Cefn Caer is a Roman auxiliary fort situated on a slight ridge above the floodplain of the River Dyfi near Pennal, Gwynedd, occupying a strategic position controlling the lowest practical crossing of the Dyfi and the route between the forts at Tomen-y-Mur and Caer Gai to the north-east and the coastal/inland network of mid-Wales. It was established during the Flavian conquest of Wales (c. AD 75–80), likely under Frontinus or Agricola, and appears to have been held into the 2nd century, with occupation probably contracting in line with the wider thinning of the Welsh garrison.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
The fort formed part of the dense lattice of auxiliary garrisons imposed on the Ordovices and the Silurian/Demetian borderlands after the Flavian campaigns, and is significant as the western anchor of the east–west route across mid-Wales (the so-called Sarn Helen corridor linking with Brithdir and the Dyfi estuary). Its position also suggests a role in monitoring riverine and possibly coastal traffic on the Dyfi.
The playing-card outline of the fort (roughly 1.5 ha) is visible as low earthworks and parchmarks, and geophysical survey (notably work associated with the Roman Gask Project comparanda and Welsh RCAHMW investigations, with more recent
Cefn Caer is a Roman auxiliary fort situated on a slight ridge above the floodplain of the River Dyfi near Pennal, Gwynedd, occupying a strategic position controlling the lowest practical crossing of the Dyfi and the route between the forts at Tomen-y-Mur and Caer Gai to the north-east and the coastal/inland network of mid-Wales. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a fort site from the Roman period in Britain.
Cefn Caer 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 Pen-Llwyn fort (20.2 km), Cae Gaer Roman fort (21.7 km), Trawscoed fort (27.8 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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