133-616: The Roman conquest of Anglesey refers to two separate invasions of Anglesey in North West Wales that occurred during the early decades of the Roman conquest of Britain in the 1st century CE . The first invasion of North Wales began after the Romans had subjugated much of southern Britain. It was led by the Provincial governor of Britannia , Suetonius Paulinus , who led a successful assault on
266-607: A 30 per cent partner. In 1974, Anglesey became a district of the new county of Gwynedd . Until 1974, Anglesey was divided into civil parishes for the purpose of local government; these in large part equated to ecclesiastical parishes (see the table below), most of which still exist as part of the Church in Wales. (chapelries are listed in italics) a chapelry to Llantrisant in Lyfon hundred The Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 abolished
399-631: A Celtic word for 'mountain' (reflected in Welsh mynydd , Breton menez and Scottish Gaelic monadh ), from a Proto-Celtic *moniyos . Poetic names for the island of Anglesey include the Old Welsh Ynys Dywyll (Shady or Dark Isle) for its former groves and Ynys y Cedairn (Isle of the Brave) for its royal courts; Gerald of Wales ' Môn Mam Cymru ("Môn, Mother of Wales") for its agricultural productivity; and Y fêl Ynys (Honey Isle). The history of
532-525: A duty to cover their altars with the blood of captives and to consult their deities through human entrails." No sacred groves have been confirmed on Anglesey by archaeology, but late Iron Age ritual deposits have been found on the other side of Anglesey, in the small lake called Llyn Cerrig Bach . The Roman army remained on Anglesey long enough to begin the process of garrisoning the island, but shortly received serious news from southern Britain. Tacitus writes: "Suetonius while thus occupied received tidings of
665-541: A few natural lakes, mostly in the west, such as Llyn Llywenan , the largest on the island, Llyn Coron, and Cors Cerrig y Daran, but rivers are few and small. There are two large water supply reservoirs operated by Welsh Water . These are Llyn Alaw to the north of the island and Llyn Cefni in the centre of the island, which is fed by the headwaters of the Afon Cefni . The climate is humid (though less so than neighbouring mountainous Gwynedd ) and generally equable thanks to
798-575: A force of veterans and a small body of auxiliaries; then as the Ordovices would not venture to descend into the plain, he put himself in front of the ranks to inspire all with the same courage against a common danger, and led his troops up a hill. The tribe was all but exterminated." The location of this battle is unknown, but the fort of Dinas Dinorwig is on a foothill some 3 km from the Menai Strait. The name Dinorwig has been supposed to mean "fort of
931-559: A good landing place on the north-coast of the island, and would have most likely served as a guide for landing sea-craft as well as a policing station for those wanting access to Anglesey. The Romans administered the island from Segontium (Caernarfon), a fort in mainland Wales just across the Menai Straits . By the end of that period, over most of the Empire, the city-based elites had assimilated into Roman culture, but no city has been found on
1064-569: A great variety of smaller industries concentrated around Wrexham . The main impact on the river of these industries is their thirst for a dependable good quality water supply. Previously the wings for the Airbus A380 , which were made at Airbus's manufacturing factory in Broughton , were taken downriver by barge to the Port of Mostyn because they were too large to be shipped in an Airbus Beluga . However,
1197-675: A history of the Roman Empire from Tiberius until Nero , mentions the first invasion by Suetonius Paulinus. The second invasion is detailed in Tacitus' work The Life of Gnaeus Julius Agricola , which was written to record and extol the life and accomplishments of his father-in-law. Tacitus may have used first-hand accounts from Agricola, who had been present with the Roman forces on both occasions. The first invasion of Anglesey took place in 60 or 61 CE following Suetonius Paulinus' success in other parts of
1330-461: A majority of independent councillors. Though members did not generally divide along party lines, these were organised into five non-partisan groups on the council, containing a mix of party and independent candidates. The position has been similar since the election, although the Labour Party has formed a governing coalition with the independents. Brand new council offices were built at Llangefni in
1463-409: A murderous slave raid on Ireland from Great Britain .) Pen Bryn-yr-Eglwys is a rocky hilltop on the north-western corner of Anglesey, with a square stone platform measuring 9m by 7m on top. This has traditionally been assumed to be the remains of a chapel. However, the positioning of the platform, its small size, and three sherds of probably-Roman pottery, all strongly suggest that Pen Bryn-yr-Eglwys
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#17328589922621596-442: A powerful population and was a refuge for fugitives." Tacitus, who later married the daughter of Suetonius Paulinus's young aide-de-camp , Gnaeus Julius Agricola , may have heard first-hand accounts of the campaign and even of Suetonius's personal comments. The decision to invade may also have been motivated by information about copper mines on Anglesey . Tacitus says: "[Suetonius Paulinus] built flat-bottomed vessels to cope with
1729-569: A recreation area with a bandstand, benches and boat cruises, being crossed by four bridges. The first is the Queen's Park Suspension Bridge , which forms the only exclusively pedestrian footway across the river in Chester. The second is the Old Dee Bridge , a road bridge and by far the oldest bridge in Chester, being built in about 1387 on the site of a series of wooden predecessors which dated originally from
1862-457: A similar landscape, with a rugged north and west coast and beaches to the east and south. The county is surrounded by smaller islands; several, including South Stack and Puffin Island , are home to seabird colonies. Large parts of the county's coastline have been designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty . The county has many prehistoric monuments, such as Bryn Celli Ddu burial chamber. In
1995-717: A spelling that is still occasionally used today. Ynys Môn , the island and county's Welsh name, first appeared in the Latin Mona of various Roman sources. It was likewise known to the Saxons as Monez . The Brittonic original was in the past taken to have meant "Island of the Cow". The name is probably cognate with the Gaelic name of the Isle of Man , Mannin , ( Manaw in Welsh), usually derived from
2128-431: A wall at Tŷ Mawr and Roman-era pottery from the 3rd to 4th centuries AD. Some of these huts were still being used for agricultural purposes as late as the 6th century. The first excavation of Ty Mawr was conducted by William Owen Stanley of Penrhos, Anglesey (son of Baron Stanley of Alderley ). Historically, Anglesey has long been associated with the druids . The Roman conquest of Anglesey began in 60 CE when
