Wales in the Roman era facts for kids
The Roman era in what we now call Wales began in 48 AD. This was when the Roman army, led by the governor of Roman Britain, invaded the area. The Romans finished conquering Wales by 78 AD and stayed in control until 383 AD, when they left the region.
Most of Wales was under military control by the Roman Empire. However, the southern coastal area of South Wales, east of the Gower Peninsula, was different. Here, people adopted more Roman ways of life. Some southern places, like Carmarthen, even became important towns for the local Demetae tribe. The only town in Wales that the Romans actually built, Caerwent, is also in South Wales.
Wales was rich in valuable minerals. The Romans used their amazing engineering skills to dig up lots of gold, copper, and lead. They also found smaller amounts of other metals like zinc and silver.
Ancient writings tell us about the Roman invasions of Wales. They especially mention the strong resistance from two of the five native tribes: the Silures in the southeast and the Ordovices in central and northern Wales. Both tribes were eventually conquered.
Besides the many Roman discoveries along the southern coast, most Roman remains in Wales are military. These include old roads and forts.
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Life in Wales Before the Romans Arrived
Before the Romans invaded, most of the British Isles were home to people who spoke Celtic languages, known as Celts. These people lived in many different tribes. The area we now call Wales was not a single country or united in any way. The Romans didn't even give it a special name.
Northern and Southern Wales had some differences before the Romans came. Southern Wales was developing quickly during the Iron Age, like the rest of Britain. However, the northern parts of Wales were slower to change. As technology improved, from the 5th to the 1st century BC, Southern Wales became more crowded. Southern Wales had more in common with the north than with the rest of Britain, and it didn't see much outside influence until the Roman conquest.
Hill forts are very common sites from the Iron Age in Wales. Archaeologists use these forts to learn about the past. However, because not much archaeological work has been done, our understanding of these forts across Wales can be incomplete. Experts believe that Wales before the Roman conquest was similar to the rest of Iron Age Britain. But this is still debated because there isn't much evidence. Most of the archaeological findings are burials and hill forts. Wales, like other distant parts of Britain, gradually stopped making pottery during the Iron Age. This makes it harder for archaeologists to study the past. However, there was still trade in the region. Evidence shows that goods were traded throughout Britain, connecting with Ireland and Northern France.
Britain in 47 AD: A Roman View
Just before the Romans invaded Wales, the Roman army was already powerful. Under Governor Aulus Plautius, they controlled all of southeastern Britain. They also had control over Dumnonia, which might have included the central English lowlands up to the Dee Estuary and the River Mersey. The Romans also had an agreement with the Brigantes tribe in the north. They controlled most of the island's wealth, trade, and resources.
In Wales, the known tribes included the Ordovices and Deceangli in the north, and the Silures and Demetae in the south. Archaeology and old Greek and Roman stories show that valuable natural resources were being used. These included copper, gold, tin, lead, and silver, found in many places in Britain, including Wales. Other than this, we don't know much about the Welsh tribes from this time.
How the Romans Conquered Wales
There's some debate about which parts of Wales the Romans invaded before they conquered Anglesey in 60 AD. This is because there aren't many written records from that time. The Roman writer Tacitus is the only one who wrote about this period.
Tacitus wrote that a tribe attacked a Roman ally in Britain. He called this tribe the 'Decangi,' which experts believe refers to the Welsh Deceangli. The Romans quickly responded. They placed restrictions on all the suspected tribes, then moved against the Deceangli. It's thought that the Romans conquered this tribe around 48 or 49 AD.
Soon after, the Romans fought against the Silures tribe in southeastern Wales. This tribe had likely fought the Roman army before. Because the Silures were so fierce and disobedient, the Romans built a large fortress to control them. The Silures (and later the Ordovices) were led by Caratacus. He was a king who had fled from southeastern England. Under Caratacus, the Welsh fought the Romans in a big battle, which led to the loss of all Ordovician land. This defeat wasn't total, and Caratacus kept fighting the Romans, even defeating two smaller Roman army groups. Caratacus then fled to the Queen of the Brigantes. Queen Cartimandua was loyal to the Romans and handed Caratacus over to them in 51 AD.
While these problems were happening, in 52 AD, the Roman governor, Publius Ostorius Scapula, died. His death gave the Silures a break before the next governor, Didius Gallus, arrived. During that time, the Silures defeated a Roman army group led by Manlius Valens.
In 54 AD, Emperor Claudius died, and Nero became emperor. This changed the situation in Britain. Rome started to focus more on making their power stronger in Britain instead of expanding their territory. We can see this from archaeological finds, which show smaller Roman forts being built around the time Nero became emperor.
