains lie beneath and adjacent to Caersws
Caersws
Caersws is a village and community sitting on the River Severn, at miles west of Newtown, Powys, and halfway between Aberystwyth and Shrewsbury.- History & Amenities :...
in the Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
county of Powys
Powys
Powys is a local-government county and preserved county in Wales.-Geography:Powys covers the historic counties of Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire, most of Brecknockshire , and a small part of Denbighshire — an area of 5,179 km², making it the largest county in Wales by land area.It is...
.
Campaign camp
The first fort at Caersws was built in a bend of the River SevernRiver Severn
The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at about , but the second longest on the British Isles, behind the River Shannon. It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon, Ceredigion near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales...
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 either Claudius
Claudius
Claudius , was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy...
or Nero
Nero
Nero , was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death....
.
Auxiliary fort
About AD 78, the campaigning camp was replaced by a permanent square fort for Roman auxiliary troops as the conquest of Roman Wales was consolidated. It was smaller and built closer to the confluence of the Rivers CarnoRiver Carno
The River Carno is a river in Powys, mid Wales....
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 around 200. There was a military bath house and a civilian vicus
Vicus (Rome)
In ancient Rome, the vicus was a neighborhood. During the Republican era, the four regiones of the city of Rome were subdivided into vici. In the 1st century BC, Augustus reorganized the city for administrative purposes into 14 regions, comprising 265 vici. Each vicus had its own board of...
. Occupation lasted into the early 4th century.
Name
Either or both of the forts may have been called Mediomanum, a name which appears in the Ravenna CosmographyRavenna Cosmography
The Ravenna Cosmography was compiled by an anonymous cleric in Ravenna around AD 700. It consists of a list of place-names covering the world from India to Ireland. Textual evidence indicates that the author frequently used maps as his source....
. The location fits the Caersws forts, although historians such as Rivet and Smith identify this entry with Mediolanum
Mediolanum
Mediolanum, the ancient Milan, was an important Celtic and then Roman centre of northern Italy. This article charts the history of the city from its settlement by the Insubres around 600 BC, through its conquest by the Romans and its development into a key centre of Western Christianity and capital...
of Ptolemy
Geographia (Ptolemy)
The Geography is Ptolemy's main work besides the Almagest...
and the Antonine Itinerary
Antonine Itinerary
The Antonine Itinerary is a register of the stations and distances along the various roads of the Roman empire, containing directions how to get from one Roman settlement to another...
, further east.