C A E 



for its mndv.-™ iirportaiicc. UiiJcr tlie Anj^lo-Roman 

 I'jvnaily, it was the Ilea Siliiium, tiic Cacr Legionis Scciindi 

 i-f Aiitoniaus, nnii tlie fiat ol gtJvfnimeut in that divifioii of 

 tliis iflaiul called Biitaiiiiia Scci-.'.ida. During tlie height of 

 Roman fpleiuiour and dominion, this place continued a Iccne 

 ot pomi) and luxury, as may he fairly inferred fronn the 

 following dticription, by Gyraldus Cambrenfis, who wrote 

 in the l ;tli century. " Many remains of its former maj^niii- 

 ccncc are lUU vifible. Splendid palaces, which or.ce emu- 

 lated with their jjildcd ro;>fs the grandeur of Rome, for it 

 \\as originally built by the Roman princes, and adorned 

 with flatcly edifices; a gigantic tower, numercns baths, 

 ruins of a tempk, and a theatre, the walls of which arc pai-iiy 

 ftandiiio-. Here we ftl.l fee, both within and without the 

 walls, fubterraneoiis buildings, aquedud\s, and vaulted ca- 

 verns, and lloves fo excellently contrived, as to convey their 

 heat through feeret and iniperciptible pores," &:c. In con- 

 firmation of the monlt's aeeount, various antiquities difco- 

 vercd at different periods bear ample tellimony. Earthen 

 veffels of curious woikmannup, telTelated pavements, phiala, 

 brafs tibula, Roman bricks infcribed " jL'g. II. Aug. ;" 

 an altar to the emperor Aurelius Antoninus; another to 

 Jupiter, under tiie appellation of IDolichenius, as the patron 

 of iron mines ; another, as fuppofed, to the goddefs Allra^a : 

 and many other votive altars, monuments, ilatues, infcrip- 

 tions, and Roman coins from C^far to Valenlinian inclulive ; 

 with moil of the intermediate emperois. 



In fcveral places the walh are ftill vifible, but fcarcely 

 fufficient to point out the original extent of the city. While 

 the name of the parilli, Llangnttock juxca CaerUon, feems 

 to favour the opinion that the old city was welUvard of the 

 prefent town, perhaps moll of the buildings on that fide were 

 extra rrosnia, and formed fubuibs, as appears from the direc- 

 tion of the wellern wall. Several bagnios and fudatories 

 have been found, with pillars formed of circular bricks, net 

 unhke thofe ufed by Palladio in fome of the public llru&urts 

 at Venice. North of the town is a high mount of earth, 

 called the Keep, faid to have had formerly a ftrong tov.'er on 

 its fummit ; and a variety of llonts lyini< at its baft 

 flrengthen the affertion. It was probably a Roman editiee. 

 On a rifing ground, about half a mile dillant, is a large 

 fqnare encampment, and fevcn fmaller ones are in the 

 vicinity. 



Cacrleon appears, on a fuperficial view, to occupy a flat 

 pofition ; but in reality, that portion of the piefent town, 

 which is inclofed by the Roman walls, is placed on a gentle 

 rife, conneiied at one extremity with the lower part of the 

 eminence, on which the encampment of the Lodge is 

 Ctuated. This rife Ihelves on the weft and fonth fuics to- 

 wards the U(k, and on the eail towari^s the Avon LKvyd, 

 and feems to have formed a tongue of land, wliich, before 

 the draining of the meadows, was probably a kiiid of penin- 

 fula. Hence, the fortrefs, from its pofition on a rife between 

 two rivers, and almod furrounded with marfhy ground, was 

 a place of couuderable ilrcngth, and well adapted to become 

 the piimary ftation of the Romans in Britannia Sccunca. 

 The atra in which this Roman fortrcfs was built, cannot be 

 preciiely afcertained ; but Hordcy fuppofes, that the Ro- 

 mans rii It fettled here in the reign of Antoninus Pius. It is 

 mentioned in Autonint's Itinerary ; and the numerous coins 

 of the early emperors, which have been difcovered here, 

 feem to confirm this opinion. The walls, however, appear 

 to have been conllruftcd under the lower empire. 