2261-416: Is a local attraction offering looks at local marine wildlife from common lobsters to congers . All fish and crustaceans on display are caught round the island and placed in habitat reconstructions. The zoo also breeds lobsters commercially for food and oysters for pearls, both from local stocks. Sea salt ( Halen Môn , from local sea water) is produced in a facility nearby, having formerly been made at
2394-595: Is a nesting site for skylarks . The sheer cliff faces at South Stack near Holyhead provide nesting sites for large numbers of auks , including puffins , razorbills and guillemots , along with choughs and peregrine falcons . Anglesey holds several tern species, including the roseate tern on three breeding sites – see Anglesey tern colonies . There are marked occurrences of the Juncus subnodulosus – Cirsium palustre fen-meadow plant association marked by hydrophilic grasses, sedges and forbs. Anglesey supports two of
2527-537: Is at Connah's Quay . The Flintshire Bridge is a fixed cable-stayed bridge which opened in 1999. Between the second and third road bridges is Hawarden railway bridge at Shotton, originally constructed as a swing bridge but now never opened. It carries the Bidston to Wrexham Central Borderlands Line over the river. Hawarden Bridge station serves the Deeside Industrial Park, Deeside Power Station and
2660-672: Is crossed by the Cefn Mawr Viaduct , built in 1848 by Thomas Brassey and carrying the Shrewsbury to Chester railway line over the Dee. Beyond this point the river forms the boundary between Wrexham County Borough in Wales and Shropshire in the West Midlands of England. Passing Chirk and the confluence with the River Ceiriog , the river begins to trace gentle meanders on the level ground at
2793-620: Is joined by the River Clywedog . At this point the border between Wrexham and Cheshire West and Chester follows the course of the river. It passes the Cheshire village of Crewe by Farndon , before cutting between Holt in Wales and Farndon in England beneath the 14th-century, Grade I listed Farndon Bridge . One of the major tributaries of the Dee, the River Alyn ( Afon Alun ), crosses
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#17328589922622926-521: Is known as Deeside and contains several heavy industries. From here the Dee passes beneath three road bridges. The first two are adjacent to each other at Queensferry . They are a 1960s fixed-arch bridge carrying the A494 Queensferry to Dolgellau trunk road and its predecessor the Jubilee Bridge , which is a rolling bascule bridge completed in 1926. The third crossing, and the most recent,
3059-403: Is one of the first villages in Wales, it was built at Llanfaethlu . Also an example permanent settlement on Anglesey is of a Bronze Age built burial mound , Bryn Celli Ddu (English: Dark Grove Hill ). The mound started as a henge enclosure around 3000 BC and was adapted several times over a millennium. There are numerous megalithic monuments and menhirs in the county, testifying to
3192-500: Is paddleable year-round (thanks to the Dee Regulation Scheme). Canoeing used to be allowed on about twelve weekends per year, and tens of thousands of canoeists descended on Llangollen for recreational paddling (several Dee tours were held every winter), slalom competitions, and wild water races . In 2003, negotiations with the angling associations owning fishing rights on the Dee broke down. The anglers wanted to restrict
3325-546: Is restricted to Holyhead (Caergybi), which until 30 September 2009 supported an aluminium smelter , and the Amlwch area, once a copper mining town. Nearby stood Wylfa Nuclear Power Station and a former bromine extraction plant. With construction starting in 1963, the two Wylfa reactors began producing power in 1971. One reactor was decommissioned in 2012, the other in 2015. Anglesey has three wind farms on land. There were plans to install tidal-flow turbines near The Skerries off
3458-500: Is the largest in Wales and the Irish Sea , the seventh largest in Britain , and the sixth most populous island in Britain. The northern and eastern coasts of the island are rugged, and the southern and western coasts are generally gentler; the interior is gently undulating. In the north of the island is Llyn Alaw , a reservoir with an area of 1.4 square miles (4 km ). Holy Island has
3591-537: Is within England, and two other sections form the border between the two countries. The river rises on Dduallt in Snowdonia and flows east through Bala Lake , Corwen , and Llangollen . It turns north near Overton-on-Dee and forms part of the England–Wales border before fully entering England north-east of Wrexham. It flows through Chester then re-enters Wales; the final section is canalised and discharges to
3724-601: The Britannia Bridge , originally designed by Robert Stephenson in 1850. The English name for Anglesey may be derived from the Old Norse ; either Ǫngullsey "Hook Island" or Ǫnglisey "Ǫngli's Island". No record of such an Ǫngli survives, but the place name was used by Viking raiders as early as the 10th century and later adopted by the Normans during their invasions of Gwynedd . The traditional folk etymology reading
3857-596: The Carboniferous Limestone from Mynydd Helygain (a.k.a. Halkyn Mountain) and runs down through the Loggerheads area before making its confluence north of Holt. Throughout the length of the Alyn there are numerous swallow holes and caverns and during the summer months long stretches of the river bed run dry. These caves include Ogof Hesp Alyn and Ogof Hen Ffynhonnau . A significant part of this lost flow reemerges in
3990-489: The Chester Raft Race is held on the Dee in aid of charity. The Deva (Chester) Triathlon uses the Dee for the swim leg of the race. The rowing clubs on the Dee are Royal Chester Rowing Club (hosting also Chester University Rowing Club) and Grosvenor Rowing Club . King's School Rowing Club and Queens Park High School are school-dedicated rowing clubs. All these share the slightly meandering Chester/lower reach above
4123-627: The Duke of Westminster . The river then continues past the village of Eccleston and beneath the A55 North Wales Expressway, tracing northwards past the Roman Eaton Road to the Chester suburbs of Huntington and Handbridge before reaching the centre of Chester. In the city centre the river passes and around the Earl's Eye(s) meadow at Queen's Park . In this vicinity, the riverside is used as
Roman conquest of Anglesey - Misplaced Pages Continue
4256-648: The Gulf Stream . The land is of variable quality and has probably lost some fertility. Anglesey has the northernmost olive grove in Europe and presumably in the world. The coast of the Isle of Anglesey is more populous than the interior. The largest community is Holyhead , which is located on Holy Island and had a population of 12,103 at the 2021 United Kingdom census . It is followed by Amlwch (3,697), Llanfair-Mathafarn-Eithaf (3,085), and Menai Bridge (3,046), all located on
4389-507: The Irish Sea via an estuary 23 km (14 miles) long. The River Dee was the traditional boundary of the Kingdom of Gwynedd in Wales for centuries, possibly since its founding in the 5th century. It was recorded in the 13th century (in mainstream Middle English orthography , lacking the letters v and w) as flumen Dubr Duiu ; the name appears to derive from the Brythonic dēvā : "River of
