© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw
Dol-ddinas Roman Earthworks is a Roman practice camp located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference ME077. The site comprises earthen ramparts and ditches characteristic of temporary military installations constructed during the Roman occupation of Britain. Practice camps served as training grounds where legionaries could rehearse siege techniques, fortification construction and manoeuvres without the pressures of active campaigning.
The camp sits upon bedrock of Upper Cambrian age, comprising mudstone, siltstone and sandstone of Tremadocian formation. This geology provided stable ground suitable for constructing the regular geometric defences typical of Roman military architecture. The underlying strata would have influenced drainage and the workability of soil for digging ditches and raising ramparts.
As a practice installation rather than a permanent fort, Dol-ddinas lacks the more elaborate stone structures or long-term occupation evidence found at auxiliary forts or legionary fortresses elsewhere in Wales. The earthwork remains represent a direct record of Roman military training methodology and engineering capability deployed in the Welsh landscape, demonstrating how the occupying forces adapted their infrastructure-building practices to local topography and geological conditions.
Dol-ddinas Roman Earthworks is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference ME077. View the official record →
Dol-ddinas Roman Earthworks is a Roman practice camp located in Wales and protected by Cadw under reference ME077.
Dol-ddinas Roman Earthworks dates from the roman period, and is classified as a practice camp. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Dol-ddinas Roman Earthworks 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 ME077.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Roman Practice Camps 190m W of Llyn Hiraethlyn (1.2 km), Roman Road extending SE 650m from Llyn Hiraethlyn toward Glasgoed (1.4 km), Enclosed Hut Circle Settlement at Ffridd Bodyfuddau (3.5 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Dol-ddinas Roman Earthworks'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.
Dol-ddinas Roman Earthworks stands on Upper Cambrian, Including Tremadoc, bedrock that formed in the Tremadocian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.