According to Richard of Ci'eaceli-tr, Cacrleon was a 

 Roman colony, and the primary llation in the country of the 

 Silures. In a field clofe to the banks of the U(k, and near 

 the foulh-wefl Cde of the wall, is an oval concavity, mcafur- 



C A E 



'"S T4 ysrdi by C\, and 6 in depth. Tlr.- ntttives call it 

 " Arthur's rouiid table ;" but it is, without douljt, the fite 

 of a Roman amphitheatre. Within the memory of many 

 perfons now living. Hone feats were difcovered on opening 

 the fides of the concavity ;' and in J 706 a figure of Diana, 

 with hertrelTesaiid crefccnt, moulded in alaballer, was found 

 in this place. 



When the Britons had fubmitted to the Roman power, 

 Caerleon, under the aufpices of Antoninus, became the feat 

 of learning and devotion. Three Chriltian cliurthes were 

 quickly ertfted ; one accompanied by an order of nuns, an- 

 other by a houle of regular Cillercian canons, and a third was 

 lionourtd with the m.tropolitan fee of Wales; and, according 

 to the annals of the church, Dubiicius, the great opponent of 

 the Pelagian lierefy, was the full arclibidiop. The remains 

 of the monailery may b; traced in an old houfc, and the qua- 

 drangle round which the different buildings were arranged is 

 (liU vitible. This city was the birth-place of the great 

 Amphibalus, tutor to the martyr St. .'\lban, and the burial- 

 place of St. Julius a;.d St. Aaron, who prenchcd the gofpel 

 here, and fulfeied martyrdom under '.he perfecuting reign of 

 the fanguinary Dloclefian. After that period, Caeilcon in- 

 creafed in learning, piety, and confequence. When the 

 Saxons invaded this country, the univeifiiy was in fi:ch a 

 flourilhing cemdition, as to contain, among n-nmerous other 

 iludents, two hundred philofophers well fkdltd in gtographv 

 and allronomy. (Vid. A. Ellebcnlis.) Near the river are 

 the ruins of a caflle, probably ereifed about the time of the 

 Norman invafion, on the fite of a Brliilh fortrefs. We du 

 not, however, hear of it till I 171, when Henry took the 

 town, d'fpolicning Jorwerthap-Owen, lord of Gwent. In 

 117;, after a noble Hand, it was retaken by Owen, and given 

 up to the Welfli in exchange for the prifoiiers. After 

 fcveral fieges, it was retained by I.,lcwclyn-ap-Jorwerth, and 

 hi^ defcendants, till the time of Edward I. Vide Powcl's- 

 HiHory of Wales. 



The prtfent town confills of two or three fniall fl reels, and 

 many of the lioufts are in a Hate of dilapidation. The mod 

 decent building is a charitv-fchool, for maintaining and edu- 

 cating ,30 boys and 20 girls, till they attain the age of 14,, 

 when they are apprenticed with a bounty of feven pounds to- 

 the former, and four to the latter. Tliey are clothed in a 

 drefs of blue cioth, with a badge of white, containing thg 

 initials C. W. aduding to the founder, who, as appears from 

 an infciiptlon on the building, was Charles Williams efq. a 

 native of the town. Tiiefpirit of the place feems in unifoi» 

 with its appearance ; being chiefly inhabited by a poor indo- 

 lent let of people ; alike unaffeflcd by the greatnefs of ihj 

 pall, as inattentive to the advantages of their prefent con- 

 djt.on. The town confilts of 14S haufes, contains about 

 660 inhabitants ; has a weekly market en Tueftlay ; and i» 

 fituated 14G rriles W. from London. Evans's Tour tlirougli 

 South Wales, Svo. lS04.. Coxe's Hiliorical Tour in Moii- 

 mouthfliire, 4to. 1801. 



CAERM.ARTHEN is the county town of Caermar- 

 thenOiire, South V,'alts. It is large, populous, and toler- 

 ably well built ; the llreets arc fpacious, but fomc of theni 

 ileep and irregular, and many ot the lioufes good ; they are 

 generally whitened, and the chimnles are conilrufted of red 

 brick, which prefent an uiipleafant glare to the eye. Among 

 thepublic buildings are a handfome church at the endof Prior- 

 flreet, and a new elegant county-hall built of free-Hone, 

 with colonnades of the Ionic tirder ; the upper part of which- 

 is for the tranfadion of public bufinefs, and the under is 

 ufed as a covere-d maiket. Situated upon a fmjll elevation, 

 on a fine navigable river, in the midll of a fruitful vale, and 

 having no Iowa of note iu its vicinity ; its markets are larg? 



a.id 