4522-519: The Jómsvíkinga — and by Saxons , and Normans , before falling to Edward I of England in the 13th century. The connection with the Vikings can be seen in the name of the island. In ancient times it was called "Maenige" and received the name "Ongulsey" or Angelsoen, from where the current name originates. Anglesey (with Holy Island) is one of the 13 historic counties of Wales . In medieval times, before
4655-534: The Llangollen Railway following the river on its route between Llangollen and Corwen . At Berwyn the river passes over the manmade Horseshoe Falls , before picking up speed on a downhill gradient past the Chain Bridge Hotel and its historic pedestrian bridge. First built in 1814, and later refurbished by Henry Robertson in 1870, it was considered a marvel of early suspension bridge design. In 1928
4788-451: The Menai Strait to the southeast, and is otherwise surrounded by the Irish Sea . Holyhead is the largest town, and the administrative centre is Llangefni . The county is part of the preserved county of Gwynedd. Anglesey is the northernmost county in Wales. The Isle of Anglesey has an area of 275 square miles (712 km ) and a population of 69,049 in 2022. After Holyhead (12,103),
4921-401: The Menai Strait , a narrow strip of water some 8km long that separates the island of Anglesey from the rest of the Welsh mainland. The sea crossing would be short and relatively easy at slack water , but at full strength the tidal currents can be up to 7.5 knots with much turbulence in the narrower and rockier sections . Local knowledge, at least a long enough period of observation to predict
5054-695: The Milwr Tunnel , a manmade tunnel, entering the west bank of the Dee estuary and carrying 12 million imperial gallons per day (600 L/s). This tunnel was originally constructed to drain metal mines in Halkyn Mountain. Once the main River Dee approaches the Cheshire border and the Carboniferous Coal Measures , it turns sharply northwards before meandering up to Chester . This long stretch of
5187-667: The North Wales Coast railway line , before leaving Chester. This was the scene of one of the first serious railway accidents in the country, the Dee bridge disaster . West of Chester, the river flows along an artificial channel excavated between 1732 and 1736. The work was planned and undertaken by engineers from the Netherlands and paid for by local merchants and Chester Corporation. It was an attempt to improve navigation for shipping and reduce silting. Chester's trade had declined steadily since
5320-482: The Roman departure from Britain in the early 5th century, pirates from Ireland colonised Anglesey and the nearby Llŷn Peninsula . In response to this, Cunedda ap Edern , a Gododdin warlord from Scotland, came to the area and began to drive the Irish out. This was continued by his son Einion Yrth ap Cunedda and grandson Cadwallon Lawhir ap Einion ; the last Irish invaders were finally defeated in battle in 470. During
5453-491: The estuary . Land reclamation in this area continued until 1916. The river's natural course can still be determined by following the bank and low bluffs that mark the western edge of the Wirral Peninsula. The manmade channel, which runs in a straight line for 8 km (5 miles), passes into Wales and Flintshire at Saltney . On the west shore is Hawarden Airport and the large Airbus factory at Broughton . This region
Roman conquest of Anglesey - Misplaced Pages Continue
5586-541: The 17th and 20th centuries, with connections ranging from close geographical proximity and shared transport networks to marriage and family ties. One example, the article notes, is that in 1663 the Duke of Ormonde wrote from Dublin Castle to Lord Bulkley of Baron Hill, Anglesey, who had been created Viscount Bulkeley of Cashel in 1644, about bringing partridges from Anglesey to Ireland for a hunt. The Shire Hall in Llangefni
5719-516: The 1974 county and the five districts on 1 April 1996, and Anglesey became a separate unitary authority . In 2011, the Welsh Government appointed a panel of commissioners to administer the council, which meant the elected members were not in control. The commissioners remained until an election was held in May 2013, restoring an elected Council. Before the period of direct administration, there had been
5852-426: The 1990s for the new Isle of Anglesey County Council . Anglesey is a low-lying island with low hills spaced evenly over the north. The highest six are Holyhead Mountain , 220 metres (720 ft); Mynydd Bodafon , 178 metres (584 ft); Mynydd Eilian , 177 metres (581 ft); Mynydd y Garn , 170 metres (560 ft); Bwrdd Arthur , 164 metres (538 ft); and Mynydd Llwydiarth, 158 metres (518 ft). To
5985-528: The 9th century, King Rhodri Mawr unified Wales and separated the country into at least 3 provinces between his sons. He gave Gwynedd to his son, Anarawd ap Rhodri , who founded the medieval Welsh dynasty , The House of Aberffraw on Anglesey. The island had a good defensive position, and so Aberffraw became the site of the royal court ( Welsh : Llys ) of the Kingdom of Gwynedd . Apart from devastating Danish raids in 853 and 968 in Aberffraw, it remained
6118-685: The Britons to take care not only of themselves but of their arms and horses, he delivered so unexpected an attack that the astonished enemy who were looking for a fleet, a naval armament, and an assault by sea, thought that to such assailants nothing could be formidable or invincible." The location of this crossing is also unknown and could have been anywhere along the Strait; possibly, the place names around Llanidan might be associated with this invasion rather than Paulinus' earlier one. An army coming from Dinas Dinorwig might have moved most directly, some 3 km, to
6251-533: The Continent to support his unsuccessful bid for imperial power. In 410, Honorius advised the remaining Roman cities in Britain that they should look to their own defence, and no imperial regime is known to have appointed officials to Britain thereafter. The fort of Caer Gybi in Holyhead is the site of St Cybi's Church . According to a 12th-century source the site had been given to Saint Cybi by Maelgwn Gwynedd in
6384-542: The Goddess" or " Holy River ". The river is personified as the war and fate goddess Aerfen . The river name inspired the name of Roman fortress Deva Victrix . It is the only river in the UK to be subject to a Water Protection Zone along its whole length down to Chester weir. The total catchment area of the River Dee down to Chester Weir is 1,816.8 km (701.5 sq mi). The estimated average annual rainfall over
6517-515: The Iron Age, and also some of these sites were later adapted by Celts into hillforts and finally were in use during the Roman period (c. 100 AD) as roundhouses. Castell Bryn Gwyn (English: White hill castle , also called Bryn Beddau, or the "hill of graves" ) near Llanidan , Anglesey is an example of a Neolithic site that became a hillfort that was used until the Roman period by the Ordovices ,
6650-622: The Middle Ages the area was part of the Kingdom of Gwynedd and its cadet branch the House of Aberffraw who maintained courts ( Welsh : llysoedd ) at Aberffraw and Rhosyr . After Edward I 's late 13th century conquest of Gwynedd, Beaumaris Castle was constructed and today is a part of Gwynedd's world heritage sites . The Menai Strait to the mainland is spanned by the Menai Suspension Bridge , designed by Thomas Telford in 1826, and
