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Pumsaint
Pumsaint is a village in Carmarthenshire, Wales, halfway between Llanwrda and Lampeter on the A482 in the valley of the Afon Cothi. It forms part of the extensive estate of Dolaucothi, which is owned by the National Trust. The name is Welsh for "Five Saints" (''Pump'' being the word for "five"). The name is derived from the stone block at the nearby gold mines, opposite Ogofau Lodge, which has four sides, each of which has hollows probably caused by pestle impacts. It was used as an anvil for crushing gold ore in the Roman period. Excavations in the 1990s of the area adjacent to the stone showed that the stone was originally horizontal and used as an anvil for a water-powered crushing mill. There are many parallels from Spanish mines of the Roman period with similar stone anvils. Places of interest The nearby conservation area has several scheduled ancient monuments including the Dolaucothi Gold Mines. Archaeologists have uncovered evidence of Roman occupation of the area, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dolaucothi Gold Mines
The Dolaucothi Gold Mines (; cy, Mwynfeydd Aur Dolaucothi) (), also known as the Ogofau Gold Mine, are ancient Roman surface and underground mines located in the valley of the River Cothi, near Pumsaint, Carmarthenshire, Wales. The gold mines are located within the Dolaucothi Estate which is now owned by the National Trust. They are the only mines for Welsh gold outside those of the Dolgellau gold-belt, and are a Scheduled Ancient Monument. They are also the only known Roman gold mines in Britain, although it does not exclude the likelihood that they exploited other known sources in Devon in South West England, north Wales, Scotland and elsewhere. The site is important for showing advanced Roman technology. Roman mining methods Archaeology suggests that gold extraction on this site may have started sometime in the Bronze Age, possibly by washing of the gold-bearing gravels of the river Cothi, the most elementary type of gold prospecting. Sextus Julius Frontinus was sent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dolaucothi
The Dolaucothi Gold Mines (; cy, Mwynfeydd Aur Dolaucothi) (), also known as the Ogofau Gold Mine, are ancient Roman surface and underground mines located in the valley of the River Cothi, near Pumsaint, Carmarthenshire, Wales. The gold mines are located within the Dolaucothi Estate which is now owned by the National Trust. They are the only mines for Welsh gold outside those of the Dolgellau gold-belt, and are a Scheduled Ancient Monument. They are also the only known Roman gold mines in Britain, although it does not exclude the likelihood that they exploited other known sources in Devon in South West England, north Wales, Scotland and elsewhere. The site is important for showing advanced Roman technology. Roman mining methods Archaeology suggests that gold extraction on this site may have started sometime in the Bronze Age, possibly by washing of the gold-bearing gravels of the river Cothi, the most elementary type of gold prospecting. Sextus Julius Frontinus was sent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Luentinum
Luentinum or Loventium refers to the Roman fort at Pumsaint, Carmarthenshire. The site lies either side of the A482 in Pumsaint and was in use from the mid 70s AD to around 120 AD. It may have had particular functions associated with the adjacent Dolaucothi Gold Mines. It formed part of a network of at least 30 forts across Wales, such as Llandovery, Bremia/Llanio near Llanddewi Brefi, and the fort at Llandeilo. The Roman road Sarn Helen, which runs past the Llanio and Llandovery forts was nearby. __NOTOC__ The name Luentinum is mentioned in Ptolemy's , 2nd century AD 'Geography', and is thought to relate to washing in reference to the Pumsaint gold mines. The fort appears to have been founded as a square 5½ acre (2.25 hectare) Roman auxiliary fort controlling the adjoining gold mines, around AD 75 when Frontinus was governor of Roman Britain and active in subduing the Silures of Roman Wales. The fort had an earthen rampart and double ditch. The date of first construction was de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal in a pure form. Chemically, gold is a transition metal and a group 11 element. It is one of the least reactive chemical elements and is solid under standard conditions. Gold often occurs in free elemental ( native state), as nuggets or grains, in rocks, veins, and alluvial deposits. It occurs in a solid solution series with the native element silver (as electrum), naturally alloyed with other metals like copper and palladium, and mineral inclusions such as within pyrite. Less commonly, it occurs in minerals as gold compounds, often with tellurium (gold tellurides). Gold is resistant to most acids, though it does dissolve in aqua regia (a mixture of nitric acid and hydrochloric acid), forming a soluble tetrachloroaurate anion. Gold is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Demetae
The Demetae were a Celtic people of Iron Age and Roman period, who inhabited modern Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire in south-west Wales, and gave their name to the county of Dyfed. Classical references They are mentioned in Ptolemy's ''Geographia'', as being west of the Silures. He mentions two of their towns, Moridunum (modern Carmarthen) and Luentinum (identified as the Dolaucothi Gold Mines near Pumsaint, Carmarthenshire). They are not mentioned in Tacitus' accounts of Roman warfare in Wales, which concentrate on their neighbours the Silures and Ordovices. Vortiporius, "tyrant of the Demetae", is one of the kings condemned by Gildas in his 6th century polemic ''De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae''. This probably signifies the sub-Roman petty kingdom of Dyfed. Etymology and relationship to Dyfed The Latinized element ''Demet'' has a clear and well attested relationship with the Welsh ''Dyfed'' (proto-Celtic *dametos') and even after the imposition of the English Shire s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A482 Road
