Battlefields›Agricola's Destruction of the Ordovices, 78 AD
Roman Period

Agricola's Destruction of the Ordovices, 78 AD

78
Wales
Era
Roman Period
Battle Type
Skirmish
Location
Wales
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Ordovices
VS
Victor
Agricola (Rome)
Outcome
The Ordovices tribe was 'all but exterminated' (Tacitus); Agricola went on to seize Mona (Anglesey).
The Battle

History & Significance

Agricola's Destruction of the Ordovices, 78 AD was a Roman skirmish, fought in Wales in 78. The victor was Agricola (Rome). The Ordovices tribe was 'all but exterminated' (Tacitus); Agricola went on to seize Mona (Anglesey).

The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Agricola's Destruction of the Ordovices, 78 AD lies on Caradoc Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Caradocian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.

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Everything a full report reveals about Agricola's Destruction of the Ordovices, 78 AD

This page covers Agricola's Destruction of the Ordovices, 78 AD. A full Aubrey report for the area pulls together this battle alongside scheduled monuments and everything else the record holds within a few miles:

Overview
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Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
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Target Zones
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Timeline
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Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Agricola's Destruction of the Ordovices, 78 AD

Arenig Fawr Cairn
Arenig Fawr Cairn
Scheduled monument · Prehistoric · ~2.2 mi

Arenig Fawr Cairn is a prehistoric round cairn situated in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference ME257. The monument lies upon bedrock of felsic tuff, an Ordovician extrusive rock that formed during the Ordovician period when volcanic activity dominated this region of Britain. The underlyin…

Richard Law / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Castell Carn Dochan
Castell Carn Dochan
Scheduled monument · Medieval · ~2.8 mi

Castell Carn Dochan is a medieval castle located in Meirionnydd, Wales, situated on elevated terrain that commands views across the surrounding landscape. The site dates to the medieval period and represents a defensive structure characteristic of the region's fortification strategy during this e…

Eirian Evans / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Bancian Duon Hut Circle Settlement and Deserted Rural Settlement
Bancian Duon Hut Circle Settlement and Deserted Rural Settlement
Scheduled monument · Prehistoric · ~2.8 mi

Bancian Duon Hut Circle Settlement is a prehistoric unenclosed hut circle located in Wales, protected as a scheduled monument by Cadw under reference ME197. The settlement represents the remains of an ancient residential community, with structures built directly upon the landscape without defensi…

John Lucas / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Garnedd Wen Cairn
Garnedd Wen Cairn
Scheduled monument · Prehistoric · ~4.1 mi

Garnedd Wen Cairn is a prehistoric round cairn located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference ME254. The monument sits upon bedrock of Ordovician felsic tuff, formed as extrusive volcanic rock during the Ordovician period over 450 million years ago. This ancient geological foundation prov…

Rude Health / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Tomen y Bala Castle Mound
Tomen y Bala Castle Mound
Scheduled monument · Medieval · ~4.4 mi

Tomen y Bala Castle Mound is a medieval motte built on bedrock of Ashgill mudstone, siltstone and sandstone in Wales. The mound rises prominently from the local landscape, a characteristic earthwork of the Norman and early medieval period designed to support a timber palisade and central tower. I…

Llywelyn2000 / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Pont Tai-Hirion Old Bridge
Pont Tai-Hirion Old Bridge
Scheduled monument · Post Medieval/Modern · ~4.5 mi

Pont Tai-Hirion Old Bridge is a post-medieval structure spanning a watercourse in Wales, protected by Cadw under the reference ME028. The bridge carries testament to Welsh communications infrastructure developed during the early modern period, when crossing points became increasingly formalised a…

Ian Medcalf / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Llechwedd Erwent Hut Circle Settlement
Scheduled monument · Prehistoric · ~2.2 miles
Caer Gai Roman Site
Scheduled monument · Roman · ~2.5 miles
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In the same landscape

Battles near Agricola's Destruction of the Ordovices, 78 AD

Glyndwr Rebel Clearance in Gwynedd 1416
1416
~11.8 miles away
Agricola's Defeat of the Ordovices
77
~13.3 miles away
Battle of Hiraethog 1022
1022
~16.2 miles away
Siege of Harlech
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~17.1 miles away
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