6783-403: The Ordovices". Tacitus again attributes the Roman strategy to the virtue of his father-in-law: "Well aware that he must follow up the prestige of his arms, and that in proportion to his first success would be the terror of the other tribes, he formed the design of subjugating the island of Mona, from the occupation of which Paulinus had been recalled, as I have already related, by the rebellion of
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#17328589922626916-555: The RAF Fast Jet Training School and 22 Sqn Search and Rescue Helicopters, both units providing employment to about 500 civilians. RAF Valley is now the 22 Sqn Search and Rescue headquarters. The range of smaller industries is mostly in industrial and business parks such as Llangefni and Gaerwen . The island is on one of the main road routes from Britain to Ireland, via ferries from Holyhead on Holy Island to Dún Laoghaire and Dublin Port. The Anglesey Sea Zoo
7049-438: The Roman Empire by Gnaeus Julius Agricola , the Roman governor of Britain, in AD 78. During the Roman occupation, the area was notable for the mining of copper . The foundations of Caer Gybi , a fort in Holyhead , are Roman, and the present road from Holyhead to Llanfairpwllgwyngyll was originally a Roman road . The island was grouped by Ptolemy with Ireland (" Hibernia ") rather than with Britain (" Albion "). After
7182-428: The Roman arrival, and copper production – possibly increased, for export from the island – seems to have continued. Some 18 round ingots of copper, eight with Roman stamps, have been found on the island, two on Parys Mountain itself though the smelting sites are unknown. The settlement at Tai Cochion sits close to the Menai Strait across from Segontium (the auxiliary fort that oversaw the island). Excavation of one of
7315-405: The Roman forces and their leadership, and that they were informed of events and major personalities in the rest of Britain: "The Ordovices, shortly before Agricola's arrival, had destroyed nearly the whole of a squadron of allied cavalry quartered in their territory. Such a beginning raised the hopes of the country, and all who wished for war approved the precedent, and anxiously watched the temper of
7448-420: The Roman general Gaius Suetonius Paulinus , determined to break the power of the druids, attacked the island using his amphibious Batavian contingent as a surprise vanguard assault and then destroyed the shrine and the nemeta ( sacred groves ). News of Boudica 's revolt reached him just after his victory, causing him to withdraw his army before consolidating his conquest. The island was finally brought into
7581-432: The Roman period. Above the Old Dee Bridge is Chester Weir , which was built by Hugh Lupus to supply power to his corn mills. Throughout the centuries the weir has been used to power corn, fulling , needle, snuff and flint mills. The same weir was used as part of a hydroelectric scheme in 1911 with the help of a small generator building which is still visible today, used as a pumping station for water since 1951. However
7714-459: The Romans rallied, and won a brutal victory over people who they regarded as savages. Tacitus reports: "Then urged by their general's appeals and mutual encouragements not to quail before a troop of frenzied women, they bore the standards onwards, smote down all resistance, and wrapped the foe in the flames of his own brands. A force was next set over the conquered, and their groves, devoted to inhuman superstitions, were destroyed. They deemed it indeed
7847-407: The Sea Zoo site. Plans were offered in 2013 by Horizon , a subsidiary of Hitachi , to start production in the 2020s. Though enthusiastically endorsed by Anglesey Council and Welsh Assembly members, protesters raised doubts about its economic and safety claims, and in January 2019 Hitachi announced it was putting development on hold. On 17 January 2019, Hitachi-Horizon Nuclear Power announced it
7980-437: The UK's remnant colonies of red squirrels , at Pentraeth and Newborough . River Dee, Wales The River Dee ( Welsh : Afon Dyfrdwy , Latin : Deva Fluvius ) is a river flowing through North Wales , and through Cheshire , England, in Great Britain . The length of the main section from Bala to Chester is 113 km (70 miles) and it is largely located in Wales . The stretch between Aldford and Chester
8113-454: The Vale of Edeyrnion, shadowed by the B4401 Bala to Cynwyd road. Leaving Gwynedd and entering Denbighshire the Dee flows beneath other historic bridges at Llandrillo and Cynwyd before arriving at the town of Corwen . From here the river passes the Iron Age hillfort of Caer Drewyn and enters the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley AONB . Through its forested valley the course takes it through Carrog , Glyndyfrdwy and Llantysilio , with
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#17328589922628246-578: The Wirral side. South of Bagillt and Parkgate the Dee Estuary forms the boundary between the local authority areas of Flintshire and Cheshire West and Chester . Northwards it forms the boundary with the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside , North West England . The estuary continues to widen until finally entering the Irish Sea and Liverpool Bay between the northernmost point of mainland Wales, Point of Ayr at Talacre , Flintshire and Hilbre Point, near Hoylake and West Kirby in Wirral , Merseyside . Hilbre Island , part of Wirral, straddles
8379-531: The area by the presence of coal mines and later by the deep deposits of Carboniferous clays used to make bricks and tiles . The coal industry in particular gave rise to a number of chemical industries some of which survive to this day and which both take water from the river and discharge their cleaned up effluent back into the river. Industries in the valley include commercial chemicals manufacture, wood chip and MDF fabrication, cocoa milling, fibreglass manufacture, waste disposal (in old clay pits ) and
8512-403: The bays around Carmel Head. The north coast has sharp cliffs with small bays. Anglesey Coastal Path outlining the island is 124 miles (200 km) long and touches 20 towns and villages. The starting point is St Cybi's Church, Holyhead . Tourism is now the major economic activity. Agriculture comes second, with local dairies being some of the most productive in the region. Major industry
8645-495: The beginning of the Cheshire Plain . The course continues past Erbistock on the Welsh side, and the 5th-century earthwork of Wat's Dyke on the English, before passing wholly into Wales at Overton bridge. A couple more miles downstream is Bangor-on-Dee , known for its racecourse and its bridge . Until 1974 this area was part of an exclave of historic Flintshire known as English Maelor ( Welsh : Maelor Saesneg ). The Dee continues to meander past Worthenbury where it
8778-420: The buildings revealed what appears to be Roman-style corridor housing, unlike the circular huts whose use continued in the rest of the island. Pottery and coins date its floruit to 100–300 CE; it was probably established as a civilian trading point shortly after the second invasion. Centuries passed with little known change to the island, but by the mid-fourth century a shore-fort, Caer Gybi , facing Ireland ,
