The Main Areas of Roman Occupation

The main areas of Roman remains in Herefordshire occur along the line of the definite Roman road and in the vicinity of Ross-on-Wye. The Roman road here was part of Watling Street, which ran from Viroconium (Wroxeter) in Shropshire to Isca Silurum (Caerleon) in Monmouthshire, crossing the county from north to south. The road passed by two Roman stations in Herefordshire - Leintwardine and Kenchester.

At Leintwardine research and excavation have established the existence of a playing-card-shaped camp, 14 acres in extent and surrounded by 3m high embankments. Within the entrenchments Roman tiles, pottery and coins have been found. This area has been identified with the Roman station Bravonium, which is mentioned in the Antonine Itinerary, Iter XII.

Kenchester, near the River Wye, has shown more extensive evidence of Roman occupation. It appears to have been a small market town around 20 acres in size, with suburbs beyond the town walls. It has been identified as the Roman town Magna or Magnis in the Antonine Itinerary. At this site large, intricate mosaic floors have been found (one of which has recently been dated to c. AD 350), along with hypocausts (under-floor heating systems) and painted wall plaster.

In the south-west of the county, at Weston under Penyard near Ross-on-Wye, are the remains of a small town or village which was connected with the iron mines of the nearby Forest of Dean. This area appears to be the site of Ariconium from the Antonine Itinerary. Coins, bronze artefacts and iron-working remains have all been found at this site. The boundaries of the settlement have not been conclusively identified and there has been no large-scale archaeological excavation.

There are also a few isolated Roman sites in the county. At Blackwardine near Stoke Prior, skeletons, pottery, coins and possible kiln remains were found when the Bromyard to Leominster Railway was constructed, and some traces of a Roman road have been observed. Another site is Stretton Grandison, also apparently on a Roman road, where interesting objects have been found and attempts have been made to match it with the Cicutio mentioned in the Antonine Itinerary, although no successful identification has yet been made.

A villa has been noted at Putley, near Ledbury (HER no. 3228) and there is another villa at Walterstone (HER no. 1454), where the Roman Watling Street crosses into Monmouthshire. In 1812 another Roman villa was discovered in the rectory grounds at Bishopstone (HER no. 7223), 1½ miles from Kenchester, during excavation for the rectory foundations. A tessellated pavement was exposed 40cm below the ground surface, measuring c. 10m² with the colours still clear and bright in a geometrical pattern. Unfortunately, this mosaic no longer exists.

Understanding the extent of the romanisation of Herefordshire is difficult because there is a lack of evidence from which to work. We do not fully know the extent of occupation by the Roman army in the county and it is likely that not all the Roman forts or marching camps that existed here have been identified. It may be that concentrated excavation, fieldwork and aerial photography will bring to light new sites or more fully explain those that we know exist. Hopefully in the future there will be a focus on uncovering what life was like here in the 1st to 4th centuries AD. Currently the picture of Roman Herefordshire is at best patchy and incomplete, but it is clear from the known villas, mosaic pavements, pottery and coins that romanisation of the Iron Age inhabitants did occur here to some extent.

[Original author: Miranda Greene, 2004]