Caerwent (Venta Silurum) - Town

Boasting the best-preserved set of Roman town defences in Britain, the quiet village of Caerwent *** lying between Newport and Chepstow in South Wales, was once the civitas capital of the Silures people. When I first visited the site in my teens, I was hugely impressed by the town's south wall and bastions (above), which seemed better suited to a medieval castle. Since then, more buildings within the walls have been excavated and several are now on display including a temple, houses, shops, forum and basilica - giving a glimpse of town life that is unique in Roman Britain.

Background and Context

The Roman town of Caerwent occupied a strategic position on the road from Gloucester (Glevum) to the legionary base at Caerleon (Isca Augusta). The town's name (Venta Silurum) gives a clue to its function: the 'market of the Silures' was established by the Romans as a civilian centre for the local people. We know them as the Silures from Roman authors such as Tacitus, but there is little evidence that this is what the people actually called themselves.

What we do know is that unlike some of the occupants of Iron Age Britain, the area's inhabitants didn't take kindly to Roman rule, defeating a legion in battle around 51 CE before succumbing to the inevitable around 74-75 CE. Nevertheless, they eventually gained a measure of autonomy, with a large forum-basilica being established at Caerwent as a seat of local government - the body in charge being the ordo respublicae civitatis Silurum (‘council of the community of the Civitas of the Silures’), which would have met in the town's basilica (described later below).

Defences were added to the town in later years, probably during the 2nd century. At first these comprised ditches, earth banks and a timber palisade, but an upgrade in the 3rd century added stone walls and then, at a later date, stone towers or bastions on the long north and south walls (see photo above, which shows a tower on the south wall).

Caerwent (Venta Silurum) town plan - my photo of on-site signage. Visible Roman remains (and some modern buildings) are highlighted in red. Arrow added to show the location of the car park.

The discovery of late 4th century coinage at Caerwent suggests that the town was still occupied at the end of Roman rule in Britain, but little is known about its history during the subsequent early medieval period. While a small Norman motte (castle mound) was built on the south-east corner of the Roman walls (this is still visible), the town was clearly in decline in terms of size and importance. This was good news for the preservation of its archaeology, as much of the land within the old town walls still remains undeveloped. Excavations have been taking place here since 1899, and much of the Roman town's layout has been established (see plan above) - although only a few of these buildings are now visible (highlighted in red), all of which lie to the north of the main village street.

Location and Access

Modern Caerwent lies on the A48 between Newport and Chepstow. The main road runs to the north of the village centre, passing close to the northern Roman defences. To visit by car, you turn off into the village (signposted) and head for a small car park (Google Maps location here) next to the site of the Roman west gate. A bus service between Newport and Chepstow passes through Caerwent, while a less frequent service links the village with Severn Tunnel Junction station on the railway lines from Bristol and Gloucester to Newport.

Date of my Visit

The photographs in this blog post date from my visits in 2012 and (mostly) 2026. 

Exploring Caerwent 

A walking circuit starting and finishing at the car park links up most of the key sites at Caerwent. This has taken me around 2-3 hours to complete, but it can easily be shortened. It begins at the car park, where there is an information barn (below) containing several display panels.

Caerwent - information point at the car park. The paving indicates the foundations of Roman structures.

Leave the car park and turn right (west) along the lane. You quickly reach the site of the town's west gate (the road to Caerleon). All that remains is the southern wall of its southern gate tower (off picture to the left in the photo below).

Caerwent - site of the west gate

From the west gate, turn left to follow the west and then the south walls of the town's defences. There is a choice of routes; either a higher path following the top of the embankment behind the wall ...

Caerwent - view of the south town wall from the upper path

... or alternatively a lower path running outside the defences.

 

Caerwent - west town wall from the lower path.

Both have their advantages. The upper path gives better general views and allows you to appreciate the the earth banks that preceded the construction of the later stone defences. It also gives the best view of the south gate, which was later blocked (see below).

However, the lower path allows much closer inspection of the stone walls and bastions, and is probably preferable. The west wall still stands to between 3 and 5 metres in height, mostly of limestone blocks in front of the embankment. Much of the facing masonry has been robbed here; originally the wall would have stood vertically above a small plinth. No towers or bastions were built on the west wall (or the east wall for that matter); it's unclear why, as an attack could have come from any direction.

