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36-497: A Dacian king ( dux Dacorum ) called Scorylo is also mentioned by Frontinus , who says he was in power during a period of turmoil in Rome. The Roman historian Jordanes lists a series of Dacian-Getic kings before Decebalus, placing a ruler called "Coryllus" between Comosicus and Dorpaneus. Coryllus is supposed to have presided over a long peaceful 40-year rule. Modern scholars sometimes equate this otherwise unknown successor Dorpaneus with

72-523: A debt to repay." He was also a member of the College of Augurs . He died in 103 or 104, a date based on Pliny the Younger writing to his friends that he was elected to the college of augurs to fill the vacancy Frontinus' death had created. Frontinus's chief work is De aquaeductu , in two books, an official report to the emperor on the state of the aqueducts of Rome . It presents a history and description of

108-668: A few years later, Frontinus was appointed suffect consul . While governor of Britain, he subjugated the Silures of South Wales and is thought to have likewise campaigned against the Brigantes . He was succeeded by Gnaeus Julius Agricola , the father-in-law of the famous historian Tacitus , in 77. Birley believes it "is fair to speculate" that Frontinus was with Domitian during the German campaign of 83. An inscription at Hieropolis in Phrygia , as well as

144-661: A fictionalised character in the Marcus Didius Falco novels The Silver Pigs , Shadows in Bronze , Three Hands in the Fountain , and The Jupiter Myth . He also appears as a character in The Centurions novels Barbarian Princess and The Emperor's Games . Silures The Silures ( UK : / s aɪ ˈ lj ʊər iː z / sy- LURE -eez , US : / ˈ s ɪ l j ər iː z / SIL -yər-eez ) were

180-549: A leader in this area. There is evidence of cultural continuity throughout the Roman period, from the Silures to the kingdom of Gwent in particular, as shown by leaders of Gwent using the name " Caradoc " in remembrance of the British hero Caratacus . Reference is occasionally made to this period of Celtic history by the use of terms such as "Silurian". The poet Henry Vaughan called himself

216-510: A number of coins of Smyrna , attests that he was proconsul of Asia in AD 86. In 97, he was appointed curator aquarum (supervisor of the aqueducts ) by the emperor Nerva , an office only conferred upon persons of very high standing. In this capacity, he followed another distinguished Roman statesman, Agrippa , the friend, ally and son-in-law of Augustus, who organised in 34 BC a campaign of public repairs and improvements, including renovation of

252-645: A powerful and warlike tribe or tribal confederation of ancient Britain , occupying what is now south east Wales and perhaps some adjoining areas. They were bordered to the north by the Ordovices ; to the east by the Dobunni ; and to the west by the Demetae . According to Tacitus 's biography of Agricola , the Silures usually had a dark complexion and curly hair. Due to their appearance, Tacitus believed they had crossed over from Spain at an earlier date. The dark complexion of

288-577: Is also archaeological evidence of roundhouses at Gwehelog , Thornwell (Chepstow) and elsewhere, and evidence of lowland occupation notably at Goldcliff . The Latin word Silures is of Celtic origin, perhaps derived from the Common Celtic root * sīlo- , 'seed'. Words derived from this root in Celtic languages (for example Old Irish síl , Welsh hil ) are used to mean 'blood-stock, descendants, lineage, offspring', as well as 'seed' in

324-487: Is likely Frontinus had a sister, who was the other's mother. Frontinus had at least one daughter, the wife of Quintus Sosius Senecio (cos. 99, II 107) and mother of Sosia Polla. In AD 70, Frontinus participated in the suppression of the Rhineland revolt, and later recorded that he received the surrender of 70,000 Lingones . Between that date and being appointed governor of Britain to succeed Quintus Petillius Cerialis

360-517: The Stratagems (Latin: Strategemata ), is a collection of examples of military stratagems from Greek and Roman history, for the use of generals. He draws on his own experience as a general in Germania under Domitian , but similarities between the anecdotes he records and versions of other Roman authors like Valerius Maximus and Livy suggest that he drew mainly on literary sources. The authenticity of

396-641: The Ordovices tribe in North Wales . The Welsh Silures tribe had a home in the Malvern Hills , and built earthworks to defend themselves against Ostorius Scapula and the Roman army . However, during the year 78 AD, the Romans invaded the hillfort and defeated the Silures tribe, the Romans were led by Frontinus and his army from the Roman fort Ariconium , which they proceeded to inhabit for 300 more years afterwards. It

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432-496: The Roman Empire , it was the capital of the Silures, whose ordo (local council) provided local government for the district. Its massive Roman walls still survive, and excavations have revealed a forum , a temple , baths, amphitheatre , shops, and many comfortable houses with mosaic floors, etc. In the late 1st and early 2nd centuries, the Silures were given some nominal independence and responsibility for local administration. As

