Woolly says – It had been a horrible week as the human and I started adapting to life without one of our group, neither of us knew quite what to do, so being the resourceful mammoth that I am I decided to check out some places to visit and came up with something that looked incredible.
It was strange climbing into the car without barking boy in tow, but my small companion had selected a place where doggo’s weren’t allowed in his quest to find a new sort of normal.
Woolly says – I might have been overexcited at the prospect of Romans but for once Jo humoured me as I told her a little more. We were heading to the small city of Newport in Wales to investigate The National Roman Legion Museum in Caerleon,
Roman Wales was the farthest point west that the Roman Empire in Roman Britain extended to, and as a defence point the fortress at Isca Augusta, now Caerleon was built in 75 AD, one of only three permanent Roman Legionary fortresses in Roman Britain. It was occupied and operational for just over 200 years. Today we would be visiting the four remaining sites that had been left behind.
Parking was easy and leaving the car behind we walked the short distance to the museum. Inside we were warmly welcomed and set off to look at the extensive number of cases they had. So many items that had been found from glassware, pottery, road markers and jewellery.
As Jo peered into a brightly lit cabinets I sat and contemplated the mosaic tiled floor that had been discovered during excavations. Thought to have been from the dining room of the legate’s residence I wondered how many crumbs the floor had seen in its former life.
We both arrived at an interesting looking coffin at the same moment, known as the Bathstone Coffin it was complete, but it did have a skull inside which was fascinating. Behind it was a large metal cannister which contained the cremated remains of a 35 year old roman man.
Next came roof tiles which were beautifully formed which couldn’t’ be said for the Roman soldier who looked as though he needed a good meal.
Having seen the displays, we headed outside and into a garden area, filled with beds of medicinal plants it would have once been the garden of the general in charge.
With the first exhibit completed we retraced our steps and set off to find the baths. The small roads were clogged with traffic and as we wandered along, we arrived at what appeared to be a courtyard of sorts. Passing under the arched entrance which would have once been a gateway into the city we found ourselves looking at all many of sculptures including a very sweet blue dragon who was dosing peacefully in the sunshine.
Realising that we had completely missed the baths we headed back on ourselves asking a passing person for directions and were pointed towards a pub, I had no problem with that as it meant we might have an early lunch, the human however had other ideas and bypassed the inn heading to the back of the carpark where low and behold a building stood. We paid our monies and turned to look around us. It was incredible, a real Roman Bath house which had water in it, this was something we had never encountered before as usually they are to ruined to hold anything.
We stood for a while just taking it all in before walking slowly along the gantry that surrounded the pool. Information boards told us and showed us pictures of how this would have looked in 72AD whilst technology made it appear that someone was actually swimming in the pool, I, even with my water allergy, was tempted to jump in just to be able to say that I had swum in a roman bath, even my Bestie Sion the Sheep might get wet for that treat.
As we reached the second sections where the Frigidaire room, the steam rooms and changing rooms were located we could see an incredibly deep trench that would have carried water through the whole building as well as the stacks of tiles that allowed hot air to circulate.
It was fantastic, one wall held the remains of a floral wreath that had once decorated the bath house. What looked like a well was to one side with a bed of money, I did consider popping down to fill my pockets, but Jo had that look on her face, so I didn’t dare.
We reluctantly left the incredible delights and headed outside towards the amphitheatre.
Built around AD 90 to entertain the legionaries stationed at the fort, wooden benches would have provided seating for up to 6,000 spectators, who would gather to watch bloodthirsty displays featuring gladiatorial combat and exotic wild animals. Long after the Romans left, the amphitheatre took on a new life in Arthurian legend. Geoffrey of Monmouth, the somewhat imaginative 12th century scholar, wrote in his History of the Kings of Britain that Arthur was crowned in Caerleon and that the ruined amphitheatre was actually the remains of King Arthur’s Round Table. How incredible that would be if it is true.
We circled the top watching the school group that was racing around in the combat area and waiting for Jo to take a picture that didn’t include a blue school uniform. Steps led down at intervals and a curious square hole in the ground which might have once sold snacks for the crowds.
As we entered the arena, I imaged the cries of delight from the spectators and wondered how many lions I might have been able to slay. Jo had found what appeared to be a storage area or even possibly a shop to one side with what looked like a fireplace and oven.
As the smaller people departed, we stood in the middle taking it all in.
A short walk across the rugby pitch led us to the last of the places to see. The only remains of a Roman legionary barracks on view anywhere in Europe was an impressive title to hold.
The barracks had housed a century – 80 men at a time each room would have slept eight which given the foundations we were looking at must have been very cosy indeed.
Three long blocks could be seen as we wandered through imaging the noise and shouting that would have greeted our ears if we had been there in the early AD’s.
A couple of channels were still there which would have been used for sewage, at least we didn’t have the smell that that would have brought. As we looked back at the whole site you really had to be impressed with the building work that the Romans undertook and as we have found on our travels there are thousands of roman cities across the world connected by their shared history.
I’d loved every minute, but my tummy was becoming louder by the second, so it seemed only right that a late lunch was the next stopping point.