AN EXCAVATION of a newly-discovered network of ancient buildings could potentially change our understanding of Roman history in Wales, archaeologists believe.
Staff, students and volunteers from Cardiff University have begun a month-long project to excavate the “Lost City of the Legion” at Caerleon, near Newport.
Archaeologists from Cardiff University have started a dig which will last until September 1 – which they hope will unravel the biggest secrets yet to come out of the historic village, and said it may confirm that it was intended as a major seat of power.
A group of up to 40 workers have started excavating the site, which houses a large network of Roman buildings, discovered by accident last year.
Test trenches have already revealed what is thought to be a quayside wall where ships would have docked and unloaded their cargoes for the military garrison at Caerleon and other forts in Wales.
Experts hope that the site will reveal more information about early Roman history in Wales – with the size of the buildings to be uncovered indicating that its importance to early Romans was greater than first thought.
Dr Peter Guest, a senior lecturer at the School of History, Archaeology and Religion at Cardiff University, said that the project was “hugely exciting” because of the potentially seismic shift in our understanding of Roman history.
The size and scale of the buildings indicate that the village on the River Usk was intended to be more significant than first thought.
“Some of the buildings are absolutely enormous,” he said. “They could be bath houses, administrative buildings, town halls – but it’s exciting for those of us that are going to be at the site because we still don’t know so much.
“There are a lot of questions about the site remaining – what happened to them? What were they used for? How old are they? Those are questions that we can perhaps begin to answer with this project.”
Work began yesterday in the fields near Newport – and the group have already begun tweeting finds from the site, including shards of pottery.
The site was previously not thought to have been extensively occupied in the Roman period, before the find last year.
Dr Guest said that the archaeology excavation could be “hugely important” in shaping what we know about the Romans in Wales.
He said the month-long excavation – which began yesterday – could reveal that Caerleon was planned as a major administrative centre for the Romans in Britain, given the apparent size and prominence of the buildings.
He said: “The courtyard is the biggest building that we have got, it is so large that I cannot see the other end of it – but there are a whole series of other buildings attached in it.
“It is one of the most important sites that survives from Roman Britain and there is a huge amount still to learn from it. It could potentially change our understanding of early Roman history in Wales.
“This site is 2,000 years old and it seems it may not only have supposed to be a Roman fortress, but to become a western centre for the Romans in western Britain – but at the moment it seems that it didn’t happen for some reason.
“It is hard to underplay it, to be honest.”
Archaeologists had already uncovered a slew of other buildings before the students’ find – including eight previously unknown barrack blocks, three large granaries, a monumental metal workshop and a very large store building.
The Cardiff team also uncovered an entire Roman suit of armour from the site, along with some weaponry.
Dr Guest added: “I am hoping that these building complexes that we have got have some very interesting stuff to find. It could be that the buildings we are excavating are from very early on after the conquest of the Welsh, and it may well have supposed to have been the main access route into western Britain.
“The buildings are such that this was intended to be the place that the conquerors exercised their imperial power, where they reported to the people of Britain that what they were used to in the past was no longer. An excavation like this will help try and answer questions, but will inevitably throw up some more.”
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