Scheduled MonumentsWalesCaerau Roman Site
Roman · Fort

Caerau Roman Site

Breconshire, Wales
Cadw SAM BR148
Period
Roman
Site type
Fort
Broad class
Defence
Nation
Wales
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw

Overview

History & significance

Caerau Roman Site is a Roman fort located in Wales, protected by Cadw under reference BR148. The fort stands on bedrock composed of Ashgill Rocks, undifferentiated mudstone, siltstone and sandstone deposited during the Ashgill period. This solid geological foundation provided a stable base for the military installation's substantial timber and stone structures.

Roman forts in Wales typically served as strategic garrison points during the conquest and occupation of the province, controlling communications routes and suppressing local resistance. The Ashgill bedrock underlying Caerau would have offered good drainage for the fort's compounds, whilst the surrounding landscape provided essential resources of water and timber for construction and daily operations.

The site's preservation under Cadw's guardianship reflects its importance to understanding Roman military presence in Wales. The fort's location within the geology of the Welsh borderlands, where Ashgill rocks form part of the ancient geological framework, anchors this monument within both the military history of Roman Britain and the natural landscape that shaped settlement patterns during the Roman period.

Caerau Roman Site is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference BR148. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Caerau Roman Site?

Caerau Roman Site is a Roman fort located in Wales, protected by Cadw under reference BR148.

What period does Caerau Roman Site date from?

Caerau Roman Site dates from the roman period, and is classified as a fort. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.

Who is responsible for protecting Caerau Roman Site?

Caerau Roman Site is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Cadw — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Wales. The official designation reference is BR148.

What other scheduled monuments are near Caerau Roman Site?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Caerau Castle Mound (0.1 km), Fforest Castle Mound (1.9 km), Tynewydd Roman road (2 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Caerau Roman Site

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Caerau Roman Site's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

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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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Caerau Roman Site

Caerau Roman Site stands on Ashgill Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Ashgill. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.