8911-439: The capital until the 13th, after Rhodri Mawr had moved his family seat from Caernarfon and built a royal palace at Aberffraw in 873. This is when improvements to the English navy made the location indefensible. Anglesey was also briefly the most southerly possession of the Norwegian Empire . After the Irish, the island was invaded by Vikings — some raids were noted in famous sagas (see Menai Strait History ) such as
9044-451: The castle from the Crown in 1807 and it has been open to the public under the guardianship of the Crown ever since 1925. Due to its geographic proximity, Anglesey (and particularly Holyhead ) enjoyed close cultural ties with Ireland throughout the later parts of this period. A 2023 study in The Welsh History Review by historian Adam N. Coward highlights the interconnectedness of landed gentry families in Ireland and Anglesey between
9177-411: The catchment area is 640 mm (25 in), yielding an average flow of 37 m /s . The larger reservoirs in the catchment area are: The River Dee has its source on the slopes of Dduallt above Llanuwchllyn in the mountains of Snowdonia in Meirionydd , Gwynedd , Wales. Between its source and Bala Lake the river is known by its Welsh name, Afon Dyfrdwy . Legend tells that the waters of
9310-462: The coast of the island of Anglesey. The largest community in the interior of Anglesey is Llangefni (5,500), the county town; the next-largest is Llanfihangel Ysgeifiog (1,711). Beaumaris (Welsh: Biwmares ) in the east features Beaumaris Castle , built by Edward I during his Bastide campaign in North Wales . Beaumaris is a yachting centre, with boats moored in the bay or off Gallows Point. The village of Newborough (Welsh: Niwbwrch ), in
9443-428: The conquest of Wales in 1283, Môn often had periods of temporary independence, when frequently bequeathed to the heirs of kings as a sub-kingdom of Gwynedd , an example of this was Llywelyn ap Iorwerth (Llywelyn I, the Great c. 1200s) who was styled the Prince of Aberffraw . After the Norman invasion of Wales was one of the last times this occurred a few years after 1171, after the death of Owain Gwynedd , when
9576-485: The conquest of Wales. Tacitus only gives one line about Frontinus, claiming he subdued the powerful Silures tribe in South Wales. He continues: "Such was the state of Britain, and such were the vicissitudes of the war, which Agricola found on his crossing over about midsummer. Our soldiers made it a pretext for carelessness, as if all fighting was over, and the enemy were biding their time." The second invasion of Anglesey
9709-407: The dredging of the river for the barge may be responsible for a weakening of the tidal bore . There are a number of direct water abstractions upstream of Chester by three water companies and by the canal. The size of the abstraction is very large compared to the summer flow and the flow in the river is very highly regulated through the use of reservoirs to store water in the winter and release it in
9842-510: The end of the 17th century as sediment had prevented larger craft reaching the city, spelling the end for the Port of Chester. After four years' work, the river was diverted from its meandering natural course which passed Blacon , Saughall , Shotwick Castle , Burton and Parkgate and up the west shore of Wirral . Instead, the new canalised section followed the coast along northeast Wales. During this time, Sealand and Shotton were reclaimed from
9975-399: The entire province. But, as his plans were not matured, he had no fleet." Agricola's victory on the mainland, wherever it was, left him within striking distance of the strait and the island which he and some of his veterans must have remembered. Tacitus again praises Agricola's military audacity and skill. The attack was a tactical surprise by auxiliaries, recruited in Britain, who swam across
10108-474: The first bridge to the mainland was being built. Hitherto Porthaethwy had been one of the main ferry ports for the mainland. A short distance from the town lies Bryn Celli Ddu , a Stone Age burial mound. Nearby is the village with the longest name in Europe, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch , and Plas Newydd , ancestral home of the Marquesses of Anglesey . The town of Amlwch lies in
10241-456: The first water pumping station here was set up in 1600 by John Tyrer who pumped water to a square tower built on the city's Bridgegate. It was destroyed in the Civil War but an octagonal tower built in 1690 for the same purpose lasted until the gate was replaced with an arch in the mid-18th century. On this weir is a fish pass and fish counting station to monitor the numbers of salmon ascending
10374-568: The former house of Aberffraw, Prince Madog ap Llywelyn had attacked King Edward I's castles in North Wales . As a direct response, Beaumaris Castle was constructed to control Edward's interests in Anglesey, but by the 1320s the build was abandoned and never complete. The castle was besieged by Owain Glyndŵr in the early 15th century. It was ruinous by 1609; however, the 6th Viscount Bulkeley purchased
10507-587: The huge expanses of mud which are exposed between tides and the extensive saltmarsh developed on both sides but principally on the right bank north and south of Neston. The estuary owes its origins to the scouring of a broad channel through the Triassic sandstones and Carboniferous mudstones by glacial ice during successive ice ages to form an iceway . The channel continues inland south of Chester but its higher reaches have long since been infilled with sand, gravel and mud. The process of infilling by mud continues to
10640-452: The human sacrifice had happened. Still within Llanidan parish, further southwest along the Menai Strait, local field names "Maes Hir Gad" (Area of long battle) and "Cae Oer Waedd" (Field of cold or bitter lamentation) were recorded in 1867, with the suggestion that these may indicate the site of a Roman attack. The landing was opposed by a mass of warriors, Druids, and women. Tacitus describes
10773-404: The incoming tide before the boats were loaded and the swimming units in position. Both of these locations would require the Roman troops landing on Anglesey to fight up slopes that rise steeply almost from the water's edge, except near Gallows Point where a small peninsula and a stony beach offer some hectares of fairly flat space by the waterside. The parish of Llanidan is on Anglesey, towards
10906-435: The island against Irish sea raiders. However, despite more than three centuries of Roman rule, archaeologists have found no evidence of major civic centres or villas on the island indicating that Romano-British culture lacked the influence it had in other parts of the Roman province of Britannia. The only Roman source for the island's two invasions is the Roman historian Tacitus . His last work The Annals , written as
11039-563: The island in 60–61 CE, but had to withdraw because of the Boudican revolt . In 77 CE, Gnaeus Julius Agricola 's thorough subjugation of the island left it under Roman rule until the end of Roman rule in Britain in the early 5th century CE. Anglesey was invaded as it was an important centre for the Celtic Druids and their religious practices which made it a place of resistance to Roman rule. No surviving Roman sources mention Anglesey, which
