Arosfa Gareg-Llwyd Roman Camp

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument.

The monument comprises the remains of a Roman marching camp, dating from the first century AD (probably around AD 74 - 77). It was built as a temporary camp by a marching army as units of the Roman legions engaged in the conquest of Wales. It is situated to the north of the Black Mountain on an area of high but broken ground with good views to the north and west. The camp is the typical "playing card" shape with its length aligned west north west to east north east; elongated slightly on the north north east side and measures on average 488m by 365m. The surviving earthworks consist of a bank between 4.2 and 5.5m wide and up to 0.7m high with where visible a shallow outer ditch measuring up to 1.5m wide and 0.15m deep emphasised by a counterscarp bank measuring up to 0.3m high and 3.5m wide. The ditch and counterscarp have been demonstrated by excavation to not be present throughout the entire perimeter. The bank cannot be traced at the north west corner where a modern road crosses within an area of marshland. The remains of two gates c 8m wide are located in the east south east and the south south west sides; both are protected by in turned banks or claviculae. Two enclosures project on a roughly similar alignment to the main camp from its east south east side; the first from the north east corner extending c 70m by c 10m, the second about halfway between the gate and the south east corner about c 100m by c 46m. If contemporary they may relate to a military necessity to overlook potentially dead ground in this direction.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of Roman military organisation. The monument forms an important element within the wider context of the Roman occupation of Wales and the structure itself may be expected to contain archaeological information concerning chronology and building techniques, together with a strong probability of environmental evidence.

The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.