GM258

Blaen-Cwmbach Camp  

19/01/1959  

Designated  

Neath Port Talbot  

Tonna  

279693  

198781  

Defence  

Marching Camp  

Roman  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument. The monument comprises the remains of a Roman marching camp which survives as extant sections of earthen bank forming part of its perimeter. There is a well-defined entrance on the west with associated tutulus, or entrance shielding bank and ditch. The camp has been attributed to the campaigns of Sextus Julius Frontinus during the period AD73-78. The camp is elongated in shape and measures 908m from WSW to ENE by about 295m transversely. The earthworks are best preserved on the WSW side. The bank in this sector has spread to a width of 3.1m and is a maximum of 0.9m high from the exterior. The tutlus is located 13.7m in front of the entrance with a bank 3.1m wide and ditch 1.8m wide and measures 7.6m in length. The other sectors of the defences are not as well preserved but are traceable either as slight earthworks or by aerial photography except along part of the north side, and at the SE corner; destroyed by the construction of Blaen Cwm-bach Farm. The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of Roman military organisation. The monument forms an important element within the wider context of the Roman occupation of Wales and the structure itself may be expected to contain archaeological information concerning chronology and building techniques, together with a strong probability of environmental evidence. The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.