11172-548: The island was inherited by Rhodri ab Owain Gwynedd , and between 1246 and about 1255 when it was granted to Owain Goch as his share of the kingdom. After the conquest of Wales by Edward I , Anglesey became a county under the terms of the Statute of Rhuddlan of 1284. Hitherto it had been divided into the cantrefi of Aberffraw , Rhosyr and Cemaes . During 1294 as a rebellion of
11305-584: The island's men had died on active service. In 1936 the NSPCC opened its first branch on Anglesey. During the Second World War , Anglesey received Italian POWs . The island was designated a reception zone, and was home to evacuee children from Liverpool and Manchester . In 1971, a 100,000 ton per annum aluminum smelter was opened by Rio Tinto Zinc Corporation and British Insulated Callender's Cables with Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corporation as
11438-449: The island, nor any sign of such an elite, and archaeology has revealed little Roman-style building. At Caer Lêb in the south of the island there is evidence of a possible farmstead, with a few Roman-period rectangular buildings outnumbered by traditional round houses nearby. Presumably the agricultural economy continued functioning with little change after Agricola's conquest. Copper had been mined on Parys Mountain for centuries before
11571-540: The lakes all have significant ecological interest, including a wide range of aquatic and semi-aquatic bird species. In the west, the Malltraeth Marshes are believed to support an occasional visiting bittern , and the nearby estuary of the Afon Cefni has a bird population made famous internationally by the paintings of Charles Tunnicliffe , who lived and died at Malltraeth on the Cefni estuary. The RAF airstrip at Mona
11704-439: The largest settlements are Llangefni (5,500) and Amlwch (3,967). The economy of the county is mostly based on agriculture, energy, and tourism, the latter especially on the coast. Holyhead is also a major ferry port for Dublin , Ireland. The county has the second-highest percentage of Welsh speakers in Wales, at 57.2%, and is considered a heartland of the language . The island of Anglesey, at 261 square miles (676 km ),
11837-622: The local tribe who were defeated in battle by a Roman legion (c. 78 AD). Bronze Age monuments were also built throughout the British Isles. During this period, the Mynydd Bach cairn in South-west Anglesey was being used. It is a Beaker period prehistoric funerary monument. During the Iron Age the Celts built dwellings huts , also known as roundhouses . These were established near
11970-518: The mouth of the estuary at this point. The waters of the Dee then converge with those of the River Mersey and Ribble , producing a notable drop in salinity and increase in sediment which can be tracked a considerable distance along the Sefton and Lancashire coasts. The estuary is hugely important for birdlife and has been designated both as an SSSI and as a Ramsar site accordingly. Its value lies in
12103-500: The name as the "Island of the Angles (English)" may account for its Norman use but has no merit; the Angles' name itself is probably cognate with the shape of the Angeln peninsula. All of them ultimately derive from the proposed Proto-Indo-European root *ank- ("to flex, bend, angle"). Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries and into the 20th, it was usually spelt Anglesea in documents,
12236-435: The new governor. Meanwhile, Agricola, though summer was past and the detachments were scattered throughout the province, though the soldiers' confident anticipation of inaction for that year would be a source of delay and difficulty in beginning a campaign, and most advisers thought it best simply to watch all weak points, resolved to face the peril." Tacitus presents Agricola as a courageous and aggressive leader: "He collected
12369-404: The north coast of Wales to cross to Llanidan would have to cross an area of high ground, or move through a glacially-deepened valley between steep slopes that offer possible ambush positions. Henry Rowlands in the 1700s identified a ford at Porthamel in Llanidan parish, across the Menai Strait from the present site of Felinheli , where he suggested that the Roman cavalry had swum across and
12502-528: The north coast, and for a major biomass plant on Holy Island (Ynys Gybi). Developing such low-carbon-energy assets to their full potential forms part of the Anglesey Energy Island project. When the aluminium smelter closed in September 2009, it cut its workforce from 450 to 80, in a major blow to the island's economy, especially to Holyhead. The Royal Air Force station RAF Valley (Y Fali) holds
12635-491: The north-east of the island and was once largely industrialised, having grown in the 18th century to support a major copper -mining industry at Parys Mountain . Other settlements include Cemaes , Pentraeth , Gaerwen , Dwyran , Bodedern , Malltraeth and Rhosneigr . The coastline is classed as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty , with many sandy beaches, notably along its east coast between Beaumaris and Amlwch and west coast from Ynys Llanddwyn through Rhosneigr to
12768-510: The north-eastern end of the Strait, near the present city of Bangor , easily accessible from the Sychnant Pass , where travellers on the mediaeval ferry set out across the Lavan Sands to cross the Strait. The Lavan Sands at low tide would be an appropriate place to ground and load flat-bottomed boats, and to assemble cavalry ready to swim. The path across the sand flats is some 4.5 km, but
12901-640: The numbers of paddlers on the river when paddling was allowed but the Welsh Canoe Association wanted to renew the previous agreement. In November 2004, a protest about the lack of access on the Dee, and to rivers across England and Wales, was held in Llangollen. Following the failure of the access agreement, the Welsh Canoeing Association advises canoeists to use their own judgement about using the river, which in practice means many canoeists use
13034-537: The oldest course in the country. This used to be the site of Chester's Roman harbour until, aided by the building of the weir, the River Dee silted up to become the size it is today. The only curiously remaining reminder of this site's maritime past is a stone cross which stands in the middle of the Roodee which exhibits the marks of water ripples. To the end of the Roodee the river is crossed by Chester's fourth bridge which carries
13167-576: The original bridge was destroyed by severe flooding and was rebuilt in its current form from original parts in 1929. The course of the river then takes it through Llangollen and under its 16th-century, Grade I listed bridge . The bridge is also a Scheduled Ancient Monument and considered one of the Seven Wonders of Wales . On leaving Llangollen the river continues east, to the south of the Carboniferous Limestone exposures of Eglwyseg Rocks ( Welsh : Creigiau Eglwyseg ) and Trevor Rocks. Overlooking
13300-503: The presence of humans in prehistory . Plas Newydd is near one of 28 cromlechs that remain on uplands overlooking the sea. The Welsh Triads claim that the island of Anglesey was once part of the mainland. After the Neolithic age, the Bronze Age began ( c. 2200 BC – 800 BC). Some sites were continually used for thousands of years from original henge enclosures, then during