The highest remaining section of the west wall comes just before the south-west corner:

Caerwent - west town wall at the south-west corner. 

Turning the corner there is a view along the long south wall. This is the best preserved section of the town's defences, including six projecting towers or bastions. These were later additions to the town wall, and were not bonded into the main structure, as can be seen from the first (most westerly) bastion that you encounter (below). The bastions would have been hollow, presumably with upper platforms.

Caerwent - the westernmost bastion on the south wall was not bonded to the main structure.

Continuing along the south wall, two further bastions are passed before you reach the fourth which is the best preserved on the entire defensive circuit (below - and see also the first image in this blog post). Much of the facing stonework remains intact, along with holes for the timber scaffolding used by masons during construction.

Caerwent - the fourth bastion on the south wall is the best preserved. 

Just past this bastion we reach the town's south gate. This single arched entrance was blocked up in later years, with the addition of a culvert. Viewed from the lower path, the site of the gateway is not immediately obvious:

Caerwent - south gate from the lower (outside) path

But a bit further on you can climb up onto the higher path, and retrace your steps for a better view, where the arch of the gateway and the later blocking masonry are more easily seen (below).

Caerwent - south gate from the upper footpath showing the arch and blocking masonry.

Continuing eastwards along the south wall, which is less well preserved in this section, there are two more bastions before we reach the south-eastern corner of the defences. The foundations of one of these can be seen from the upper footpath (below).

Caerwent - bastion foundations near the south-east corner.

The south-eastern corner of the wall is marked by a small Norman motte sitting incongruously on the Roman defences:

Caerwent - small Norman motte on the south-eastern corner of the Roman defences

At this point you can either remain on the upper path or descend to a road that runs parallel to the east wall. Either way leads to the town's east gate, although as the lower route has no safe off-road walkway following the upper path along the rampart is recommended.

Caerwent - east wall

All that is left of the town's east gate (the road to Gloucester) is part of the southern gate tower (below) which was also not bonded to the main wall structure.

Caerwent - east gate. Only part of the southern gate tower remains.

From here there is a choice of routes. Continuing north you can follow the line of defences (below) along a lane and then next to the A48 bypass to a before cutting back towards the car park along School Lane. However, much of these sections of wall are either missing or lie within private land, so cannot be inspected closely. The north gate is just about visible to the right (west) of a former public house.

Caerwent - east wall north of the east gate

Alternatively (and in my view preferably) you can leave the defensive circuit at this point and pass through the east gate, heading west along the main street of the village (Heol Caerwent), which follows the line of the original Roman road through the town. The pub here (the Coach and Horses) remains in business (at the time of my visit) and there is also a shop/post office and public toilets. 

Walk up this street past the post office on your left, and look for a gap in the wall on your right just opposite the public toilets. (As an aside, the field on the left (south) of the road behind the toilet block was excavated by Channel 4's Time Team in 2008 - episode link here and excavation report link here.)

The gap in the wall contains a metal gate that leads to the foundations of a temple (below), which was looking a bit overgrown when I took the pictures for this blog post.

Caerwent - temple plan (my photo of on-site signage)

Caerwent - temple

The temple dates from around 330 CE and follows a classic 'Romano-Celtic' layout. The inner shrine (cella) has an unusual sanctuary annex or apse  projecting into the surrounding corridor (ambulatory). A range of five rooms was added to this area at a later date, the purpose of which is unknown. Unfortunately, it is also unclear what deity was worshipped here. The whole complex was entered through a long entrance porch at the southern end of the building, next to the main road through the town. It appears that the temple was being maintained into the late 4th century.

The path around the temple leads on to the forum-basilica complex (below), which could also have benefitted from a bit of weeding at the time of my photographs.

Caerwent - forum-basilica plan (my photo of on-site signage). The areas highlighted in yellow are visible.

Caerwent - forum-basilica, with the base of the monumental archway in the foreground. Most of the forum lies beneath the properties towards the rear of this photograph.