The A482 road is in Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, Wales. It links Aberaeron at the junction with the A487 road with the A40 road at Llanwrda near Llandovery. It is long. History Originally, the road from Aberaeron to Lampeter was styled the B4340. By 1927, it had been upgraded to the A4115. In 1935, during a widespread revision of road numbering, the Newcastle Emlyn to Lampeter road became the A475 and the number A482 was allotted to the Aberaeron to Lampeter road. At the eastern end of the road, the original terminus was with the A481 in Landovery, half a mile from where that road joins the A40. This changed with the 1936 revision and the eastern terminus of the A482 was rerouted to Llanwrda. Route The route from Aberaeron, where it branches off the A487, joins the A40 at Llanwrda, is generally orientated from northwest to southeast. Running through the pleasant countryside of the Aeron Valley, it passes the Grade 1 listed manor house of Llanerchaeron near Ciliau Aeron. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sextus Julius Frontinus
Sextus Julius Frontinus (c. 40 – 103 AD) 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 the aqueducts of Rome. Family 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 is likely Frontinus had a sister, who was the other's mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quintus Petillius Cerialis
Quintus Petillius Cerialis Caesius Rufus ( AD 30 — after AD 83), otherwise known as Quintus Petillius Cerialis, was a Roman general and administrator who served in Britain during Boudica's rebellion and went on to participate in the civil wars after the death of Nero. He later crushed the rebellion of Julius Civilis and returned to Britain as its governor. Because he probably succeeded Caesius Nasica as commander of Legio IX Hispana, and since brothers are often attested as serving in succession in the same post, Anthony Birley suggests that Cerialis was the younger brother of Nasica, and had been adopted by Petillius Rufus, who was known as praetor in AD 28. However, in his monograph of naming practices in the first centuries of the Roman Empire, Olli Salomies argues that Cerialis was actually the biological son of Petillius Rufus by a woman named Caesia, who may have been the daughter of a Caesius Cerialis, therefore Caesius Nasica would not have been his brother "but a close ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Silures
The Silures ( , ) were 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. Origins 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 swarthy faces of the Silures, the curly quality, in general, of their hair, and the position of Spain opposite their shores, attest to the passage of Iberians in old days and the occupation by them of these districts; ..." (Tacitus Annales Xi.ii, translated by M. Hutton) 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-joint ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aqueducts Of Rome
The Romans constructed aqueducts throughout their Republic and later Empire, to bring water from outside sources into cities and towns. Aqueduct water supplied public baths, latrines, fountains, and private households; it also supported mining operations, milling, farms, and gardens. Aqueducts moved water through gravity alone, along a slight overall downward gradient within conduits of stone, brick, concrete or lead; the steeper the gradient, the faster the flow. Most conduits were buried beneath the ground and followed the contours of the terrain; obstructing peaks were circumvented or, less often, tunneled through. Where valleys or lowlands intervened, the conduit was carried on bridgework, or its contents fed into high-pressure lead, ceramic, or stone pipes and siphoned across. Most aqueduct systems included sedimentation tanks, which helped to reduce any water-borne debris. Sluices, ''castella aquae'' (distribution tanks) and stopcocks regulated the supply to individual des ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roman Wales
The Roman era in the area of modern Wales began in 48 AD, with a military invasion by the imperial governor of Roman Britain. The conquest was completed by 78 AD, and Roman rule endured until the region was abandoned in 383 AD. The Roman Empire held a military occupation in most of Wales, except for the southern coastal region of South Wales, east of the Gower Peninsula, where there is a legacy of Romanisation in the region, and some southern sites such as Carmarthen, which was the civitas capital of the Demetae tribe. The only town in Wales founded by the Romans, Caerwent, is located in South Wales. Wales was a rich source of mineral wealth, and the Romans used their engineering technology to extract large amounts of gold, copper, and lead, as well as modest amounts of some other metals such as zinc and silver. The Roman campaigns of conquest in Wales appear in surviving ancient sources, who record in particular the resistance and ultimate conquest of two of the five na ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caerleon
Caerleon (; cy, Caerllion) is a town and community in Newport, Wales. Situated on the River Usk, it lies northeast of Newport city centre, and southeast of Cwmbran. Caerleon is of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable Roman legionary fortress, Isca Augusta, and an Iron Age hillfort. Close to the remains of Isca Augusta are the National Roman Legion Museum and the Roman Baths Museum. The town also has strong historical and literary associations: Geoffrey of Monmouth elevated the significance of Caerleon as a major centre of British history in his ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' (c. 1136), and Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote '' Idylls of the King'' (1859–1885) while staying in Caerleon. History Pre-Roman history The area around Caerleon is of considerable archaeological interest with a number of important Neolithic sites. By the Iron age, the area was home to the powerful Silures tribe and appears to have been the centre of a wealthy trading network, both manufact ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
