Image credit: Silver Roman coins in a broken vase found at Caerleon, Wales. Photo by Helen in Wales. Public Domain.
The Roman occupation of Britain is well-researched, however we still have much to learn from how the Welsh nation retained its core identity and was shaped by the influence of Romano-Welsh society.
While research into the Roman Empire may appear purely academic, building upon our knowledge of the practices, challenges, triumphs, and cultures of ancient peoples offers vital lessons and empathy for our modern societies. The study of ancient peoples also offers us an invaluable opportunity to understand how our modern cultures were formed.
A hard-won conquest: Subduing the Celtic tribes to form Britannia
While the Roman campaign to conquer Britannia commenced in 43AD under the reign of Emperor Claudius, the Celtic tribes of Wales resisted for decades beyond their English neighbours, until they eventually became part of the Empire and Britannia in 77AD. Research to expand our knowledge of the impact of the invasion and conquest is vital to enriching our understanding of modern Wales, as well as our understanding of Britannia and the entire Roman Empire.
For the purposes of this blog, the names associated with modern boundaries (England and Wales) will be used for ease of understanding, however please note these boundaries did not exist at the time of the Romans.
Ancient sources describe Wales as home to four Celtic tribes – the Silures, Deceangli, Demetae, and Ordovices. However, as Guest argues, we cannot verify these names as our records were written by the Romans.
Despite this, Roman texts are vital to our understanding of pre-Roman Wales. In complimenting the general Julius Frontinus, Tacitus provides insight into the behaviours and skill of the Welsh people: “[Frontinus] subdued by his arms the powerful and warlike tribe of the Silures, surmounting the difficulties of the country as well as the valour of the enemy.”. (Tac. Ag. 17) The Roman geographer Ptolemy also provides a detailed geography of Britannia and the homelands of the Celtic tribes.
Map of Roman Britain. By the British Library. Public Domain.
The influence of the Romans
Rome brought many cultural practices and amenities to Britannia, as evidenced through the archaeological excavation of villas. However, outside of the Roman garrisoned centres of Caerwent and Carmarthen, Guest suggests that Welsh practices appear to have been maintained throughout the occupation. In contrast, it is clear the Welsh language, like English, was significantly influenced by the Latin introduced by the Romans.
Aerial view of Caerleon Roman amphitheatre. Photo by CADW. Public Domain.
One Roman leader had a particularly significant impact on Welsh history. In 383AD the ambitious Roman general Magnus Maximus (Macsen Wledig in Welsh) capitalised on military dissent against Emperor Gratian’s rule. Maximus defeated Gratian in Gaul and negotiated the title of Emperor in the West, providing him with control of Britannia. After five years of rule, Maximus was killed in battle by Valentinian II’s forces in Italy, and damnatio memoriae was decreed against him to remove references to his existence and accomplishments. Despite this, Maximus became associated with the formation of a united Wales for the first time upon the retreat of Rome from Britannia.
What can we learn from the (Romano)Welsh?
The following research projects illustrate the benefits of investigating Roman Wales for history scholarship and our modern understanding of the Welsh nation. They also highlight opportunities for interdisciplinary research into pre- and post- Romano-Welsh life across archaeology, linguistics, cultural practices, literary examinations, and more.
Caerleon-Roman Prysg Field Barracks. Photo by Pwimageglow. Public Domain.
Hillforts
As a result of fierce Welsh resistance, the Romans constructed hillfort garrisons. These now offer archaeological evidence for how both the Romans and Welsh lived. The Caerau hillfort project is one example of the artefacts and knowledge still to be gained by excavating Roman foundations.
In recognition of the ethical and professional obligation to engage and respect communities where archaeological work is undertaken, the project engaged with school children and youth excluded from school, local community groups, and early career academics.
While this project has illuminated how hillforts functioned in Wales, the relatively small site (due to it existing beneath modern-day Cardiff) and the lack of comparative projects limit our ability to generalise more broadly about hillforts in Wales.
Numismatics
Ancient coins provide an incredible amount of history for their small size. The minter demonstrates who held power in the region, the words and pictures illustrate the messaging intended for the people, and the location and distribution can indicate trade, payments to soldiers, or other movements across regions. The University of Cardiff’s Iron Age and Roman Coins from Wales research project provides an extensive compilation of over 50,000 coins from over 1,000 sites.
Importantly, the database being made available online increases accessibility to the ancient history of Roman Wales. An intriguing hypothesis Guest developed through this project is that due to coins being mostly connected to military sites, the remainder of Wales may have refused or found no need to adopt Roman coinage. This could have wide-ranging implications for our understanding of Romano-Welsh assimilation, and implies Welsh culture may have remained largely intact throughout occupation.
Hoard of Roman coins found in Anglesey, Wales. Photo by Portable Antiquities Scheme. Public Domain.
Roman villas
The villas of Wales provide a wealth of archaeological information about the lives of elite citizens, soldiers, and participants in the villa's economy. The location of the villa can indicate the value of the land for agricultural benefit, preferable climactic and geographic conditions, or the existence of earlier settlements.
Rowe’s analysis of these villas recognises that Romans did not engage in a one-way technology transfer, but that their success was dependent on Welsh tribes in caring for the land to enable the new economy to succeed.
Romano-Welsh gravestones found at Caerleon, Wales. Photo by Otter. Public Domain.
Aerial analysis
A 2018 drought provided an opportunity for aerial surveys to identify ancient structures that would not have been visible had regular vegetation growth been present. Roman forts, villas, and roads were identified, highlighting significant potential for further archaeological work.