This was the commercial and administrative hub of the town, fulfilling a range of legal and governmental services. A paved area (at the back of the photo above) marks what can be seen of the forum, which comprised a square piazza surrounded by buildings. Like the nearby temple, its main access would have been from road through the town. The adjoining basilica was a large rectangular building with three aisles; the south aisle, also visible in the photograph above, would have been separated from the forum by an open line of columns, with a side entrance marked by a monumental archway, the base of which is the square structure in the foreground of the above photo.

Caerwent - basilica, showing the main hall in the centre flanked by aisles on either side. 

On the north side of the basilica's north aisle was a range of rooms (below) that may have been used for holding tribunals (courts of law), a council chamber (curia) and possibly a shrine. There's a lot more detail about the building in Peter Guest's paper (link here).

Caerwent - basilica - north range of rooms.

The path continues past this range of rooms and leads to a lane (School Lane). Cross this lane and continue along the lane opposite (Pound Lane). On your left are the foundations of a line of shops and houses.

Caerwent - the Pound Lane shops.

The Pound Lane buildings were a mixture of commercial and residential uses, with shops towards the northern end which joins the main east-west road through the town. The jumble of foundations is a bit tricky to interpret. At the northern end (the first section that you reach on my route) lies part of a courtyard house. The west wing  (below) lies nearest to the road, including a room (now backfilled) that contained a mosaic floor over a heated hypocaust. 

Caerwent - west wing of the Pound Lane courtyard house. In the foreground is the site of a room (now backfilled) where a mosaic was found.

The courtyard lay on the left hand side of the above photo, containing a enclosure bounded by a wall (the low wall on the left with the bushes behind) that may have been a garden. This was a standard layout for a large Roman house; another, larger example (see below) can also be inspected at Caerwent. (Given this context, the layout of the Roman town house at Dorchester (Durnovaria) in Dorset described in another blog post is unusual.)

Sited nearer to the main road through the town, the buildings at the southern end of Pound Lane were mainly shops and other commercial uses. Various phases of development have been identified.

Caerwent - workshop at the southern end of Pound Lane

The building at the southern end of Pound Lane (above) housed a variety of commercial uses between the 2nd and 4th centuries CE. At first, it was a blacksmith's shop and workshop, as evidenced by finds of a hearth and lumps of iron slag. In later years, it merged with the building to the east to create larger premises, possibly following a fire. Internal walls were added, and a new residential wing built away from the main road, suggesting that the owner had gained in prosperity - although the main workshop remained in use.

The sequence of buildings on the site is displayed on signage (below), although this was looking a bit tired and in need of cleaning (at least) or replacement when I visited. 

Caerwent - Pound Lane signage

After deciphering the Pound Lane buildings it is time to visit the last of the town's internal buildings that is now on display - another courtyard house, located in the north-western corner of the town. It is reached by retracing your steps along Pound Lane by a few metres and then bearing left (north-west) across a grassed area.

Caerwent - corner of the courtyard house.

Caerwent - courtyard house plan (on-site signage)

As can be seen from the site plan (above) this was a dwelling on a substantial scale. It dates from the early fourth century CE, and replaced a series of smaller houses on the same site. It is interesting to see that significant investment was still being made in towns like Caerwent during this period, a time where other parts of the Roman empire (notably Gaul) were experiencing invasion and civic decline.

This was a high status dwelling; evidence of mosaics and painted wall plaster was found here when the site was excavated in the early 1980s, although this is not now visible. But what you can still see are the stone pillers (pilae) remaining from hypocausts (raised floors under which hot air would circulate) in two rooms.

Caerwent - remains of hypocaust in the courtyard house

The house seems to have been occupied into the second half of the 4th century, before being abandoned. Like many other Roman structures, much of the stone was removed (robbed) for re-use or to make lime.

If you have not already inspected the north-western section of the town walls from the A48, it is possible to reach part of the circuit by following the path north past the remains of the courtyard house. This leads onto the defensive embankment which can be followed round back to your original starting point at the car park. It is not as easy to see the stonework from this side, but at one point you can look over the fence to see the town's north wall running alongside a private garden (below).

