Coelbran Roman Fort

LiDAR – Coelbren Roman Fort - Gwent DTM- (Digital Terrain Model, i.e. No buildings or foliage) Just to the east of Onllwyn Homefire Anthracite mine where they sell bags of ‘large nuts’ (I kid you not) lies the Roman fort of Coelbren, which is named after the village just 1km to the northwest. This fort is situated along the inland Roman road from the river Neath (due south) which leads to the harbour of Neath to the SW. Ramparts of earth, clay & timber. Abandoned in 130-140AD. (via pottery evidence) Excavated in 1906 by Col Llewelyn Morgan. High ground water table precluded a complete excavation. Interior timber building remains discovered. No masonry structures. Part-melted glass & lead recovered. Dating uncertain. Post-medieval pottery also recovered. Very large annex to the southeast across the river with geophys finding evidence of buried structures. (not imaged on this LiDAR). Possibly abandoned due to flooding as the fort itself is raised. (Scheduled monument) Iron Age tribal association (conjecture based on location): Demetae Descriptions from hillforts.arch.ox.ac.uk & Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust HER. 1st ED OS Mapping via National Library of Scotland. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.