After a short period of less action, Quintus Veranius became governor of Britain. He decided it was time to conquer the rest of the British Isles. Veranius began fighting against the Silures, but he died in 58 AD, just one year after being sent to Britain. Suetonius Paulinus took his place. It seems Veranius had some success, because Paulinus started moving north. This suggests there wasn't much strong opposition in the south. Paulinus was very successful in conquering northern Wales. By 60 AD, it seems he had reached the Irish Sea, as he was preparing to conquer Anglesey.
Anglesey was full of people fleeing from the Romans, and it had become a stronghold for the Druids. Even though the Romans were initially afraid of Anglesey, they managed to win and control the Welsh tribes. However, this victory didn't last long. A huge British rebellion, led by Boudica, broke out in the east and stopped the Romans from fully taking over Wales.
It wasn't until 74 AD that Julius Frontinus continued the campaigns against Wales. By the end of his time as governor in 77 AD, he had brought most of Wales under Roman control.
Only one tribe remained mostly untouched throughout the conquest: the Demetae. This tribe did not fight Rome and developed peacefully, away from its neighbors and the Roman Empire. The Demetae were the only pre-Roman Welsh tribe to keep their original tribal name after Roman rule.
Wales in Roman Society: Daily Life and Work
Mining for Riches
People knew about Britain's mineral wealth before the Roman invasion. This was one of the main reasons the Romans wanted to conquer the island. All mining was controlled by the Roman government and the military, as the emperor owned all mineral rights. Roman agents soon found large amounts of gold, copper, and lead in Wales, along with some zinc and silver. Gold was already being mined at Dolaucothi before the Romans arrived. But Roman engineering greatly increased how much gold was taken out, and allowed for huge amounts of other metals to be extracted. This continued until it was no longer practical or profitable, and then the mine was closed.
Modern experts have tried to figure out how much these extracted metals were worth to the Roman economy. They also try to determine when the Roman occupation of Britain became "profitable" for the Empire. While these studies haven't given exact answers, the benefits to Rome were significant. The gold production at Dolaucothi alone might have been very important for the economy.
Making Things: Roman Factories
In Roman Britain, making goods for trade and export mostly happened in the south and east. Almost no industrial production took place in Wales.
This was mainly due to where resources were located. Iron factories were near iron supplies. Pewter (a mix of tin and lead or copper) molds were near tin supplies and good soil for the molds. Groups of pottery kilns were near suitable clay soil. Grain-drying ovens were in farming areas where sheep were also raised for wool. Salt production was in the same places it had been before the Romans. Glass-making sites were in or near cities.
In Wales, the right materials weren't found together in suitable combinations. Also, the forested, mountainous countryside wasn't good for this type of industry.
Groups of tile factories, both big and small, were first run by the Roman military for their own needs. So, there were temporary sites wherever the army went and could find good soil. This included a few places in Wales. However, as Roman influence grew, the army started getting tiles from civilian companies. These companies built their kilns in lowland areas with good soil and then shipped the tiles wherever they were needed.
Becoming More Roman: Romanisation
The Romans controlled all of the area we now call Wales. They built Roman roads and castra (forts), mined gold at Luentinum, and traded goods. But they weren't very interested in the area because of its difficult mountains and lack of flat farmland. Most Roman remains in Wales are military structures. Sarn Helen, a major Roman road, connected North and South Wales.
The area was controlled by large Roman legionary bases at Deva Victrix (modern Chester) and Isca Augusta (Caerleon). These were two of the three such bases in Roman Britain. Roads connected these main bases to smaller forts for auxiliary troops, like Segontium (Caernarfon) and Moridunum (Carmarthen).
South-east Wales was the most Romanised part of the country. It's possible that Roman estates in this area continued to exist as recognizable units until the 8th century. The kingdom of Gwent was likely founded by direct descendants of the Romanised Silurian ruling class.
The best signs of Roman influence are the presence of towns and villas (large country houses) in the countryside. In Wales, this was only true for the southeastern coastal region of South Wales. The only major Roman towns in Wales were at Carmarthen and Caerwent. There were three small towns near Caerwent, and these, along with Roman Monmouth, were the only other "urbanized" sites in Wales.
In the homeland of the Demetae tribe in southwestern Wales, some sites were once thought to be villas. But excavations show that these were pre-Roman family homes. They might have been updated with Roman technology, like stone walls, but they kept a native character. This was very different from the true Roman villas found further east, like in Oxfordshire.