Perhaps the true value of these surveys will only be realised when resourcing is made available to excavate sites to reveal the function of these structures and the lives of their inhabitants.
Crisis management
The story of Magnus Maximus has inspired academic and popular thought for the last 1600 years. The confluence of his defeat, the Roman withdrawal, and invasion of Germanic tribes can be seen as a supreme crisis of leadership. As a result, research like Anagnostou-Laoutides’ into crises of leadership in the Eastern Roman Empire can be seen as having a much broader remit, both for ancient history and modern applications.
Though the challenges in the Eastern provinces were quite different to the West, the general principles for leadership responses, and the use of religion and rhetoric, could be used to frame analysis of how the newly united Wales managed their crises.
Researching ancient history allows us to better understand our modern world
Understanding the histories of peoples provides knowledge of, and respect for, indigenous peoples, which is particularly important where those peoples no longer maintain political or legal sovereignty.
As modern-day Wales seeks to redress past erosion of their culture by encouraging uptake of the national language, Cymraeg, and incorporating Welsh history into public education, the value proposition for historical research cannot be ignored.
Rather than seeing Britain as a homogenised ‘English’ culture, examining Britannia as a whole, and as discrete parts, allows scholarship to recognise the rich and proud cultural, linguistic, and historic heritages of all parts of the United Kingdom.
Bibliography
Anagnostou-Laoutides, E. (2023). Crises of leadership in the Eastern Roman Empire. Macquarie University. https://www.mq.edu.au/research/research-centres-groups-and-facilities/groups/crises-of-leadership-in-the-eastern-roman-empire
CAER Heritage. (2023). Home. CAER Heritage. https://www.caerheritage.org/
Encyclopedia Britannica. (2023). Magnus Maximus. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Magnus-Maximus
Guest, P. & Wells, N. (2007). Iron Age and Roman Coins from Wales [data-set]. York: Archaeology Data Service [distributor]. https://doi.org/10.5284/1000263
Guest, P. (2010). The early monetary history of Roman Wales: Identity, conquest and acculturation on the Imperial fringe. Britannia (Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies) 39, 33-58. https://doi.org/10.3815/006811308785916836
Guest, P. (2022). The Forum-Basilica at Caerwent (Venta Silurum): A History of the Roman Silures. Britannia (Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies) 53, 227-267. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0068113X21000489
Heritage Daily. (2021, Jan). The Roman conquest of Wales. Heritage Daily. https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/01/the-roman-conquest-of-wales/136796
Italofile. (2020, Nov 20). Damnatio memoriae: How Ancient Romans cancelled their rivals. Italofile. https://www.italofile.com/damnatio-memoriae/
Johnson, B. (2023). The Romans in Wales. Historic UK. https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofWales/The-Romans-in-Wales/
National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement. (2023). CAER Heritage Project (Caerau and Ely Rediscovering). https://www.publicengagement.ac.uk/case-studies/caer-heritage-project-caerau-and-ely-rediscovering
Rowe, J. E. (2015). The Roman villas of Wales (Publication No. 28140957) [Masters dissertation, University of Regina]. https://ourspace.uregina.ca/bitstream/handle/10294/5853/Rowe_Jennifer_200205672_MA_HIST_Spring2015.pdf
Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. (2018). Major new study reveals aerial discoveries from Roman Wales, from the drought of 2018. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. https://rcahmw.gov.uk/major-new-study-reveals-aerial-discoveries-from-roman-wales-from-the-drought-of-2018/
Ptolemy. (1932). Geographia (Trans. E. L. Stevenson). The New York Public Library. http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Periods/Roman/_Texts/Ptolemy/home.html
Tacitus. (1976). The Life of Cnæus Julius Agricola (Trans. A. J. Church & W. J. Brodribb). Random House. http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0081%3Achapter%3D17
The Smithsonian. (2019, May 8). Why Wales is the place to see amazing Roman forts [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2O-b_ueBjU&ab_channel=SmithsonianChannel
Trudgill, P. (2023, Mar 9). How Latin lives on in Welsh. The New European. https://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/how-latin-lives-on-in-welsh/
Welsh Government. (2018). The Cwricwlwm Cymreig, history and the story of Wales. https://www.gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2018-11/the-cwricwlwm-cymreig-history-and-the-story-of-wales-final-report.pdf
Further information
Archaeoleg. (2023). Roman Wales (AD43-AD410). A Research Framework for the Archaeology of Wales. https://www.archaeoleg.org.uk/roman.html
Davis, O. (2017). Filling the gaps: The Iron Age in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, 83, 325-356. https://doi.org.10.1017/ppr.2016.14
Driver, T.G., Burnham, B. C., & Davies, J. L. (2020). Roman Wales: Aerial discoveries and new observations from the drought of 2018. Britannia (Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies), 51, 117–145. https://doi.org.10.1017/S0068113X20000100
Fox, A. (2020, Jun 16). Drought reveals traces of ancient Roman structures in Wales. Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/traces-roman-conquest-revealed-drought-180975101/
Historic Wales. (2023). Portal for historic environment information in Wales. Historic Wales. https://historic-wales-rcahmw.hub.arcgis.com/
Hughes, T. (Host). (2022, May 22). Iron Age Wales: Before the Romans [Audio podcast episode]. In The Ancients. History Hit. https://play.acast.com/s/the-ancients/the-truth-about-iron-age-wales
About the author
Chantal Moore is a student of the Bachelor of Arts (Ancient History) program at Macquarie University, Australia. She currently works as an environmental policy advisor for the Commonwealth Government.
Chantal holds an interest in the ancient history of Rome, Greece, and Celtic nations. She hopes to continue her studies and complete research in these areas.