468-411: The aqueducts of Rome . Due to a lack of either a titulus honorarius or sepulcralis , there is no outline of Frontinus' life, the names of his parents, or of his wife. Some details can be inferred from chance mentions: He is thought to be of Narbonese origins, and originally of the equestrian class . From the nomenclature of the name of Publius Calvisius Ruso Julius Frontinus (consul c. 84), it

504-609: The Dacians in the form of annual subsidies. During the reign of Nero, troops were withdrawn from the Dacian border, leaving the empire vulnerable. When Nero was overthrown in 69, the empire was plunged into turmoil in the Year of Four Emperors . The Dacians appear to have tried to take advantage of the situation to launch an invasion of Moesia in alliance with the Sarmatian Roxolani . The invasion

540-548: The Gauls or the Spaniards. The Iron Age hillfort at Llanmelin near Caerwent has sometimes been suggested as a pre-Roman tribal centre. But some archaeologists believe that the people who became known as the Silures were a loose network of groups with some shared cultural values, rather than a centralised society. Although the most obvious physical remains of the Silures are hillforts such as those at Llanmelin and Sudbrook , there

576-552: The Roman forces. Ostorius had announced that they posed such a danger that they should be either exterminated or transplanted. His threats only increased the Silures' determination to resist. They surrounded and attacked a large legionary force occupied in building Roman forts in their territory; it was rescued by others only with difficulty and considerable loss. The Silures also took Roman prisoners as hostages and distributed them amongst their neighbouring tribes in order to bind them together and encourage resistance. Ostorius died with

612-522: The Silures still unconquered. After his death, they defeated the Second Legion . It remains unclear whether the Silures were militarily defeated or simply agreed to come to terms, but Roman sources suggest rather opaquely that they were eventually subdued by Sextus Julius Frontinus in a series of campaigns ending about AD 78. The Roman Tacitus wrote of the Silures: non atrocitate, non clementia mutabatur –

648-482: The Silures, their usually curly hair, and the fact that Spain is the opposite shore to them, are an evidence that Iberians of a former date crossed over and occupied these parts. Jordanes , in his Origins and Deeds of the Goths , describes the Silures. The Silures have swarthy features and are usually born with curly black hair, but the inhabitants of Caledonia have reddish hair and large loose-jointed bodies. They are like

684-653: The Welsh pre-Celtic ( Goidelic ) Silures tribe. From 800 BC, they were in the same location for almost a thousand years, many centuries before the Roman invasion. The earliest modern recorded leader of a Welsh tribe was the British leader Caratacus from the Catuvellauni tribe. He fled what is now England and joined forces with the Silures tribe against the Romans who had defeated his tribe in battle. But after another defeat in South-East Wales he again fled, and allied himself with

720-450: The aqueduct Aqua Marcia and an extension of its pipes to cover more of the city. The following year Frontinus held a second consulship as suffect in February, with Trajan as his colleague, and two years later he was made consul ordinarius with Trajan. Birley notes, "This exceptional honour underlines the high regard in which he [Frontinus] was held, and suggests, further, that Trajan had

756-499: The fourth book has been challenged. One example he gives of control of river water during a siege reads: Lucius Metellus, when fighting in Hither Spain , diverted the course of a river and directed it from a higher level against the camp of the enemy, which was located on low ground. Then, when the enemy were in a panic from the sudden flood, he had them slain by men whom he had stationed in ambush for this very purpose. He appears as

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792-510: The king Duras attested in other sources. The name Coryllus is not mentioned by any other historian as well, and it has been argued that it "is a misspelling of Scorilo, a relatively common Dacian name". On this basis, the Coryllus mentioned by Jordanes has been equated with the Scorylo mentioned by Frontinus. It has been further speculated that this ruler is also named on an ancient Dacian pot bearing

828-618: The latin stamp inscription “Decebalus per Scorilo”. Though far from certain, this has also been translated as "Decebalus son of Scorilo". If so, this might mean that Decebalus was the son of Scorilo, with Duras possibly being either an older son or a brother of Scorilo. From this evidence and references to Dacian kings elsewhere, it has been suggested that Scorilo ruled from the 30s or 40s AD through to 69-70. The Dacians regularly raided into Roman territory in Moesia . The emperors Tiberius and Caligula solved this problem by paying protection money to

864-428: The many baths and fountains. However, Frontinus criticized the practice of mixing supplies from different sources, and one of his first decisions was to separate the waters from each system. He was very concerned by leaks in the system, especially those in the underground conduits, which were difficult to locate and mend, a problem still faced by water engineers today. The aqueducts above ground needed care to ensure that