Interestingly, the number of Roman-era Latin inscriptions doesn't always mean an area was fully Romanised. They are most common at military sites. Their presence elsewhere depended on having suitable stone, stonemasons, and people willing to pay for them. The Roman fort complex at Tomen y Mur in northwestern Wales has more inscriptions than either Segontium (near modern Caernarfon) or Noviomagus Reginorum (Chichester).
Hill Forts: Old Homes in New Times
In areas under Roman civilian control, like the territories of a civitas (a Roman town), building and living in hill forts was against Roman rules. However, further inland and to the north, some pre-Roman hill forts continued to be used during the Roman era. Others were abandoned, and some were even newly occupied. This suggests that local leaders who cooperated with the Romans were allowed to continue their leadership under local laws and customs.
Religion in Roman Wales
We have very little information about religious practices in Wales during the Roman era. One story comes from Tacitus, who described the strange appearance and bloody customs of the druids of Anglesey during the Roman conquest of Wales. It's often said that Tacitus described the druids as horrible. If he hadn't, the story might have been seen as a Roman massacre of defenseless people.
The Welsh region of Britain wasn't very important for spreading Roman culture across the island. It has almost no buildings related to religious practice, except where the Roman military was located. These military sites show the practices of non-native soldiers. Any native religious sites would have been made of wood, which hasn't survived. So, they are hard to find anywhere in Britain, especially in mountainous, forested Wales.
We don't know exactly when Christianity arrived in Wales. Archaeology suggests it came to Roman Britain slowly. It first gained followers among coastal merchants and the upper classes. It never became widespread outside of the southeast during the Roman era. There's also evidence that some parts of Britain preferred non-Christian worship in the 4th century. This was true in the upper regions of the Severn Estuary, from the Forest of Dean east of the River Wye all the way around the coast of the estuary, up to and including Somerset.
In a book called De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae, written around 540 AD, a writer named Gildas tells a story. He writes about the martyrdom (being killed for one's beliefs) of Saint Alban at Verulamium, and of Julius and Aaron at 'City of the Legion'. Gildas says this happened during a time when Christians were being persecuted and decrees were issued against them. Bede repeats this story in his Ecclesiastical History, written around 731 AD. The 'City of the Legion' is likely Caerleon, which in Welsh is Caerllion, meaning 'Fortress of the Legion'. Caerleon is the only place with a long and continuous military presence that was in a Romanised part of Britain, with nearby towns and a Roman civitas. Other possible locations are Chester and Carlisle, but both were far from the Romanised area of Britain and had a more temporary, military history.
A side note about Saint Patrick, a patron saint of Ireland. He was a Briton born around 387 AD in a place called Banna Venta Berniae. The exact location is unknown because of errors in old copies of his writings. His home is a guess, with some favoring sites near Carlisle, while others prefer coastal South Wales.
Irish Settlers in Wales
By the mid-4th century, the Roman presence in Britain was weakening. Towns that once had no defenses were now being surrounded by walls, including both Carmarthen and Caerwent. Roman political control eventually broke down. Many foreign tribes took advantage of this, raiding widely across the island. Roman soldiers who had deserted and even some native Britons joined them. Order was restored in 369 AD, but Roman Britain never fully recovered.
It was around this time that Wales received many settlers from southern Ireland. These were the Uí Liatháin and Laigin tribes, and possibly the Déisi (though this last one is less certain). Only the first two are confirmed by reliable sources and place names. The Irish settled along the southern and western coasts, in Anglesey and Gwynedd (except for two specific areas), and in the territory of the Demetae.
We don't know how they arrived. Theories include them being "raiders," "invaders" who took control, or "foederati" (allies) invited by the Romans. It could also have been because Wales had fewer people due to plague or famine, which ancient writers often didn't mention.
What we do know is that their unique circular huts are found where they settled. The inscribed stones found in Wales, whether in Latin or ogham (an ancient Irish alphabet) or both, are typically Irish. When both Latin and ogham are on a stone, the name in Latin is in a British form, while the same name in ogham is in an Irish form. Also, medieval Welsh royal family trees include Irish-named ancestors who also appear in an old Irish story called The Expulsion of the Déisi. However, this might be due to later influences, and only the presence of the Uí Liatháin and Laigin in Wales has been confirmed.
The End of Roman Rule in Wales
Historical records tell us about the big changes in the Roman Empire during the 3rd and 4th centuries. They mention that troops were pulled out of Roman Britain to support Roman generals who wanted to become emperor. In much of Wales, where Roman troops were the only sign of Roman rule, that rule ended when the troops left and didn't come back. The end came to different regions at different times.
