Roman fort found in Pembrokeshire may link to Magnus Maximus camp legend

Left · 2Mark Merrony, an Oxford University archaeologist, has identified a Roman auxiliary fort in Pembrokeshire, Wales. He says it may be connected to a medieval Welsh legend about the Roman emperor Magnus Maximus. 1 2 Left · 2In The Dream of Macsen Wledig, a tale in the Mabinogion, Magnus Maximus (Macsen Wledig in Welsh), who ruled Britain in the fourth century, pitches his camp at Frenni Fawr, the easternmost peak of the Preseli Hills. No archaeological evidence of a Roman camp on or below the summit had been found until now. 1 2 Left · 2Merrony found the site in 2024. Satellite imagery showed an outline in an overgrown field, and he then spotted a Roman tile. The Guardian puts it about 2 miles (3.5km) south-west of the summit. Merrony, writing in The Conversation, describes it as near Crymych, north Pembrokeshire, with the Frenni Fawr a little over three kilometres to the north-east. 1 2

Left · 2The Guardian reports the fort measures 180 by 150 metres, sits on a slope with a commanding view and probably held about 500 troops. Merrony describes the playing-card shape with rounded corners typical of auxiliary forts, an area of about three hectares, and a water-supply leat running through the south of the enclosure. He says part of it was destroyed by the building of the village of Crymych. 1 2 Left · 2A geophysical survey indicated a rectangular building in the middle of the enclosure and a larger one to its south. Merrony says this is consistent with a headquarters building and a commander's house. 1 2 Left · 2Finds include an iron stylus, pottery, large quantities of Roman tile and clay floors. They also include preserved wagon rut marks, a lead spindle whorl, a gaming counter and a woodworking axe. The Guardian says two coins date from the late fourth century. Merrony's own account lists a third-century coin and two later fourth-century coins. 1 2

Left · 1In the Guardian's account, Merrony's brother Nick had jokingly asked him to find coins to prove the Magnus Maximus theory, then found two late fourth-century coins on the dig. Merrony says: "If Magnus Maximus was there, there must have been an army there." 1 Left · 1Merrony's account of the origins of the fort differs from the legend's date. He says the site was probably a timber fort established during the campaign of the governor Sextus Julius Frontinus between AD74 and 78, which would predate Magnus Maximus by about three centuries. He says the later finds suggest a connection with the Maximus camp. He also believes the fort sits on a previously unidentified major Roman road linking Pembrokeshire with Ceredigion. 2 Left · 2The Guardian says the find overturns assumptions that the local Celtic tribe was at peace with the Romans. Merrony says he faced scepticism about his earlier work tracing Roman roads in west Wales. He identified a road along the southern Preselis in 2022 and earlier found Roman villas at Ford and Cutteslowe. 1 2

Left · 2The Guardian says one of several planned excavations has just finished, funded by Oxford University and crowdfunding, and that Merrony's research will appear in the magazine Antiqvvs. Merrony's account dates the main five-trench excavation to early September. Both pieces mention his forthcoming book, Lives of the Roman Emperors. Neither reports independent verification or peer review. 1 2