Caerwent - section of the north wall viewed from the embankment.

Final Thoughts
 

That concludes our circuit of Roman Caerwent. Generally, the site is well-presented, although (as my photos show), the signage is looking tired and some of the structures are rather overgrown. It is certainly worth getting hold of the excellent Cadw guidebook in advance of your visit, although (unlike English Heritage) it doesn't seem possible to purchase online. I bought mine at Caerleon, where the fort, baths, amphitheatre and excellent Roman Legion Museum are well worth a visit - only a 20 minute drive from Caerwent. 

As with some other Roman sites covered in this blog, I'm sure that more could be made of Caerwent's Roman heritage. While the visible remains are impressive and instructive, it is often the more detailed finds that bring a site to life, for example if there is an on-site museum where visitors can see excavated items from the town. There are plenty of excellent examples - the museums at the Roman towns of Corbridge and St Albans spring to mind, as well as the above-noted museum at Caerleon. While there are obvious resource implications, this is something that if done well can greatly enhance the attractiveness of the site for visitors and yield economic benefits as well as furthering greater understanding of the period.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

References

Ashby, Thomas (1904) 'Excavations at Caerwent in Monmouthshire.' M.A.N. 69. - link

Brewer, Richard J. (2006) Caerwent Roman Town. Cadw guidebook.

Guest, Peter (2022) 'The forum-basilica at Caerwent (Venta Silurum): a history of the Roman Silures.' Britannia 53, pp. 227-267. - link

Wessex Archaeology (2009) Caerwent Roman Town, Monmouthshire, South Wales: Archaeological Evaluation and Assessment of Results. - link

(See also the general References page of this blog).

Text and photographs (c) Mike Hetherington. Visits to sites described in this blog are at your own risk.

Rome - House of Augustus

One of the stand-out sites on Rome's Palatine Hill, the House of Augustus *** continues to attract academic argument. Whether or not this really was the home of Rome's first princeps, and (spoiler alert) it almost certainly wasn't, the building is worth visiting for its stunning and well-preserved wall decorations, giving us a first hand view of an opulent dwelling from the late republican era.

Brief Historical Background

The western corner of the Palatine Hill has been settled since the Iron Age. Here you are at the very heart of ancient Rome. The traditional 'House of Romulus', a reed hut that was rebuilt and maintained until the late 4th century CE, stood nearby (the exact location is uncertain) and by the end of the 3rd century BCE it had been joined by two important temples (the Temples of Victory and of the Great Mother). Two large dwellings (now known as the Houses of Augustus and Livia) were built at some point during the 1st century BCE, followed by the Temple of Apollo which sits on top of part of the House of Augustus. Apart from its podium, very little of the Temple of Apollo has survived (below) - in stark contrast to the House of Augustus below.

Temple of Apollo - the podium is all that remains of this structure, which lies above the House of Augustus.

The continuous occupation of this part of the Palatine Hill, and the multi-layered strata of the resulting ruins, makes the interpretation and dating of structures quite a challenge. In part, this explains the ongoing debate about the history of the House of Augustus. I'm only giving a short summary here: see the references listed at the end of this blog post for more information, notably those of Amanda Claridge and Timothy Wiseman.

The house has been identified as the residence of Augustus for many years, and this is still the official view (see the Parco Archeologico del Colosseo website). The basis seems to be a reference in Suetonius' The Twelve Caesars (Augustus 29:3) to Augustus erecting the Temple of Apollo on part of his Palatine 'domus' that had been struck by lightning, the idea being that the thunderbolt was a signal from the deity that a bit of worship would be appreciated here. However, Suetonius was probably using domus in this context to describe more than just a single dwelling. While Suetonius also tells us that Augustus moved into a house on the Palatine (The Twelve Caesars: Augustus 72:2), that dwelling is described as being modest and plain. Which cannot be said for the building that we can now visit.

