Segontium

The remains of Segontium

Segontium was a Roman fort whose remains are to be found on the outskirts of Caernarfon in Caernarfonshire (SH485624). This fort was the foundation of Caernarfon.

The fort probably took its name from the nearby River Seiont, and may be related to the Segontiaci, a British tribe mentioned by Julius Caesar. The fort was founded by Gnaeus Julius Agricola in 77 or 78 AD after he had conquered the Ordovices. It was the main Roman fort in this corner of Britain and was designed to hold about a thousand auxiliary infantry. It was connected by a Roman road to the Roman legionary base at Chester, Deva Victrix. It was chosen as a strategic location on higher ground giving a good view over the Menai Strait.

The original timber defences were rebuilt in stone in the first half of the 2nd century AD. An inscription on an aqueduct from the time of the Emperor Septimius Severus indicates that at that time it was garrisoned by Cohors I Sunicorum, which would have originally been levied among the Sunici of Gallia Belgica.

The site is now cut through by the A4085 road to Beddgelert, but the remains of most of the buildings are preserved. The visitor centre and small museum exhibiting finds made in and around the fort is now closed. Guidebooks can be bought from other Cadw sites, including Caernarfon Castle. Outside the fort, the remains of a civilian settlement have been found, together with a Roman temple of Mithras, the Caernarfon Mithraeum and a cemetery.

Segontium was not only the origin of the town of Caernarfon but also of its name, which is from the Welsh "Caer yn ar-Fon", which means "Fort in (the land) opposite Môn [Anglesey]".

Segontium in mythology and fiction

In Breuddwyd Macsen Wledig ("The dream of Macsen Wledig"), one of the Four Independent Tales in the Mabinogion, Macsen (who can be identified with Magnus Maximus, who made a bid to become Roman emperor in 383) dreams of a beautiful woman who turns out to be at "the fort at the mouth of the Seiont".

Wallace Breem's novel Eagle in the Snow begins and ends in post-Roman Segontium, and references the temple of Mithras.

Segontium features as a significant location in Mary Stewart's Merlin trilogy, specifically in The Crystal Cave, ISBN 978-1444737486 and The Hollow Hills, ISBN 978-1444737509.

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Segontium)

• Segontium - National Trust
• Segontium on Roman-Britain.org
• The Mabinogion - Lady Margaret Guest translation

References

• Segontium and the Roman occupation of Wales by R E Mortimer Wheeler (1924) (Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion)