Trawscoed fort is an auxiliary fort of Roman Britain in Ceredigion, Wales, near the modern settlement of Trawsgoed and is cut through by the modern B4340 road. It was first built in the 70s AD. and was occupied until around 130 AD, housing up to 800 infantry in rows of barracks within the 2.1 hectares (5.2 acres) banked enclosure. At its height it could have had a total population of around 2,000 people living at the fort and its extramural vicus. It overlooks the Roman bridge over the River Ystwyth, which is where the road from Pen-Ilwyn to Llanio crosses. In 1959, this site was initially identified via aerial photography revealing a series of parchmarks covering an area of around 20,000 square metres (2 ha). Later explorations increased the knowledge of this site.
This fort was 165 metres (541 ft) by 125 metres (410 ft) and stands on level ground 63 metres (207 ft) above sea level. It was surrounded by a ditch 3 metres (9.8 ft) wide and .9 metres (3.0 ft) deep. Inside this ditch was a clay and turf rampart which was 4.1 metres (13 ft) wide, and it had a clay and turf revetment. The rampart had a gate in each side, and its corners were rounded. Inside the fort, there were rows of barracks for up to 800 infantry. The commander's house, granaries, and headquarters were situated alongside the central range. There were also settlements and other ancillary features outside the walls and ditch. There is evidence that the whole settlement was built and rebuilt at least three times in all.
The fort is situated towards the north end of a string of such forts, built along a connecting road that led from the legionary fortress at Caerleon. The principle forts are spaced to be a day's march from their neighbour, allowing safe movement of troops across what would at least initially have been hostile territory.
Exploration of the northeastern portion of the fort revealed evidence of a large timber building. This evidence was the trench left by the remains of a wall running along the northwest–southeast axis. There were also two metal-clad post holes. Another building aligned in the same direction was beside the via decumana, evidenced by two wall trenches 7.8m apart and 6.8m long. A cobbled yard lay just to the east of this building. A clay oven was found in 1984 inside this building; however, this clay oven may not be contemporary with the building, and its location might just be a coincidence. This oven was sealed with clay after a fire was built during the Flavian dynasty. Further wall trenches were dug through the remains of this building, and they indicate the presence of a later building 8.5m long and 6.75m wide with a passageway on the eastern side. Two drains aligned on the northwest–southeast axis cut through this building. The occupation of this site occurred during 70 to 120 AD, with a period of abandonment around 100 AD.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
Trawscoed fort is an auxiliary fort of Roman Britain in Ceredigion, Wales, near the modern settlement of Trawsgoed and is cut through by the modern B4340 road. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a fort site from the Roman period in Britain.
Trawscoed 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 Pen-Llwyn fort (8.9 km), Bremia (16.4 km), Cae Gaer Roman fort (16.9 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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