13433-438: The present day as the rapid growth of the saltmarsh in the last century testifies, pushing the high tide line further out into the estuary. Large parts of the catchment are devoted to agriculture and there a number of abstractions made from the river for summer irrigation. The volumes involved are not however significant. From Chirk downstream, the river valley has supported a wide range of industries that were initially drawn to
13566-667: The previous settlements. Some huts with walled enclosures were discovered on the banks of the river ( Welsh : afon ) Gwna near. An example of a well-preserved hut circle is over the Cymyran Strait on Holy Island . The Holyhead Mountain Hut Circles ( Welsh : Tŷ Mawr / Cytiau'r Gwyddelod , Big house / "Irishmen's Huts") were inhabited by ancient Celts and were first occupied before the Iron Age, c. 1000 BC . The Anglesey Iron Age began after 500 BC. Archeological research discovered limpet shells which were found from 200 BC on
13699-412: The province, subjugating British tribes and establishing Roman forts . Tacitus writes: "Britain was in the hands of Suetonius Paulinus , who in military knowledge and in popular favour, which allows no one to be without a rival, vied with Corbulo , and aspired to equal the glory of the recovery of Armenia by the subjugation of Rome's enemies. He therefore prepared to attack the island of Mona which had
13832-512: The regions known as Cambria . In general the Romans, affected by social and military conflicts throughout the Empire, unrest in the legions garrioned in Britain, and the aftermath of Boudica's rebellion, did not try to take more territory in this phase. Only when Vespasian became emperor in 69 CE was the conquest of Wales resumed, which Tacitus records in his book The Life of Gnaeus Julius Agricola . After several quiet Governors, Agricola's predecessor Julius Frontinus arrived in 74 CE to resume
13965-537: The river at will from the numerous access points along its banks. Canoeing is permitted on one 100 m long rapid, 1 km upstream of Llangollen. Wildwater and slalom races are still held at Serpent's Tail rapid upstream of Llangollen. A major tributary of the Dee, the River Tryweryn , supports a wide range of water sports and hosts the Canolfan Tryweryn - the national white water centre for Wales. Each July
14098-411: The river drops in height by only a few feet. The rich adjoining farmland has many remnants of abandoned coal workings and deep clay pits used to make bricks and tiles . A number of these pits are now being used as landfill sites for domestic and commercial waste. Approaching Churton and Aldford , the river crosses entirely into England, and passes the grand country house of Eaton Hall , seat of
14231-461: The river here is the medieval Castell Dinas Brân , a ruined fortress abandoned by John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey in 1282. The river then enters Wrexham County Borough , passing south of Trevor and under Thomas Telford's Pontcysyllte Aqueduct , of 1805, which carries the Llangollen Canal 120 feet (37 m) overhead. Less than a mile east of the aqueduct at Cefn Mawr , the river
14364-634: The river pass through Bala Lake and emerge undiluted and unmixed at the outflow. On leaving Bala the river meets its confluence with Afon Tryweryn and passes through the Bala sluice gates, part of the Dee Regulation System protecting communities further downstream from severe flooding. Skirting the village of Llanfor , the path of the river takes it past Llandderfel and under the Grade II listed Pont Fawr bridge. The river trends generally northeast through
14497-588: The river, and also a weirgate for navigating the weir at spring tides. A little further downstream stands the Grosvenor Bridge (designed by architect Thomas Harrison of Chester), which was opened in 1833 to ease congestion on the Old Dee Bridge. This bridge was opened by Princess Victoria five years before she became Queen. The other side of the Grosvenor Bridge is the Roodee , Chester's race course and
14630-698: The scene: "On the shore stood the opposing army with its dense array of armed warriors, while between the ranks dashed women, in black attire like the Furies , with hair dishevelled, waving brands. All around, the Druids, lifting up their hands to heaven, and pouring forth dreadful imprecations, scared our soldiers by the unfamiliar sight, so that, as if their limbs were paralysed, they stood motionless, and exposed to wounds." Roman soldiers are not often described as scared to paralysis and their reception must have been an extraordinary experience even for professional soldiers. However,
14763-492: The sea crossing would be only some 240 metres at the lowest state of the tide. If Suetonius had established a camp a little further west, across the River Ogwen on the present site of Penrhyn Castle , Bangor Flats would have offered access to a similar 240-metre crossing, reached by only some 1.5 km on tidal sand flats. The attackers would need to time their movement across the tidal flats with care, to avoid being caught by
14896-457: The settlement of the local people of Anglesey starts in the Mesolithic period. Anglesey and the UK were uninhabitable until after the previous ice age . It was not until 12,000 years ago that the island of Great Britain became hospitable. The oldest excavated sites on Anglesey include Trwyn Du ( Welsh : Black nose ) at Aberffraw. The Mesolithic site located at Aberffraw Bay (Porth Terfyn)
15029-437: The shallows, and uncertain depths of the sea. Thus the infantry crossed, while the cavalry followed by fording, or, where the water was deep, swam by the side of their horses." He does not state where these boats were built, perhaps Deva Victrix ( Chester ), where a few pre-Flavian coins may indicate an early base whose role would have been tied to the movement of troops by sea along the coasts of north Wales. Marshy ground to
15162-480: The sixth century CE. 53°17′00″N 4°20′00″W / 53.2833°N 4.3333°W / 53.2833; -4.3333 Anglesey Anglesey ( / ˈ æ ŋ ɡ əl s iː / ; Welsh : Ynys Môn [ˈənɨs ˈmoːn] ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales . It forms the bulk of the county known as the Isle of Anglesey , which also includes Holy Island ( Ynys Gybi ) and some islets and skerries . The county borders Gwynedd across
15295-415: The south and south-east, the island is divided from the Welsh mainland by the Menai Strait , which at its narrowest point is about 250 metres (270 yd) wide. In all other directions the island is surrounded by the Irish Sea . At 676 km (261 sq mi), it is the 52nd largest island of Europe and just five km (1.9 sq mi) smaller than the main island of Singapore . There are
15428-485: The south, created when townsfolk of Llanfaes were relocated for the building of Beaumaris Castle, includes the site of Llys Rhosyr , another court of medieval Welsh princes featuring one of the United Kingdom's oldest courtrooms. The centrally localted Llangefni is the island's administrative centre. The town of Menai Bridge (Welsh: Porthaethwy ) in the south-east, expanded to accommodate workers and construction when
