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Caerleon Roman Amphitheatre is a Roman amphitheatre located in Caerleon, Wales, occupying the site of the legionary fortress of Isca Silurum. Built into Lower Devonian bedrock comprising mudstone, siltstone and sandstone, the amphitheatre's sunken arena sits within the valleys and slopes characteristic of this geological formation, which has provided stable ground for the structure's survival. The monument lies protected by Cadw, the Welsh heritage agency, under reference MM232.
The amphitheatre served the fortress garrison and local population as a venue for gladiatorial combat, military training displays and public entertainment. Its elliptical arena and tiered seating demonstrate the engineering standards of Roman military architecture, adapted to the local topography and stone resources available in the Devonian bedrock beneath the Welsh valley setting.
Today the earthwork remains visible as a substantial oval depression, its banks marking the former extent of the seating tiers. The survival of the monument's form in the landscape provides evidence of the scale of Caerleon's Roman occupation and the permanence of its infrastructure within the Upper Silurian communities of South Wales during the Roman period.
Caerleon Roman Amphitheatre is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference MM232. View the official record →
Caerleon Roman Amphitheatre is a Roman amphitheatre located in Caerleon, Wales, occupying the site of the legionary fortress of Isca Silurum. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference MM232.
Caerleon Roman Amphitheatre dates from the roman period, and is classified as a amphitheatre. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Caerleon Roman Amphitheatre 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 MM232.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including St Julian's Wood Camp (1.3 km), Newport Castle (3.3 km), St. Mary's Churchyard Cross, Llanwern (4.1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Caerleon Roman Amphitheatre's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Caerleon Roman Amphitheatre stands on Lower Devonian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Early Devonian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.