Caerphilly Roman fort was a small auxiliary installation established in the late 1st century CE, probably during the Flavian conquest of the Silures under Frontinus (c. 74–78 CE). It sits within the network of forts and marching camps controlling the South Wales valleys, positioned roughly midway on the route between the legionary supply base at Cardiff and the fort at Gelligaer to the north. The fort was relatively short-lived, likely abandoned by the early 2nd century as the region was pacified and the garrison network thinned.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
Its primary role was the military control of the upland Silurian territory and the maintenance of communications through the valley system between the coastal plain and the interior forts at Gelligaer, Penydarren and Brecon Gaer. It is one of the smaller links in the dense Flavian garrison grid imposed on southeast Wales, rather than a site of independent strategic prominence.
The Roman fort lies beneath the later, far more famous 13th-century castle of Caerphilly, and its remains are consequently very poorly known; it was identified largely through stray Roman finds and limited observations during works around the castle, with no extensive modern excavation of the Roman levels. No clear plan of defences or internal buildings has been recovered, and its size, garrison type, and precise occupation span all remain uncertain.
Caerphilly Roman fort was a small auxiliary installation established in the late 1st century CE, probably during the Flavian conquest of the Silures under Frontinus (c. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a fort site from the Roman period in Britain.
Caerphilly Roman fort is classified as a Roman fort — a military site in the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer. Roman Britain's archaeology encompasses thousands of sites ranging from legionary fortresses and marching camps to villas, temples and towns.
Several Roman sites lie within a short distance, including Gelligaer (10 km), Gelligaer Roman Fort II (10 km), Tamion? (11 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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