House of Augustus - Room of the Masks

It is more likely that the dwelling now displayed as the House of Augustus was abandoned or decommissioned when work began on constructing the Temple of Apollo around 36 BCE. The house may indeed have been bought by Augustus (as the then-named Octavian would become) with the intention of expanding it for personal use, but there is no evidence that he ever lived in it. One of the rooms contains a ramp that rises towards the temple above, but whether this ever acted as a functional link is uncertain. The limited amount of pottery found within the building dates to either before or just after the temple's construction. Nevertheless, for the sake of clarity, I'm still calling it the House of Augustus in this blog post.

Setting the Augustus link to one side, the site is a spectacular time capsule that paints a vivid picture of a well-decorated and decidedly up-market late republican-era dwelling. For me, it was one of the highlights of my visit to the Palatine Hill.

Location and Access

The House of Augustus sits on the Palatine Hill to the north-west of the Palace of Domitian complex (Google Maps link here). The building is close to the present-day edge of the hill, occupying a lower level behind the scanty remains of the Temple of Apollo. The path down to its entrance, which runs through the Precinct of Victory (below) to the top of the former Scalae Caci stairs, can easily be missed.

You reach the House of Augustus by heading to the left along this path. In the background is the concrete podium of the Temple of the Great Mother (Magna Mater) 

Access to the House of Augustus is not included with the basic admission to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. It is one of a number of monuments (called the SUPER sites) that can only be visited with certain ticketing options. If you are visiting the Forum and Palatine Hill then I would strongly recommend that you seek one of these out: in addition to the House of Augustus, the SUPER sites include a number of other 'must-see' buildings such as the Senate House (Curia), Temple of the Divus Romulus, Church of Santa Maria Antiqua and more. At all of these locations, we saw visitors without the correct tickets being turned away. (Mind you, having the correct ticket doesn't guarantee that all of the SUPER sites will be open on the day of your visit.)

Given how long the queues can be at the Forum for day entry tickets, I would also recommend that you buy them in advance, although the booking website (link here) is not very user-friendly.

Date of my Visit

The photos in this blog post date from my visit in 2026. 

House of Augustus - on-site signage with arrow (my edit) showing modern entrance

Exploring the House of Augustus

As can be seen from the diagram above (my photo of an on-site sign), the house was arranged around two courtyards. Only the rooms around the first (western) courtyard - the one on the left in the above image - can now be visited. I have indicated the modern entrance point with a red arrow.

However, this layout is not easily appreciated during a visit. The south-western side of the first courtyard has been lost in a landslide (we are right on the edge of the Palatine Hill here) while the second (eastern courtyard) is not visible. 

After entering the site, a left turn takes you into a range of rooms running along the north-east side of the first courtyard. These are linked by a long gallery (below); the wall on the right and several brick and concrete piers on the left are later than the dwelling, being built to support structures on the higher (Temple of Apollo) level above.

House of Augustus - gallery in north-east range

Before walking along the gallery, take a left turn into what may have been a separate apartment with several rooms accessed from a narrow corridor. Two of these have impressive wall decorations. First up is room 6 - the Room of the Pines (below).

House of Augustus - Room of the Pines

The decoration, dating to the mid 1st century BCE, shows columns linked by garlands containing sprigs of pine and a few cones. Above, and behind, lies an image of a colonnade.  On the floor there is a simple black and white geometric mosaic. This is characteristic of the dwelling as a whole; decorative effort in the House of Augustus was focused on the walls rather than the floors.

This is even more apparent in the wall decorations of the room next door - the Room of the Masks - room 5. Although they are perhaps not of the highest artistic quality, the resulting effect is striking (below).

House of Augustus - Room of the Masks

The frescoes present a theatrical setting, including comic and tragic masks which look more unsettling the longer that you gaze at them. The central image, rather washed out in my photos, shows a pastoral or garden scene containing a strange pointed object looking rather like the Skylon from the 1950s Festival of Britain. There is a better image of it on the Skenographia Project website. I can't find any suggestions as to what it might represent - comments are welcome.