15561-399: The south-western reaches of the Menai Strait opposite Llanidan. The virtue of Tacitus's hero become widely known: "And so, peace having been sued for and the island given up, Agricola became great and famous..." After the second invasion of Anglesey the Romans administered the island for over three centuries. The Cemlyn Cropmark is the first Roman military site on the island dated around
15694-433: The southwestern end of the Menai Strait. The Llanidan locations require a longer sea crossing (a minimum of some 350 metres between sandbanks at low tide, some 850 metres at high tide), and offer less violent currents, less turbulence, and gentler slopes up from the sea shore. There are no large sand flats on the mainland side, but there are areas of gentle terrain where troops could have been assembled. A land force moving from
15827-411: The strait, without legionaries and without using boats. The leadership on Mona had expected to have more time to prepare, and this sudden attack demoralized them to the point of submission : "The skill and resolution of the general accomplished the passage. With some picked men of the auxiliaries, disencumbered of all baggage, who knew the shallows and had that national experience in swimming which enables
15960-529: The sudden revolt of the province..." "Suetonius, however, with wonderful resolution, marched amidst a hostile population to Londinium ..." The Roman troops left Anglesey, which remained free from Roman rule for sixteen years until the second invasion under Agricola. After the Boudican revolt, the conquest of Wales was put on hold. Between Suetonius and Agricola, the province of Britannia had five British governors but none undertook any further military campaigns in
16093-550: The summer. The whole system is managed as the Dee Regulation Scheme . Below Chester water is also abstracted as cooling water by the gas-fired power station at Connah's Quay . Process and cooling water is also abstracted for the paper mill and power station at Shotton . The Dee used to be a popular whitewater kayaking and touring river (particularly the grade III/IV whitewater section upstream of Llangollen). It stays high after rain for longer than most British rivers and
16226-452: The tidal currents with reasonable accuracy, would be required to plan safe transit. (The later invasion under Agricola took the natives by surprise because they had expected to see a fleet in plenty of time to gather for their defence of the island.) The locations of the Menai crossings are not known and modern suggestions are purely speculative. William Manning suggested that a possible site is at
16359-430: The time of the second invasion in 77 CE. The cropmark was discovered in 1990 on an aerial photograph during a long dry spell. In 2015 a geophysical survey of the cropmark revealed characteristics of a typical Roman fortlet. Partial excavation of the site found two coins, one from Nerva 's reign and one from Hadrian 's, supporting the dating of the fortlet to post-invasion consolidation. The fortlet overlooks Cemlyn Bay ,
16492-427: The weir. The river has been famed as a mixed fishery with salmon and trout fishing, mostly in the upper waters and a good coarse fishery in the lower reaches. A major pollution incident in the middle reaches in the late 1990s did extensive damage to the fishery from which it is now largely recovered. Afon Dyfrdwy (River Dee) is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in the preserved county of Clwyd , along
16625-497: The west of Chester made it a poor base for overland penetration of North Wales, and Suetonius' march to the Menai Strait may have used the oldest known crossing of the River Dee , some 13 km south of Chester at Holt . An army moving on foot along the north coast of Wales would have first seen Anglesey from the mouth of the Sychnant Pass near Abergwyngregyn , where the three land routes converge. The Roman forces then had to cross
16758-511: The works at Dee Marsh. A footbridge replaced the passenger ferry at Saltney in the 1970s. Beyond Connah's Quay the river opens out into the Dee Estuary , forming the northeasternmost section of the North Wales coast and the western coast of the Wirral . Towns along the coast include Flint , Holywell and Mostyn on the Welsh side and Neston , Parkgate, Heswall , West Kirby and Hoylake on
16891-407: Was a Roman watchtower. A similar site, also interpreted as a watchtower, has been excavated inside the pre-Roman fort of Caer y Twr on Holyhead Mountain . There is a possible second fortlet on Bwrdd Arthur , towards the eastern end of the north coast of the island. Direct Roman military control may have ceased on Anglesey about 383, when Magnus Maximus took much of the garrison of Britannia to
17024-455: Was abandoning plans to build a nuclear plant on the Wylfa Newydd site in Anglesey. There had been concern that the start might have involved too much public expenditure, but Hitachi-Horizon say the decision to scrap has cost the company over £2 billion. Much of Anglesey is used for relatively intensive cattle and sheep farming, but several important wetland sites have protected status and
17157-484: Was buried underneath a Bronze Age 'kerb cairn' which was constructed c. 2,000 BC . The bowl barrow (kerb cairn) covered a material deposited from the early Mesolithic period; the archeological find dates to 7,000 BC. After millennia of hunter-gather civilisation in the British Isles , the first villages were constructed from 4000 BC. Neolithic settlements were built in the form of long houses , on Anglesey
17290-516: Was completed in 1899. During the First World War , the Presbyterian minister and celebrity preacher John Williams toured the island as part of an effort to recruit young men as volunteers. The island's location made it ideal for monitoring German U-Boats in the Irish Sea , with half a dozen airships based at Mona . German POWs were kept on the island. By the end of the war, some 1,000 of
17423-439: Was created as a base to secure the island against seaborne threats. The fort walls remain visible. Around the same time, Parciau hill fort contained a dense concentration of population in a defensible location, indicating a perception of significant insecurity. ( Saint Patrick was kidnapped from somewhere near the west coast of Great Britain about 400 CE and taken as a slave to Ireland, and his Letter to Coroticus complains about
17556-485: Was recorded in Latin as Mona (and is still known as Môn in modern Welsh ), after its conquest. Archaeologists have located a fort dated shortly after the first conquest near Cemlyn Bay ; a trading settlement on the shore of the Menai Strait ; and a village of huts huddled together on a hill for defence. In the last decades of Roman rule in Britain several military forts were built on the northern and western coasts to defend
17689-509: Was undertaken by Agricola , by then the Roman Governor of Britannia , in late 77. Tacitus' account of the invasion may be dramatized and his reliability should be carefully considered, especially because Tacitus was the husband of Agricola's daughter. However, his account is the only written record of the second invasion. Tacitus implies that the tribes on the border of the Roman province were generally hostile, kept from revolting by fear of
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