Caerleon Civil Settlement: Area under Broadway Playing Fields

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument.
The monument consists of the remains of a civil settlement, or canabae, of Roman date on the W side of Isca. The extent of the civilian settlement is known as a result of geophysical survey and small scale excavation, and covers land to the S and W of the fortress. The main focus for the settlement is the road leading from the W gate of the fortress to the quay on the River Usk, the modern Broadway, although settlement structures have also been recorded on the NW side of the fortress. Excavations in the 1950s on the N side of Broadway revealed a complex of settlement remains. The earliest structural evidence was from timber buildings contemporary with the establishment of the fortress, which were later replaced in stone when the canabae was established. Excavation evidence also revealed that in the late 1st or early 2nd century AD part of the civilian settlement to the N of Broadway, that closest to the fortress, was cleared of buildings and a metalled surface laid. It is thought that this area was then used as a parade ground. Recent geophysical survey has revealed that substantial remains still survive under the modern playing fields.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of Roman urban settlement organisation. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of associated archaeological features and deposits.

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