Cowbridge Roman Town

Cowbridge Roman Town was a small town around a fort the remains of which have been excavated at Cowbridge in Glamorgan. Its name in Latin is unknown, although it is the strongest candidate for Bovium (corrected from the ablative Bomio) of the [[Antonine Itinerary.

A Roman bath house or thermae, abandoned by the early 2nd century, has been discovered which had bricks stamped by the Legio II Augusta, the Second Legion, suggesting perhaps some kind of early military establishment on the site. There were certainly funerary monuments of persons of status at this early period, including a fine sculpted lion. The settlement later became a ribbon development of typical timber and stone strip buildings within ditched enclosures fronting a north-south Roman road. Industry included agricultural processing and large-scale iron working. Occupation continued into the 4th century.

Location

• Location map: 51°27’42"N, 3°26’50"W

References

• Arnold, Christopher J; Davies, Jeffrey L (2000). Roman & Early Mediæval Wales. Stroud: Sutton Publishing.