MM193

Abergavenny Roman Fort  

05/06/1978  

Designated  

Monmouthshire  

Abergavenny  

329858  

214047  

Defence  

Fort  

Roman  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument. The monument is comprised of buried features and earthworks representing a Roman fort. The remains of the auxillary fort of Gobannium are located towards the centre of the town, N of the castle. Excavations have revealed a bath building close to the castle, and a ditch run SW/NE that had been deliberately filled with clay, turf and burnt material, apparently from a defensive bank. Finds date the site to around AD75-150, although small quantities of Claudian pottery suggest that it may have been established c. AD50. The abandonment of the fort around AD160 was probably part of the reduction of military activity in Wales. The remains of the fort lie under a car park and an area of open grass to the N of the castle. 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 structures may contain well preserved archaeological evidence concerning chronology, layout and building techniques. The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.