Returning to the main gallery, the walkway takes you past a series of rooms. These are not as well decorated as those already described, and some may have been abandoned before the wall paintings were completed. The best example of this is room 11 - the Room of the Perspective Paintings (below):

House of Augustus - Room of the Perspective Paintings

Here we see another architectural-type wall decoration which, like the Room of the Masks, uses perspective to create an illusion of depth. This is classed as 'Second Style' decoration, a type that initially appeared around 100 BCE. (First Style was a simpler rendition showing masonry, while Third and Fourth styles became progressively more fantastical.) It took over a thousand years for the technique of perspective to be rediscovered (or, as some authors put it 'invented') in the Italian Renaissance.

Unfortunately some details from this room's decoration have been removed in the intervening years, with a few sections crudely hacked out. The room's side walls of are mostly undecorated, suggesting that the overall design was never completed, while the floor shows the imprint of a lozenge-shaped marble pattern - now lost.

Next door, a narrow corridor contains more architectural-style decorations (below). The wall on the left may be part of later structural work that was added after the house was abandoned to support the buildings above.

At the far end of the gallery a doorway leads through to the rooms on the south-eastern side of the courtyard. This is shorter than the north-east range, as much of the remainder of the building is still buried. However, four rooms can be visited, including one on the upper level, and all are of great interest. The first is room 12, a corridor containing the ramp (below).

House of Augustus - Room 12 - the ramp

The purpose of this ramp is not fully understood. Some authors suggest that it may have acted as a link between the Temple of Apollo above and the house below. But what is more likely is that the temple's construction obliterated the top of the ramp, which had previously been used to access the upper level of the original dwelling. The ceiling of the ramp room is partly decorated; this was painstakingly restored by piecing together many fragments. 

A doorway leads to room 13, a large reception room or oecus (below).

House of Augustus - room 13 - the large hall or oecus

This room would have had internal columns, their positions now marked by blocks of stone, mirrored by the columns shown in the architectural wall decorations.

A final doorway leads into a smaller chamber (room 14), known as the lower cubiculum; a cubiculum was a bedroom or other private area of a Roman house, although the exact usage of this space is unclear. The colours of the wall paintings here, showing more architectural details, are especially vivid (below).

House of Augustus - room 14 - the lower cubiculum

House of Augustus - room 14 - the lower cubiculum - detail

The final room on display at the House of Augustus (room 15) lies directly above the lower cubiculum, and is called (unsurprisingly) the upper cubiculum or (more fancifully) the Emperor's study. It is now reached by an external metal staircase, which leads to a small glazed opening. There is only room for one person at a time to get a proper look inside, so you may have to queue. But it's worth the wait, as this room contains possibly the best wall decorations in the entire house (below), although reflections from the glass covering the opening make photography difficult on a sunny day.

House of Augustus - room 15 - the upper cubiculum

House of Augustus - room 15 - the upper cubiculum

Fragments of the ceiling decoration - white stucco with coloured sections - have also been preserved in this room (below). Again, this is a triumph of the art of the restorer.

House of Augustus - room 15 - the upper cubiculum - ceiling detail

And that concludes our tour of the House of Augustus. The House of Augustus is usually considered - and indeed visited - in conjunction with the House of Livia, located on the opposite side of the Temple of Apollo. Of course Livia (who was the wife of Augustus - I always think of Sian Phillips' masterful performance in the BBC's I Claudius) didn't live there either, but the interior of the house is apparently even more impressive than that of the House of Augustus. I say 'apparently', as it was closed to visitors - under restoration - at the time of my visit. All that I could do was look into a room and passage at its south-eastern corner (below). Some excellent images of this building's internal decorations are in the Following Hadrian Photography blog. A future visit is on my list.  

House of Livia - brief glimpse into the south-east corner of the building

References

Claridge, Amanda (2010) Rome - An Oxford Archaeological Guide (2nd edition). Oxford: OUP

Romano, David Gilman, and Borbonus, Dorian (2002). Mapping Augustan Rome. Edited by Lothar Haselberger, and Elisha Ann Dumser. JRA - link

Wiseman, Timothy P. (2022) 'Palace-Sanctuary or Pavilion? Augustus's House and the Limits of Archaeology'. Papers of the British School at Rome, 90 pp 9-34 - link

Link to the website of the Parco archeologico del Colosseo (which includes Palatine Hill).

There are good photographs of the Houses of Augustus and Livia in the Following Hadrian Photography blog

(See also the general References page of this blog).

