Scheduled MonumentsWalesCaerleon Legionary Fortress
Roman · Legionary Fortress

Caerleon Legionary Fortress

Wales
Cadw SAM MM230
Period
Roman
Site type
Legionary Fortress
Broad class
Defence
Nation
Wales
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw

Overview

History & significance

Caerleon Legionary Fortress is a Roman military establishment located in Monmouthshire, Wales, which served as a legionary fortress from the late first century AD onwards. The fortress was occupied by the Second Augustan Legion and represents one of the most substantial Roman military installations in Britain, with substantial remains including the amphitheatre, barracks, and portions of the defensive circuit still visible today. Built initially around AD 75 under the direction of the Roman military administration in Britain, the fortress continued in use for approximately two centuries as a key strategic stronghold in the conquest and occupation of Wales. The archaeological deposits and surviving structures at Caerleon provide crucial evidence for understanding Roman military organisation, engineering practice, and settlement patterns in the Welsh frontier zone.

Caerleon Legionary Fortress is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference MM230. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Caerleon Legionary Fortress?

Caerleon Legionary Fortress is a Roman military establishment located in Monmouthshire, Wales, which served as a legionary fortress from the late first century AD onwards. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference MM230.

What period does Caerleon Legionary Fortress date from?

Caerleon Legionary Fortress dates from the roman period, and is classified as a legionary fortress. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.

Who is responsible for protecting Caerleon Legionary Fortress?

Caerleon Legionary Fortress 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 MM230.

What other scheduled monuments are near Caerleon Legionary Fortress?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including St Julian's Wood Camp (1.5 km), Newport Castle (3.3 km), St. Mary's Churchyard Cross, Llanwern (4.3 km).

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Everything a full report reveals about Caerleon Legionary Fortress

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Caerleon Legionary Fortress'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 Caerleon Legionary Fortress

Caerleon Legionary Fortress stands on Lower Devonian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Early Devonian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.