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Emperor Claudius |
Caractacus, also known as
Caradoc, was the leader of the Silures tribe who at
the time of the Roman invasion of Britain, inhabited a large area of
what is now Monmouthshire. Caractacus' hostile attitude to Roman
authority was a contributory factor to the invasion of Britain
ordered by Emperor Claudius in AD 43.
There was a fierce battle in
A.D. 50 at the hill fort at Hereford Beacon between the Silures and
the Roman army. The battle was lost and Caractacus was captured and
taken to Rome where he so impressed Claudius that he was pardoned by
the Emperor.
The Romans had
completed their domination of South Wales by AD 90 and by that time
they had erected a fort called Isca Silurum beside the River Usk.
This became the fortress of the Second Augustan Legion and is the
most important Roman site in Wales. Isca Silurum is now known
as Caerleon-on-Usk and is a suburb of Newport.
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Caerleon
held a force of approximately 6000 men and outside its walls was
erected a stone amphitheatre to hold gladiatorial combats.
There is also a small museum at Caerleon.
There were several military
stations in this area, Abergavenny, Usk and Monmouth in
Monmouthshire, Cardhill, Neath and Loughor in Glamorgan. The
chief station of the Romans in Radnorshire was at Castle Collen near
Llandridnod Wells.
The Romans did not penetrate far
into West Wales, apart from a road to their forts at Carmarthen and
Llandovery. In fact they maintained only a brief and tenuous grip on
the native Welsh.
The Romans built numerous forts,
joined by roads, to try and subdue the Welsh. One of their largest
fortresses was built at Y Gaer, two miles upstream from Brecon, and
another at Llanio.
The Romans mined for gold in
Wales. There are still traces of the square-hewn tunnels at the
Roman mine at Dolau Cothi near the village of Pumsaint in
Carmarthenshire. DolauCothi Gold Mine is now maintained by the
National Trust .
Finds from Roman Wales can be
seen in Hereford ( near Roman Kenchester) Museum.
Useful links:
Dolaucothi Gold Mines, National Trust.
© E.P.C.
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