For many years a large U-shaped earthwork near Wiston was thought to be little more than an old quarry, despite its position close to the line of a Roman road. New analysis of LiDAR data in 2012, however, suggested the feature might form part of a Roman fort. A Cadw-funded geophysical survey confirmed this, identifying characteristic defensive ditches and entrances, and making Wiston the most westerly Roman fort yet known in Wales.
Excavations in 2013 revealed three substantial defensive ditches, ramparts, an intervallum road, and evidence of timber buildings. Finds of pottery dated the fort to the late 1st–early 2nd century AD, with later activity in the mid-2nd to 3rd centuries. A trapezoidal enclosure within the fort was shown to be later than the main occupation, pointing to reuse after the military phase.
Further survey and excavation in 2014 demonstrated that a large civilian settlement developed to the south of the fort after its abandonment. This comprised ditched enclosures, timber buildings, and evidence of agricultural processing. Pottery suggests the fort itself was short-lived, perhaps occupied for only a generation, but its presence reshapes our understanding of Roman control in southwest Wales, hinting at wider military and civilian networks than previously recognised.
