this post was submitted on 02 Aug 2024
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British Archaeology

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A previously unknown Roman fort discovered in Pembrokeshire in Wales overturns assumptions that the area’s indigenous Celtic tribe was on peaceful terms with the Roman invaders.

The site, which has excited archaeologists, had been hidden until now beneath an enormous, overgrown field. It explains why the land had been unsuccessful for farming: the farmer kept hitting stone.

The discovery was made by Dr Mark Merrony, a leading Roman specialist and tutor at Oxford University, who said: “It is a humongous fort, an incredible find of national importance.”

He is all the more excited because it is right next to a Roman road that he has also identified for the first time.

The fort is thought to date from the first to the third centuries, when the Celtic Demetae tribe inhabited the south-west area of modern Wales.

They were thought to have been pro-Roman, meaning there was less need for a major military presence to quell local resistance.

Merrony said that this fort suggested this part of Wales was considerably more militarised than previously thought: “I now don’t think they were pro-Roman at all, but that the Romans were hitting the area with an iron fist.”

He noted that its form and scale was like the only other Roman fort known in Pembrokeshire, excavated at Wiston near Haverfordwest in 2013. Both forts were now linked to a Roman road network that had not previously been known, he said.

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[–] NuraShiny@hexbear.net 3 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I am curious how stupid people think these Celts were. "Ah yes the Romans, conquerors of the known world, have offered us peace. Let's trust them and not make any preparations at all!"

[–] Emperor 2 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

[–] NuraShiny@hexbear.net 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

This tweet is trash for not having that evidence in it, though. If some rando on the internet tells you they cured covid, are you just gonna believe them, or ask them for proof? There is no proof in the tweet, so it's trash, end of story.

[–] Emperor 2 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I'm not sure what Tweet you are referring to. The results will be published in the next edition of the journal Antiqvvs.

[–] NuraShiny@hexbear.net 2 points 3 months ago

Oh i am sorry I got four replies at once about a different post of mine and assumed this was also about that. My B LOL

To answer you properly: Yes, I agree. Of course finding evidence of this is nice, but I also think if you lived next to the Roman Empire, you didn't think things would be hunky dory forever and there was no need to worry about those guys with all those legions that seem to only know how to put fish sauce on everything and do war. Which is kinda what this article makes it sound like people were assuming.