Wonastow is the site of a Roman auxiliary fort located in Monmouthshire, just west of the small Roman town of Blestium (Monmouth), identified through aerial photography and partially investigated by excavation in the early 2000s. It likely dates to the early Flavian period (c. AD 70s), associated with the Roman conquest and consolidation of South Wales under Frontinus, and probably went out of use within a generation as the frontier stabilised.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
The fort fills a gap in the network of early military installations linking Usk (Burrium), Abergavenny (Gobannium), and the iron-working zone of the Forest of Dean, and helps explain the Roman interest in the Monmouth area, where Blestium later emerged as a small civilian centre tied to iron production. Its discovery has refined understanding of the dense early Flavian campaign infrastructure in the Welsh Marches.
Cropmark evidence indicated a rectangular enclosure with rounded corners typical of an auxiliary fort, and limited excavation recovered ditch profiles, rampart traces, and early Roman pottery consistent with a short-lived Flavian occupation. Little has been published in detail, and the internal layout, garrison, and precise duration of use remain largely unknown.
Wonastow is the site of a Roman auxiliary fort located in Monmouthshire, just west of the small Roman town of Blestium (Monmouth), identified through aerial photography and partially investigated by excavation in the early 2000s. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a fort site from the Roman period in Britain.
Wonastow 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 Blestium (3.2 km), Cwmcarfan (3.9 km), Roman Villa at Clearwell Farm (9.2 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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