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Three Roman Camps is a Roman marching camp located northeast of Walton in Wales. Revealed through aerial photography, the site comprises three overlapping enclosures that represent successive temporary military installations. These camps would have served as overnight or short-term bases for Roman legions during their campaigns across Wales, providing shelter and defensive positions whilst on the march. The overlapping layouts suggest the camps were built at different times, possibly by different military units or during separate phases of occupation.
The camps are situated upon Wenlock Rocks, undifferentiated mudstone, siltstone and sandstone bedrock of Wenlock age. This geological foundation would have presented particular challenges for constructing the ramparts and ditches characteristic of Roman marching camps, with the stone and clay composition affecting drainage and the workability of the ground during construction.
The three enclosures are protected by Cadw under the reference number RD138. The discovery of these camps through aerial survey demonstrates the continued archaeological value of such techniques in revealing Roman military installations that leave minimal surface traces. The site provides important evidence for Roman military movements and logistics across the Welsh landscape during the period of Roman expansion and control in Britain.
Three Roman Camps (revealed by aerial photography) NE of Walton is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference RD138. View the official record →
Three Roman Camps is a Roman marching camp located northeast of Walton in Wales. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference RD138.
Three Roman Camps (revealed by aerial photography) NE of Walton dates from the roman period, and is classified as a marching camp. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Three Roman Camps (revealed by aerial photography) NE of Walton 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 RD138.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Castle Nimble (0.7 km), Old Radnor Castle (0.9 km), Worsell Wood cairn cemetery (2.1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Three Roman Camps (revealed by aerial photography) NE of Walton'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.
Three Roman Camps (revealed by aerial photography) NE of Walton stands on Wenlock Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Wenlock. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.