900-435: The masonry was kept in good condition, especially those running on arched superstructures. It was, he said, essential to keep trees at a distance so that their roots would not damage the structures. He reviewed the existing law governing the state aqueducts, as well as the need for enforcement of those statutes . Frontinus also wrote a theoretical treatise on military science, which is lost. His extant work on military matters,

936-560: The north-east of what is now Wales, however little else is known or recorded of this conflict. He spent several years campaigning against the Silures and the Ordovices . Their resistance was led by Caratacus, who had fled from the south-east (of what is now England) when it was conquered by the Romans. He first led the Silures, then moved to the territory of the Ordovices, where he was defeated by Ostorius in AD 51. The Silures were not subdued, however, and waged effective guerrilla warfare against

972-415: The previous century; Frontinus refers to the possible influence of Vitruvius on the plumbers. Distribution of the water depended in a complex way on its height entering the city, the quality of the water, and its rate of discharge. Thus, poor-quality water would be sent for irrigation, gardens, or flushing, while only the best would be reserved for drinking water. Intermediate-quality water would be used for

1008-419: The quality of water delivered by each, mainly depending on their source, be it river, lake, or spring. One of the first jobs he undertook when he was appointed water commissioner was to prepare maps of the system so that he could assess their condition before undertaking their maintenance. He says that many had been neglected and were not working at their full capacity. He was especially concerned by diversion of

1044-507: The supply by unscrupulous farmers and tradesmen, among many others. They would insert pipes into the channel of the aqueducts to tap the supply. He, therefore, made a meticulous survey of the intake and the supply of each line, and then investigated the discrepancies. Lead pipe stamps bearing the name of the owner were also used to prevent such water theft . He was well aware of the seminal work De architectura by Vitruvius , which mentions aqueduct construction and maintenance published in

1080-444: The tribe "was changed neither by cruelty nor by clemency". To aid the Roman administration in keeping down local opposition, a legionary fortress ( Isca , later Caerleon ) was planted in the midst of tribal territory. The town of Venta Silurum ( Caerwent , six miles west of Chepstow ) was established in AD 75. It became a Romanized town, not unlike Calleva Atrebatum ( Silchester ), but smaller. An inscription shows that, under

1116-510: The vegetable sense. Silures might therefore mean 'kindred, stock', perhaps referring to a tribal belief in a descent from an originating ancestor. Patrizia de Bernardo Stempel hypothesises that the Silures were originally referred to as [silo-riks] Error: {{Lang}}: invalid parameter: |script= ( help ) , 'rich in grain'. Of the Iron Age tribes who settled in Wales, the tribe best known today were

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1152-458: The water-supply of Rome, including the laws relating to its use and maintenance. He provides the history, sizes and discharge rates of all of the nine aqueducts of Rome at the time at which he was writing at the turn of the 1st century AD: the Aqua Marcia , Aqua Appia , Aqua Alsietina , Aqua Tepula , Anio Vetus , Anio Novus , Aqua Virgo , Aqua Claudia and Aqua Augusta . Frontinus describes

1188-461: Was Clydog who emerged as the king in the 5th century. The Silures fiercely resisted Roman conquest about AD 48, with the assistance of Caratacus , a military leader and prince of the Catuvellauni , who had fled from further east after his own tribe was defeated. The first attack on the Welsh tribes was by the legate Publius Ostorius Scapula about AD 48. Ostorius first attacked the Deceangli in

1224-597: Was a prominent Roman civil engineer, author, soldier and senator of the late 1st century AD. He was a successful general under Domitian , commanding forces in Roman Britain , and on the Rhine and Danube frontiers. A novus homo , he was consul three times. Frontinus ably discharged several important administrative duties for Nerva and Trajan . However, he is best known to the post-Classical world as an author of technical treatises, especially De aquaeductu , dealing with

1260-445: Was ill-timed. Licinius Mucianus , a supporter of Vespasian , was advancing with an army through Moesia towards Rome to overthrow Vitellius . The Dacians unexpectedly encountered his forces and were pushed back, suffering a major defeat. These events could maybe have coincided with the reign of Scorilo who is, however, not mentioned in the ancient sources on these events. Frontinus Sextus Julius Frontinus (c. 40 – 103 AD)

1296-450: Was standard practice, as revealed by inscriptions, the Romans matched their deities with local Silurian ones, and the local deity Ocelus was identified with Mars , the Roman god of war. Caerwent seems to have continued in use in the post-Roman period as a religious centre. The territory of the Silures later developed as the 5th-century Welsh kingdoms of Gwent , Brycheiniog , and Gwynllŵg . Some theories concerning King Arthur make him

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