Maritime Isca
The River Usk seems to have become a gathering place for maritime
history. The medieval ship at Newport has been widely documented,
including my short account within these pages a few years ago, and
continues to yield up the secrets of maritime trade in the fifteenth
century as the painstaking process of recording and conservation of the
structure continues.
However, a few miles up river the Roman settlement of Caerleon (or
Isca as it was known to the Romans) has recently been in the media
following the discovery of a hitherto unknown port there. Caerleon, of
course, has been known as a major Roman fortress for a very long time
with successive excavations revealing many parts of the fortress
complex, including the baths, the amphitheatre, the barrack blocks and
numerous buildings lying within the boundary walls. The purpose of
such a city was summed up by the historian Tacitus who wrote, in
respect of the indigenous population, “On the Silures neither terror nor
mercy had the least effect; they persisted in war and could be quelled
only by legions encamped in their country”.
In the last couple of years, though, further work has been taking place
outside the main part of the settlement to locate and identify structures
associated with the civilian village which was suspected to be lying to
the west. It is this activity which has brought to light, not only the
remains of a very extensive complex of buildings, but of an extensive
port facility on the banks of the river Usk just outside the main fortress
area.
The remains of a quay had been located and investigated in 1963 some
six hundred metres downstream of the town bridge and this was dated to
the early to late third century, a time when the legion from Caerleon was
in the process of being sent to other parts of the province to deal with
incursions from Ireland and to work upon Hadrian’s Wall. It has always
been assumed, therefore, that this quay was used by troop ships carrying
soldiers away to other places.
It is now clear, though, that there was another, larger, quay facility
closer to the settlement and it is believed, even at this early stage, that
this is only the second such port from Roman times to have been found
in Britain. My own view is that this is a matter of interpretation because
we know of ports in London and several locations on the south coast
such as Dover and Richborough, together with others in the north, such
as Chester. Maybe the Caerleon port is regarded as of greater
significance because of its scale, which is still being assessed. Although
there has been an early attempt in the media to suggest that the port was
instrumental in augmenting the military presence in Caerleon soon after
the initial arrival in AD 74, the fact that current evidence dates the
structures to the mid third century tends to dismiss this speculation.
Nonetheless, this discovery is of great importance in the story of
maritime activity in south Wales and as further evidence comes to light
one hopes to be able to paint a more detailed picture.
By Colin Green
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