Text and photographs (c) Mike Hetherington. Visits to sites described in this blog are at your own risk.

Brecon Y Gaer - Fort

With surprisingly well-preserved defences and a scenic location in the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) National Park, the fort at Brecon Y Gaer ** is worth a visit. But getting there is a real challenge. Although looked after by Welsh national heritage body Cadw, there are no signs to the site, no vehicle access, and no interpretation once you get there.  No guidebook is available, and the information on Cadw's website is sparse. You are left with the clear impression that visitors are discouraged. Nevertheless, the fort can be reached with a bit of effort. 

Background and Context

The fort at Y Gaer occupies a strategically significant point in the Roman road network across what is now Mid and South Wales. Routes ran from here south-east to Caerleon (along the River Usk), south-west to Neath, west to Llandovery and north-east towards Clyro and beyond. The fort lies on raised ground next to the Afon Ysgir's junction with the River Usk - a naturally defensible site.

Y Gaer fort was initially built of timber and earthworks, probably around 75 CE, when an auxiliary Spanish cavalry unit (ala) of the Vettones was garrisoned here; a tombstone of a twenty-year old cavalryman (Candidus) has been found nearby. Stone walls were added when the fort was rebuilt around 140 CE. The name Cicucium has been associated with the site, although it is uncertain whether this was its Roman name. 

Evidence from three periods of excavation (most recently 2009-10) shows that the fort didn't only function during the Roman conquest of the area, but continued to play a role through the Severan era (broadly 193-235 CE) right up to the late 3rd and 4th century. Although not now visible, remains of a civilian settlement (vicus) lay outside the fort's north gate, including a possible bath-house and courtyard structures - one of which might have been a mansio (guest house or inn). Y Gaer was clearly an important staging point on routes into West Wales. The discovery of Native as well as Roman metalwork at Y Gaer poses interesting questions about the interaction between soldiers and local people here.

Brecon Y Gaer fort - west gate

Location and Access

Y Gaer fort lies 4 km west of Brecon, Powys, Wales (Google Maps location here). The nearest public road runs from Cradoc (Cradoc Road heads west from the centre of Brecon) to Aberbran (reached by a bridge over the River Usk from the A40 around 6 km west of Brecon). A private road links the Cradoc-Aberbran road to the farm containing the Roman fort. However, its use to access the site is explicitly discouraged (see sign below); interestingly, this was the only signage that I could find relating to the site, and even this doesn't explain what "the monument" actually is.

Unhelpful sign at the start of the private road

It is unclear whether there would be any objection to people walking or cycling up this road, and indeed Cadw suggests accessing the site by bike. In any event, there is no safe roadside parking in the vicinity of this junction, as the roads are single track with high hedge banks, so you can't just park and walk from this point.

But all is not lost. With reference to the Ordnance Survey map (Explorer OL12 Brecon Beacons West) two public rights of way pass close to the fort. One of these is a bridleway, running around 4 km from near the outskirts of Brecon. It may be possible to cycle along this route, but I didn't try it. 

More usefully, a public footpath runs from the Cradoc-Aberbran road up to Y Gaer, a distance of around 500 metres. This is a pleasant walk in summer, albeit involving a steep slope by the river and the need to negotiate two fields that may contain cattle. In wet weather, the route could get boggy, and wellies would be an advantage. The start of the footpath is shown below (Google Maps location here).

Start of the footpath to Y Gaer

While there is nowhere safe to park near the beginning of this footpath, a large lay-by (Google Maps location here) lies a short distance west (around 100 metres). There is space for several vehicles to park; however, it is necessary to walk along a short section of narrow road (below) to reach the beginning of the path, so do take care.

Road to lay-by (just visible in the distance) - take care!

Both the footpath and bridleway lead to a point on the private road next to a large detached house (Y Gaer) (Google Maps location here). From here, you need to follow the road south (between walls containing some suspiciously Roman-looking stones) and through a gate into the farmyard (pictured below). Note that there are no signs to guide you.

Go through the gate into the farmyard, turn left after the barn ...

