Caerleon Roman Fortress and Baths - Caerleon, Wales
N 51° 36.609 W 002° 57.253
30U E 503170 N 5717680
The Caerleon Roman Fortress and Baths, also known as Isca Augusta (or Isca Silurum), was a Roman legionary fortress and settlement in what is now Caerleon, Wales.
Waymark Code: WMEPVZ
Location: South Wales, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 06/24/2012
Views: 2
"Isca Augusta (or Isca Silurum) was a Roman legionary fortress and settlement, the remains of which lie beneath parts of the present-day village of Caerleon on the northern outskirts of the city of Newport in South Wales.
Fortress
Isca became the headquarters of the 2nd Legion Augusta in about AD 75, when Governor Sextus Julius Frontinus began the conquest of Roman Wales. They built a large "playing-card" shaped fort with initially a timber palisade which was later replaced in stone. The interior was fitted out with the usual array of military buildings: a headquarters building, legate's residence, tribunes' houses, hospital, large bath house, workshops, barrack blocks, granaries and an amphitheatre.
By the 120s, detachments or vexillations of the legion were needed elsewhere in the province and Isca became more of a military base than a garrison. However, it is thought that each cohort still maintained a presence at the fortress. When Septimus Severus seized power in the 190s, he had Isca refurbished and the legion were in residence rebuilding themselves after heavy losses on the Continent. Further restoration took place under Caracalla, when the south-west gate was rebuilt, the amphitheatre remodelled and barrack blocks re-roofed and otherwise repaired. The legion may have been called away to fight for one of the many emperors claiming power in the late 3rd century. Although most of the fort lay empty, a 'caretaker' squad are thought to have maintained the facilities and there was reoccupation and rebuilding work as late as the 270s. The main military structures are thought to have finally been demolished by the usurpers, Carausius or Allectus, when the legion was needed to repel a potential invasion from the Continent. The stone from Isca may have been used for building defences on the south coast. There may still have been an occasional military presence as late as the early 4th century, but the fortress was probably later taken over by the people of the surrounding vicus. The basilica of the baths was used as a cattle pen.
Recent finds suggest Roman occupation of some kind as late as AD 380.
Remains
Substantial archeologically excavated Roman remains of the Roman fortress can be seen at Caerleon.
Cadw administers:
- The military amphitheatre, one of the most impressive in Britain
- Part of the military bath house, with the Roman Baths Museum in situ above it
- Prysg Field Barracks, the only Roman legionary barracks visible in Europe
- The fortress wall, still standing twelve feet high in places
- The National Roman Legion Museum, located in the village, is part of the National Museums and Galleries of Wales. The museum exhibits artifacts and finds from excavations throughout the village including Roman currency, weapons, uniform etc."
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