Bulmore Roman settlement

Fortlet and Minor Settlement

The small roadside Roman settlement at Bulmore lay about two and a half miles east of the legionary fortress at Isca Silurum (Caerleon) on the opposite side of the River Usk, and after the major incline of Chepstow Hill on the road to Venta Silurum (Caerwent). The Roman road north to the earlier legionary fortress at Burrium (Usk), branched off the main Isca – Venta road at the eastern end of the Bulmore settlement, and its course is closely followed by the modern ‘Usk Valley Walk’ (course plotted on the OS Landranger Map#171).

The settlement extended about 500-600m along an irregular axial street. It originated, probably as a planned plantation, in the later first century AD and is thought to have been abandoned by the fourth century. Cemeteries are clustered about the settlement, particularly above the road leading to Caerleon. Burials are also known around Abernant to the east. The areas beyond the street frontage appear to have been less intensively used, but a pottery kiln and a drying kiln have been identified.

References for Bulmore

  • Air Reconnaissance in Britain, 1958-1960 by J.K. St. Joseph in J.R.S. li (1961) p.125;
  • Rome Against Caratacus by Graham Webster (Batsford, London, 1993);

Roman Roads near Bulmore

N (6) to Bvrrivm (Usk, Gwent) W (3) to Isca Silvrvm (Caerleon, Gwent) E (6) to Venta Silvrvm (Caerwent, Gwent)

Sites near Bulmore Roman settlement