Isca Augusta
Isca Augusta | ||
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Caerllion ( Grid reference ST336909 | |
Isca, variously specified as Isca Augusta or Isca Silurum, was the site of a Roman legionary fortress and settlement or vicus, the remains of which lie beneath parts of the present-day suburban town of Caerleon in the north of the city of Newport in South Wales. The site includes Caerleon Amphitheatre and is protected by Cadw.
Headquarters of the Legion "II Augusta", which took part in the invasion under Emperor Claudius in 43, Isca is uniquely important for the study of the conquest, pacification and colonisation of Britannia by the Roman army. It was one of only three permanent legionary fortresses in later Roman Britain and, unlike the other sites at Chester and York, its archaeological remains lie relatively undisturbed beneath fields and the town of Caerleon and provide a unique opportunity to study the Roman legions in Britain. Excavations continue to unearth new discoveries;[1] in the late 20th century a complex of very large monumental buildings outside the fortress between the River Usk and the amphitheatre was uncovered. This new area of the canabae was previously unknown.[2]
Name
The
Foundation and history
Isca was founded in 74 or 75 during the final campaigns by Governor
Isca became the headquarters of the Legion II Augusta based in the large fortress of typical legionary "playing-card" shape and built initially with an earth bank and timber palisade. It remained their headquarters until at least 300 AD. 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, unusually, a large amphitheatre.
At this time there were four legions in Britain out of a total of about 30 legions in the Empire, making Britain one of the most heavily militarised provinces due to its frontier status and hostile neighbours.[3] Each legion consisted of over 5,000 heavily armed and highly disciplined professional soldiers who enlisted in the army for at least 20 years. As the backbone of the army, legionaries were the conquerors and builders of the Roman Empire who brought with them foreign ideas, practices and traditions that would change the society and culture of Britain forever.
110yds
CANABAE
sinistra
An inscription of Trajan gives a date of AD99/100 for the replacement of the fortress walls, when the original earth and timber ramparts of the fortress were strengthened by the addition of a stone revetment at the front. This "composite" rampart consisted of a stone wall 5 to 5½ feet thick, backed by a clay bank and fronted by a single ditch
By 120 AD, detachments or
Recent finds suggest Roman occupation of some kind as late as 380.[6][7][8]
Christian martyrs
According to the
God, therefore, who wishes all men to be saved, and who calls sinners no less than those who think themselves righteous, magnified his mercy towards us, and, as we know, during the above-named persecution, that Britain might not totally be enveloped in the dark shades of night, he, of his own free gift, kindled up among us bright luminaries of holy martyrs, whose places of burial and of martyrdom, had they not for our manifold crimes been interfered with and destroyed by the barbarians, would have still kindled in the minds of the beholders no small fire of divine charity. Such were Saint Alban of Verulamium, Aaron and Julius, citizens of the City of the Legions, and the rest, of both sexes, who in different places stood their ground in the Christian contest.
This city of the legions is identified with Caerleon, rather than Chester, because there were two medieval chapels there dedicated to each of these martyrs. They were probably executed in 304, during the religious persecutions of Diocletian's reign. However, these chapels may have been founded as a result of Bede's writings and cannot be dated archaeologically any earlier than the church of St John's in Chester which is also situated next to an amphitheatre.
Amphitheatre
Because of its rounded form, the unexcavated amphitheatre was known to locals as "
The arena is oval in shape, with eight entrances, and the stadium is thought to have had a capacity of around six thousand spectators, and apart from the usual gladiatorial entertainments, it was probably used for parades, displays and exercises by the garrison of the fortress.
Harbour
In August 2011 the remains of a Roman
Remains
Substantial
Cadw administers:
- The military amphitheatre, one of the most impressive in Britain
- Part of the military bath house, with the Caerleon Roman Fortress and Baths in situ above it
- Prysg Field Barracks, the only Roman legionary barracks visible in Europe
- The fortress wall, still standing 12 feet (3.7 m) high in places
Legion museum
The
See also
References
- Knight, Jeremy K (1988). Caerleon Roman Fortress. Cardiff: Cadw.
- ^ "School of History, Archaeology and Religion".
- ^ "The Caerleon canabae: excavations in the civil settlement 1984-90" (2000), Edith Evans, Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies
- ^ Roman Legionary Fortresses 27BC-AD378: Duncan Campbell, Osprey Publishing
- ^ Evans, Edith (2004). The Roman fortress of Caerleon and its environs: A framework for research (Report). Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust.
- ^ Isca (Caerleon Roman Fortress) (ID PRN00514g) in the 'SMR' for Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust (GGAT)
- ^ "Priory Field Caerleon Dig 2008 Cardiff University and UCL Dr Peter Guest and Dr Andrew Gardner". Retrieved 8 September 2008.
- ^ "Priory Field Caerleon Dig 2010 Cardiff University and UCL Dr Peter Guest". Retrieved 27 January 2011.
- ^ "Caerleon Dig Blog 2011 Cardiff University Dr Peter Guest".
- ^ "Isca Silvrvm". Archived from the original on 3 October 2008. Retrieved 24 July 2008.
- ^ Caerleon Roman harbour
- ^ Cardiff university video fly-though Archived 2011-12-04 at the Wayback Machine
External links
- Cadw - Caerleon Amphitheatre - official site for visiting
- The Caerleon Research Committee
- Caerleon Legionary Fortress page at the Community Archaeology Forum of the Council for British Archaeology
- Caerleon amphitheatre from Gathering the Jewels
- Caerleon on the Roman Britain website