View W of the late C19th reconstructed south wall of the late 3rd century (c 290AD) Roman shore fort at Cardiff Castle, Wales, UK.
View W of the late C19th reconstructed S wall of the Roman shore fort at Cardiff Castle, Wales, UK. The fort was built around AD 290 in response to increased Irish raids. It was used in conjunction with watch towers on the cliffs to the W & designed to protect the civilian population of the Severn estuary & the Glamorgan plain. The River Taff flowed beside the W wall of the fort & the sea came further inland at that time so the fort looked directly over the harbour; it was in active use by Roman military & naval forces until around AD370. With high stone walls, semi-octagonal bastions & single-arched gates at N & S the fort, covering 9 acres ( hectares), closely resembles the Saxon Shore forts of SE England. The Roman foundations were uncovered & reconstructed in the late 1800s during massive building works by the 3rd Marquess of Bute (John Patrick Crichton-Stuart) who had inherited Cardiff Castle in 1848. The new Roman walls were built by architect William Frame. Original Roman masonry with facing stones is visible along the bottom of the wall & separated from the modern work by a course of pink stones.
Size: 3761px × 4961px
Location: Cardiff Castle Roman Fort, Castle Street and Kingsway, Cardiff, Wales, UK
Photo credit: © Mick Sharp / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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