Once through the gate, walk past the barn on your left and then turn left, going through a gate that's quite tricky to open. From here you can see the north wall of the fort, from which you are separated by three more farm gates. (At this point on my visit, a farmer appeared on a quad bike and waved me through, so I knew that I was on the right track). Go through these and you have reached the field containing the fort. Well done!

 

... and through these three gates. Part of the north fort wall is visible on the left.

Date of my Visit

The photos in this blog post were taken on my visit in 2026. 

Exploring the Roman Fort

None of the fort's internal buildings and structures are visible, but it is possible to walk around the inside of the defensive perimeter. Three gates, one angle tower and stretches of wall are visible; the farm buildings lie on the site of the north gate. A clockwise direction is suggested, so turn left after entering the field. On your left is the line of the fort's north wall (below).

Brecon Y Gaer fort - north wall (unconsolidated section)

This section of wall is better viewed from the other (north) side, which can be reached by crossing a stile at the corner of the fort. Here the wall stands over three metres in height, with the outer ditch also visible (below).

Brecon Y Gaer fort - north wall and ditch

The stile also gives access to the foundations of a square tower set in the rounded corner of the fort wall. This is the best preserved of the fort's (assumed) four angle towers.

Brecon Y Gaer fort - north-eastern angle tower

Brecon Y Gaer fort - fort wall at north-east angle tower

Continuing in a clockwise direction, the fort's east wall appears as a line of rubble crowned by trees:

Brecon Y Gaer fort - line of east wall

A break in the trees, and another stile, allows you to inspect the remains of the east gate (below) - rather overgrown at the time of my visit. Only one of the two guard chambers (the northern one) is visible here.

Brecon Y Gaer fort - east gate

A view  back across the interior of the fort from near this point (see photo below) shows that no structures can be seen. However, excavation by the Wheelers in the early 1920s revealed evidence of the headquarters building (principia), a granary and a possible bath-house (unusual within the fort itself, although a later one appears to have been built outside the walls).

    

Brecon Y Gaer fort - interior (no structures visible)

Our route around the fort's defences now brings us to the south wall, which although not consolidated is at least devoid of trees - so can be inspected more closely.

Brecon Y Gaer fort - south wall

The south gate, facing the River Usk, is well-preserved, with both guard chambers visible, and two carriageways separated by a central pier, which has a doorway through it. The line of a drain is visible in the eastern carriageway.

Brecon Y Gaer fort - south gate

Brecon Y Gaer fort - south gate (western guard chamber and central pier)

Brecon Y Gaer fort - south gate (eastern guard chamber)

Continuing around the circuit brings us to the west gate, also well-preserved. This has a similar twin carriageway layout to the south gate, but is unusual in that the guard chambers project out from the main wall of the fort. This may have reflected its 'main gate' status, as the internal road would have led straight to the principia.

Brecon Y Gaer fort - west gate (south guard chamber)

Brecon Y Gaer fort - west gate (north guard chamber)

This completes our tour of the fort. The north gate would have been located under where the modern complex of farm buildings now stand. 

Final Thoughts

If you have made it this far, congratulations! To some extent, I have made light of this site's access arrangements. But there is a serious point here. As it stands, the fort has no interpretation and cannot easily be visited by people with mobility difficulties. This could be very different if proper parking, signage and footpath routes were put in place. Obviously the site lies on a working farm - sheep were very much in evidence during my visit - but many historic sites occupy agricultural land, and suitable access arrangements can usually be made. I don't know what has happened here, but the present set-up is surely unsatisfactory for one of Wales' most significant Roman sites. Over to you Cadw!

Site References

Burnham, Barry and Davies, Jeffrey (2021). 'Forts, Vici and related extramural activity in Wales and the marches: recent discoveries at the Roman fort of Pen y Gaer (Powys) and their wider implications.' Britannia, 52, pp.67-95.

Lewis, Joe (2016). 'Finds from the frontier: Romans and natives at Brecon Gaer Roman fort.' Journal of Roman Military Equipment Studies, 17 pp. 235-242.

(See also the general References page of this blog).

Text and photographs (c) Mike Hetherington. Visits to Roman sites described in this blog are at your own risk.