Isca Augusta
Encyclopedia
Isca Augusta was a Roman
legionary
fortress and settlement, the remains of which lie beneath parts of the present-day village
of Caerleon
on the northern outskirts of the city of Newport
in South Wales
.
. The suffix Augusta appears in the Ravenna Cosmography
and was an honorific title taken from the legion stationed there. The place is commonly referred to as Isca Silurum to differentiate it from Isca Dumnoniorum
and because it lay in the territory of the Silures
tribe. However, there is no evidence that this form was used in Roman times
. The later name, Caerleon
, is derived from the Welsh
for "fortress of the legion
".
in about AD
75, when Governor Sextus Julius Frontinus
began the conquest of Roman Wales. They built a large "playing-card" shaped fort with initially a timber palisade
which was later replaced in stone. The interior was fitted out with the usual array of military buildings: a headquarters building, legate's residence, tribunes' houses, hospital, large bath house, workshops, barrack blocks, granaries and an amphitheatre
.
By the 120s, detachments or vexillations of the legion
were needed elsewhere in the province and Isca became more of a military base than a garrison. However, it is thought that each cohort
still maintained a presence at the fortress. When Septimus Severus seized power in the 190s, he had Isca refurbished and the legion were in residence rebuilding themselves after heavy losses on the Continent. Further restoration took place under Caracalla
, when the south-west gate was rebuilt, the amphitheatre remodelled and barrack blocks re-roofed and otherwise repaired. The legion may have been called away to fight for one of the many emperors claiming power in the late 3rd century. Although most of the fort lay empty, a 'caretaker' squad are thought to have maintained the facilities and there was reoccupation and rebuilding work as late as the 270s. The main military structures are thought to have finally been demolished by the usurpers, Carausius
or Allectus
, when the legion was needed to repel a potential invasion from the Continent. The stone from Isca may have been used for building defences on the south coast. There may still have been an occasional military presence as late as the early 4th century, but the fortress was probably later taken over by the people of the surrounding vicus
. The basilica of the baths was used as a cattle pen.
Recent finds suggest Roman occupation of some kind as late as AD 380.
(followed by Bede
), Roman Caerleon was the site of two early Christian martyrdoms in Britain, at the same time as that of Saint Alban
the first British martyr, who was killed in the Roman city of Verulamium
(beside modern-day St Albans
). He writes:
This city of the legions is identified with Caerleon, rather than Chester
, because there were two medieval chapels there dedicated to each of these martyrs. They were probably executed in 304, during the religious persecutions of Diocletian
's reign. However, these chapels may have been founded as a result of Bede's writings and cannot be dated archaeologically any earlier than the church of St John's in Chester which is also situated next to an amphitheatre.
's Round Table
', but there is no known connection. An initial investigation in 1909 showed the potential for a full-scale excavation of the structure, which began in 1926 and was supervised by Victor Erle Nash-Williams
. This revealed, among other things, that the amphitheatre had been built around AD 90, but had twice been partially reconstructed, once in the early part of the 2nd century, and again about a hundred years later. The arena is oval in shape, with eight entrances, and the stadium is thought to have had a capacity of around six thousand spectators http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/550110.
Substantial archeologically excavated Roman remains of the Roman fortress can be seen at Caerleon
.
Cadw
administers:
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
legionary
Legionary
The Roman legionary was a professional soldier of the Roman army after the Marian reforms of 107 BC. Legionaries had to be Roman citizens under the age of 45. They enlisted in a legion for twenty-five years of service, a change from the early practice of enlisting only for a campaign...
fortress and settlement, the remains of which lie beneath parts of the present-day village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
of Caerleon
Caerleon
Caerleon is a suburban village and community, situated on the River Usk in the northern outskirts of the city of Newport, South Wales. Caerleon is a site of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable Roman legionary fortress, Isca Augusta, and an Iron Age hill fort...
on the northern outskirts of the city of Newport
Newport
Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...
in South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
.
Name
The Brythonic name Isca means "water" and refers to the River UskRiver Usk
The River Usk rises on the northern slopes of the Black Mountain of mid-Wales, in the easternmost part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Initially it flows north into Usk Reservoir, then east by Sennybridge to Brecon before turning southeast to flow by Talybont-on-Usk, Crickhowell and...
