Twyn-y-Briddallt Marching Camp

Marching or Temporary Camp

Lying on a moorland spur at a height of about 1,500 ft (457m), this camp has a very irregular outline, entirely due to the broken ground on which it is built.

This large temporary marching camp lies in the St Gwynno Forest some 9½ miles west of the fort at Gelli-gaer in Mid-Glamorgan. The encampment encloses the summit of Twyn-y-Briddallt (alt. 1,488 ft; 453.5 m) to the north-west of Carn-y-Pigwn (1,542 ft; 470 m) where the Roman engineers utilized the Craig-y-Gilwern ridge, which towers above the town of Ferndale in the Rhondda Fach, to form the south-western defences of their encampment, with the north-eastern defences aligned parallel to this ridge some distance beyond the summit of Twyn-y-Briddallt. The camp has been attributed to the campaigns of Sextus Julius Frontinus sometime during the period A.D. 73 to 78, along with other large camps at Blaen-cwm-Bach and Pen-y-Coedcae.

Map References for Twyn-y-briddallt Camp

OS National Grid Reference: ST002982
Dimensions: 1,250 x 580 ft (381 x 176 m)
Area: 16 acres (c.6.4 ha)

References for Twyn-y-briddallt Camp

  • Air Reconnaissance in Britain, 1961-1964 by J.K. St. Joseph in J.R.S. lv (1965) p.86;
  • The Roman Frontier in Wales by V.E. Nash-Williams (Cardiff 1969) p.126;

Roman Roads near Twyn-y-briddallt Camp

None identified

Sites near Twyn-y-Briddallt Marching Camp