Battlefields›Agricola's Defeat of the Ordovices
Roman Period

Agricola's Defeat of the Ordovices

77
Merionethshire, Wales
Era
Roman Period
Battle Type
Pitched Battle
Location
Merionethshire, Wales
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Ordovices
VS
Victor
Romans
Outcome
The Ordovices were nearly exterminated by Agricola's forces; he then rapidly conquered Anglesey, their final stronghold, completing the Roman conquest of Wales.
The Battle

History & Significance

Agricola's Defeat of the Ordovices was a Roman pitched battle between opposing field armies, fought in the area of Merionethshire, Wales in 77. The victor was Romans. The Ordovices were nearly exterminated by Agricola's forces; he then rapidly conquered Anglesey, their final stronghold, completing the Roman conquest of Wales.

The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Agricola's Defeat of the Ordovices lies on Unnamed Igneous Intrusion, Ordovician To Silurian, bedrock that formed in the Silurian. The rock here is mafic igneous-rock.

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Everything a full report reveals about Agricola's Defeat of the Ordovices

This page covers Agricola's Defeat of the Ordovices. 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
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
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
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Agricola's Defeat of the Ordovices

Anti-invasion Defences 2000m NE of Cwmrhwyddfor Farm
Anti-invasion Defences 2000m NE of Cwmrhwyddfor Farm
Scheduled monument · Post Medieval/Modern · ~1.8 mi

Anti-invasion Defences 2000m NE of Cwmrhwyddfor Farm is a post-medieval or modern anti-tank obstacle situated in rural Wales. The structure was constructed to defend against potential invasion, forming part of the wider network of defensive works built across Britain during periods of military th…

Philip Halling / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Pentre Farm Barrow
Pentre Farm Barrow
Scheduled monument · Prehistoric · ~2.6 mi

Pentre Farm Barrow is a prehistoric round barrow located in Wales and protected by Cadw as a scheduled monument under reference ME248. Round barrows of this type were constructed during the Bronze Age, typically serving as burial monuments for individuals of status within their communities. The m…

Eric Jones / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Moel Offrwm Lower Camp
Moel Offrwm Lower Camp
Scheduled monument · Prehistoric · ~2.7 mi

Moel Offrwm Lower Camp is a prehistoric hillfort situated in Wales on bedrock of Ordovician age. The underlying geology consists of unnamed extrusive rocks of mafic composition, formed when lava erupted during the Ordovician period hundreds of millions of years ago. This volcanic foundation provi…

David Medcalf / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Llyn Gafr Standing Stone
Llyn Gafr Standing Stone
Scheduled monument · Prehistoric · ~2.7 mi

Llyn Gafr Standing Stone is a prehistoric monolith located in Wales and protected by Cadw as a scheduled monument under reference ME219. The stone rises from bedrock composed of mafic igneous rock belonging to an unnamed Ordovician to Silurian intrusion, which formed during the Silurian period. T…

Nigel Brown / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Cymer Abbey
Cymer Abbey
Scheduled monument · Medieval · ~2.7 mi

Cymer Abbey is a Cistercian monastery founded in the early thirteenth century in the Meirionnydd valley in North Wales. The abbey was established around 1198 and operated as a daughter house of Valle Crucis Abbey until its dissolution in 1536 as part of Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries…

Dorothea Witter-Rieder / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Anti-invasion Defences 630m E of Cae'r-tyddyn
Anti-invasion Defences 630m E of Cae'r-tyddyn
Scheduled monument · Post Medieval/Modern · ~2.8 mi

Anti-invasion Defences 630m E of Cae'r-tyddyn is a post-medieval anti-tank obstacle situated in Wales. The structure represents the defensive preparations undertaken during the twentieth century, when the threat of invasion prompted the construction of barriers across vulnerable landscape. Built…

Lewis Clarke / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Maes Coch Hut Circles
Scheduled monument · Prehistoric · ~0.8 miles
Maes Coch Deserted Rural Settlement
Scheduled monument · Medieval · ~0.8 miles
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In the same landscape

Battles near Agricola's Defeat of the Ordovices

Battle of Al Faw (2003)
2003
~10.7 miles away
Veranius Campaign against the Silures, 58 AD
58
~11 miles away
Agricola's Destruction of the Ordovices, 78 AD
78
~13.3 miles away
Siege of Harlech Castle 1647
1647
~14 miles away
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