. The suffix Augusta appears in the Ravenna Cosmography
Ravenna 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....
and was an honorific title taken from the legion stationed there. The place is commonly referred to as Isca Silurum to differentiate it from Isca Dumnoniorum
Isca Dumnoniorum
Isca Dumnoniorum was a town in the Roman province of Britannia and the capital of Dumnonia in the sub-Roman period. Today it is known as Exeter, located in the English county of Devon.-Fortress:...
and because it lay in the territory of the Silures
Silures
The Silures were a powerful and warlike tribe of ancient Britain, occupying approximately the counties of Monmouthshire, Breconshire and Glamorganshire of present day South Wales; and possibly Gloucestershire and Herefordshire of present day England...
tribe. However, there is no evidence that this form was used in Roman times
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
. The later name, Caerleon
Caerleon
Caerleon is a suburban village and community, situated on the River Usk in the northern outskirts of the city of Newport, South Wales. Caerleon is a site of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable Roman legionary fortress, Isca Augusta, and an Iron Age hill fort...
, is derived from the Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
for "fortress of the legion
Roman legion
A Roman legion normally indicates the basic ancient Roman army unit recruited specifically from Roman citizens. The organization of legions varied greatly over time but they were typically composed of perhaps 5,000 soldiers, divided into maniples and later into "cohorts"...
".
Fortress
Isca became the headquarters of the 2nd Legion AugustaLegio II Augusta
Legio secunda Augusta , was a Roman legion, levied by Gaius Vibius Pansa Caetronianus in 43 BC, and still operative in Britannia in the 4th century...
in about AD
Anno Domini
and Before Christ are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars....
75, when Governor Sextus Julius Frontinus
Sextus Julius Frontinus
Sextus Julius Frontinus was one of the most distinguished Roman aristocrats of the late 1st century AD, but is best known to the post-Classical world as an author of technical treatises, especially one dealing with the aqueducts of Rome....
began the conquest of Roman Wales. They built a large "playing-card" shaped fort with initially a timber palisade
Palisade
A palisade is a steel or wooden fence or wall of variable height, usually used as a defensive structure.- Typical construction :Typical construction consisted of small or mid sized tree trunks aligned vertically, with no spacing in between. The trunks were sharpened or pointed at the top, and were...
which was later replaced in stone. The interior was fitted out with the usual array of military buildings: a headquarters building, legate's residence, tribunes' houses, hospital, large bath house, workshops, barrack blocks, granaries and an amphitheatre
Amphitheatre
An amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment and performances.There are two similar, but distinct, types of structure for which the word "amphitheatre" is used: Ancient Roman amphitheatres were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used...
.
By the 120s, detachments or vexillations of the legion
Roman legion
A Roman legion normally indicates the basic ancient Roman army unit recruited specifically from Roman citizens. The organization of legions varied greatly over time but they were typically composed of perhaps 5,000 soldiers, divided into maniples and later into "cohorts"...
were needed elsewhere in the province and Isca became more of a military base than a garrison. However, it is thought that each cohort
Cohort (military unit)
A cohort was the basic tactical unit of a Roman legion following the reforms of Gaius Marius in 107 BC.-Legionary cohort:...
still maintained a presence at the fortress. When Septimus Severus seized power in the 190s, he had Isca refurbished and the legion were in residence rebuilding themselves after heavy losses on the Continent. Further restoration took place under Caracalla
Caracalla
Caracalla , was Roman emperor from 198 to 217. The eldest son of Septimius Severus, he ruled jointly with his younger brother Geta until he murdered the latter in 211...
, when the south-west gate was rebuilt, the amphitheatre remodelled and barrack blocks re-roofed and otherwise repaired. The legion may have been called away to fight for one of the many emperors claiming power in the late 3rd century. Although most of the fort lay empty, a 'caretaker' squad are thought to have maintained the facilities and there was reoccupation and rebuilding work as late as the 270s. The main military structures are thought to have finally been demolished by the usurpers, Carausius
Carausius
Marcus Aurelius Mausaeus Valerius Carausius was a military commander of the Roman Empire in the 3rd century. He was a Menapian from Belgic Gaul, who usurped power in 286, declaring himself emperor in Britain and northern Gaul. He did this only 13 years after the Gallic Empire of the Batavian...
or Allectus
Allectus
Allectus was a Roman usurper-emperor in Britain and northern Gaul from 293 to 296.-History:Allectus was treasurer to Carausius, a Menapian officer in the Roman navy who had seized power in Britain and northern Gaul in 286...
, when the legion was needed to repel a potential invasion from the Continent. The stone from Isca may have been used for building defences on the south coast. There may still have been an occasional military presence as late as the early 4th century, but the fortress was probably later taken over by the people of the surrounding 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...
. The basilica of the baths was used as a cattle pen.
Recent finds suggest Roman occupation of some kind as late as AD 380.
Christian martyrs
According to the GildasGildas
Gildas was a 6th-century British cleric. He is one of the best-documented figures of the Christian church in the British Isles during this period. His renowned learning and literary style earned him the designation Gildas Sapiens...