Tradition says that Roman customs lasted for several years in southern Wales, even into the late 5th and early 6th centuries. This is partly true. Caerwent continued to be lived in after the Romans left, while Carmarthen was probably abandoned in the late 4th century. Also, southwestern Wales was the home of the Demetae tribe, who had never fully adopted Roman ways. The entire region of southwestern Wales had been settled by Irish newcomers in the late 4th century, so it's unlikely they were ever fully Romanised.
However, in southeast Wales, after the Roman legions left Britain, the town of Venta Silurum (Caerwent) remained occupied by Romano-Britons until at least the early 6th century. Early Christian worship was still happening in the town, and it might have had a bishop with a monastery in the second half of that century.
Magnus Maximus: A Key Figure
In Welsh stories, Magnus Maximus is a very important figure in the rise of a free Britain after the Romans left. Royal and religious family trees from the Middle Ages list him as the ancestor of kings and saints. In the Welsh story Breuddwyd Macsen Wledig (The Dream of Emperor Maximus), he is the Emperor of Rome and marries a wonderful British woman. He tells her she can ask for anything as a wedding gift. She asks that her father be given control over Britain. This story formally shows the transfer of power from Rome back to the Britons themselves.
Historically, Magnus Maximus was a Roman general who served in Britain in the late 4th century. He launched his successful attempt to become emperor from Britain in 383 AD. This is the last date we have any evidence of a Roman military presence in Wales, the western Pennines, and Deva (which means the entire non-Romanised part of Britain south of Hadrian's Wall). Coins dated later than 383 AD have been found along Hadrian's Wall, suggesting that troops were not completely removed from it, as was once thought. In the book De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae written around 540 AD, Gildas says that Maximus left Britain not only with all its Roman troops but also with all its armed groups, governors, and the best of its young men, never to return. Since he left with the troops and senior administrators, and planned to continue ruling Britain, his practical step was to give local authority to local rulers. Welsh legends tell a mythical story that says he did exactly that.
After he became emperor of the Western Roman Empire, Maximus returned to Britain to fight against the Picts and Scots (meaning the Irish). He probably did this to support Rome's long-time allies, the Damnonii, Votadini, and Novantae (all located in modern Scotland). While there, he likely made similar arrangements to formally transfer authority to local chiefs. The later rulers of Galloway, home to the Novantae, would claim Maximus as the founder of their family line, just like the Welsh kings did.
Maximus ruled the Roman West until he was killed in 388 AD. A series of governors would rule southeastern Britain until 407 AD. But there is nothing to suggest that Rome tried to regain control of the west or north after 383 AD. That year is considered the definite end of the Roman era in Wales.
What the Romans Left Behind: Their Legacy
Historian Wendy Davies has suggested that the way property and estates were handled in medieval Wales was a Roman legacy. However, this and other legacy issues are still being debated. For example, Leslie Alcock has argued that this approach to property couldn't have existed before the 6th century, meaning it came after the Roman period.
There wasn't much Latin language left in the Welsh language. Only a few words were borrowed from Latin. Since there are no early written Welsh sources, we don't know when these words were added to Welsh. They might even date from a later post-Roman era when Latin was still the language of writing. Borrowed words include a few common terms and word forms. For example, Welsh ffenestr comes from Latin fenestra ('window'); llyfr is from liber ('book'); ysgrif is from scribo ('scribe'); and the suffix -wys found in Welsh folk names comes from the Latin suffix -ēnsēs. There are a few military terms, such as caer from Latin castra ('fortress'). Eglwys, meaning 'church', ultimately comes from the Greek word klēros.
Welsh kings later used the authority of Magnus Maximus as the basis for their right to rule. While the Roman emperors listed in Welsh royal family trees aren't historically accurate, they show the belief that true royal authority began with Magnus Maximus. As told in The Dream of Emperor Maximus, Maximus married a Briton, and their supposed children are listed in family trees as the ancestors of kings. Tracing ancestries back even further, Roman emperors are listed as sons of earlier Roman emperors, bringing many famous Romans (like Constantine the Great) into the royal family trees.
The kings of medieval Gwynedd trace their origins to the northern British kingdom of Manaw Gododdin (located in modern Scotland). They also claim a connection to Roman authority in their family trees ("Eternus son of Paternus son of Tacitus"). This claim might be independent, or it might have been made up to compete with the legitimacy of kings who claimed descent from the historical Maximus.
Gwyn A. Williams argues that even at the time Offa's Dyke was built (which divided Wales from medieval England), people to its west saw themselves as "Roman." He points to the number of Latin inscriptions still being made into the 8th century as evidence.
