Whitewall Brake Roman Site

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

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

The monument, also known as Castle Tump, comprises the remains of a building complex, which dates to the Romano-British period (c. AD 70 - 410). It is located on a natural rise that slopes gently to the S and overlooks the Roman town of Caerwent (MM001) to the SW. The visible remains consist of spread banks of tumbled stone that outline a rectilinear complex of building ranges and courts. The foundations extend across an area that measures 74m E-W by 38m transversely, but there is little overall height to the walls. A Roman mosaic, coins, pottery and building debris were noted during excavations by Colston in the late nineteenth century. The presence of rectilinear walls and tessellated pavements suggests that the site may have been a rural villa built to emphasise the high status, wealth and Romanised cultural values of the landed elite of the local native tribe, the Silures.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of Romano-British rural settlement and socio-economic organisation. The feature forms an important element within the wider context of Romano-British society in Wales and retains significant archaeological potential. Excavation has revealed the presence of buried deposits, which may include environmental and structural evidence relating to chronology, building techniques and functional detail. The importance of the site is further enhanced by the group value it shares with the scheduled remains of the Roman town of Caerwent.

The area scheduled comprises the remains described and an area around within which related evidence may be expected to survive. It is an irregular polygon in shape and measures 158m in length (WNW-ESE) by 77m transversely.