(followed by Bede
Bede
Bede , also referred to as Saint Bede or the Venerable Bede , was a monk at the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth, today part of Sunderland, England, and of its companion monastery, Saint Paul's, in modern Jarrow , both in the Kingdom of Northumbria...
), Roman Caerleon was the site of two early Christian martyrdoms in Britain, at the same time as that of Saint Alban
Saint Alban
Saint Alban was the first British Christian martyr. Along with his fellow saints Julius and Aaron, Alban is one of three martyrs remembered from Roman Britain. Alban is listed in the Church of England calendar for 22 June and he continues to be venerated in the Anglican, Catholic, and Orthodox...
the first British martyr, who was killed in the Roman city of Verulamium
Verulamium
Verulamium was an ancient town in Roman Britain. It was sited in the southwest of the modern city of St Albans in Hertfordshire, Great Britain. A large portion of the Roman city remains unexcavated, being now park and agricultural land, though much has been built upon...
(beside modern-day St Albans
St Albans
St Albans is a city in southern Hertfordshire, England, around north of central London, which forms the main urban area of the City and District of St Albans. It is a historic market town, and is now a sought-after dormitory town within the London commuter belt...
). He writes:
This city of the legions is identified with Caerleon, rather than Chester
Deva Victrix
Deva Victrix, or simply Deva, was a legionary fortress and town in the Roman province of Britannia. The settlement evolved into Chester, the county town of Cheshire, England...
, because there were two medieval chapels there dedicated to each of these martyrs. They were probably executed in 304, during the religious persecutions of Diocletian
Diocletian
Diocletian |latinized]] upon his accession to Diocletian . c. 22 December 244 – 3 December 311), was a Roman Emperor from 284 to 305....
's reign. However, these chapels may have been founded as a result of Bede's writings and cannot be dated archaeologically any earlier than the church of St John's in Chester which is also situated next to an amphitheatre.
Amphitheatre
Because of its rounded form, the unexcavated amphitheatre was known to locals as 'King ArthurKing Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
's Round Table
Round Table (Camelot)
The Round Table is King Arthur's famed table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his Knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that everyone who sits there has equal status. The table was first described in 1155 by Wace, who relied on previous depictions of...
', but there is no known connection. An initial investigation in 1909 showed the potential for a full-scale excavation of the structure, which began in 1926 and was supervised by Victor Erle Nash-Williams
Victor Erle Nash-Williams
Victor Erle Nash-Williams was a noted Welsh archaeologist.Educated at the Lewis School, Pengam, and at the University College in Cardiff, he was appointed Keeper at the National Museum of Wales...
. This revealed, among other things, that the amphitheatre had been built around AD 90, but had twice been partially reconstructed, once in the early part of the 2nd century, and again about a hundred years later. The arena is oval in shape, with eight entrances, and the stadium is thought to have had a capacity of around six thousand spectators http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/550110.
Harbour
In August 2011 it was announced that the remains of a Roman harbour had been discovered in Caerleon .Remains
Caerleon
Caerleon is a suburban village and community, situated on the River Usk in the northern outskirts of the city of Newport, South Wales. Caerleon is a site of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable Roman legionary fortress, Isca Augusta, and an Iron Age hill fort...
.
Cadw
Cadw
-Conservation and Protection:Many of Wales's great castles and other monuments, such as bishop's palaces, historic houses, and ruined abbeys, are now in Cadw's care. Cadw does not own them but is responsible for their upkeep and for making them accessible to the public...
administers:
- The military amphitheatreAmphitheatreAn amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment and performances.There are two similar, but distinct, types of structure for which the word "amphitheatre" is used: Ancient Roman amphitheatres were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used...
, one of the most impressive in Britain - Part of the military bath house, with the Roman Baths Museum in situ above it
- Prysg Field Barracks, the only Roman legionary barracks visible in Europe
- The fortress wall, still standing twelve feet high in places
- The National Roman Legion MuseumNational Roman Legion MuseumThe National Roman Legion Museum is one of the National Museums of Wales. It is located in Caerleon in the city of Newport, south-east Wales .-Background and History:...
, located in the village, is part of the National Museums and Galleries of Wales. The museum exhibits artifacts and finds from excavations throughout the village including Roman currencyRoman currencyThe Roman currency during most of the Roman Republic and the western half of the Roman Empire consisted of coins including the aureus , the denarius , the sestertius , the dupondius , and the as...
, weapons, uniform etc.
External links
- The Caerleon Research Committee
- Cadw - Caerleon Amphitheatre, Barracks and Baths - official site for visiting
- Caerleon Legionary Fortress page at the Community Archaeology Forum of the Council for British Archaeology
- Caerleon amphitheatre from Gathering the Jewels
- Caerleon on the Roman Britain website