Prestatyn Roman Fort (Now Disproved)

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NPRN275845
Cyfeirnod MapSJ08SE
Cyfeirnod GridSJ0592082020
Awdurdod Unedol (Lleol)Denbighshire
Hen SirSir y Fflint
CymunedPrestatyn
Math O SafleÔL-CNWD
CyfnodCyfredinol
Disgrifiad
A Roman military enclosure, double-ditched and ramparted, at least 112m north-east to south-west by 70m, was said to have been recognised from the air and subsequently trenched (Britannia 8 (1977), 358-9; see also Britannia 16 (1985), fig 2). This was identified as an auxiliary fort and features seen to the south-east were thought to represent an extramural settlement (vicus). Trial trenching on the suspected vicus site in 1985-6, followed by geophysical survey (Weetman in Blockley 1989, 223), produced evidence only for medieval or later cultivation ridges, failing to identify any Roman features. The features representing the alleged fort conform to the recent field boundary pattern, and in 2006 the site was de-scheduled.

Elements of a Roman complex (NPRN 306722) are known from excavation to the south-east of the features described here, and it is possible that the military material recovered comes, not from a fort, but from a harbour installation associated with the shipment of lead from nearby mines.

Source: Blockley 1989 'Prestatyn 1984-5 ...' BAR British series 210.
J.Wiles, RCAHMW, 16 February 2005