Description

Wessex Archaeology was commissioned by Videotext Communications Ltd to carry out archaeological recording and post-excavation analysis on an archaeological evaluation by Channel 4’s ‘Time Team’ within the Roman town of Caerwent, South Wales (NGR 346900 190500).
The Roman town is a Scheduled Monument (Monmouthshire 001) of national importance. Excavations since the turn of the 19th century have largely established the ground plan, although little was known about two significant areas, one in the commercial heart of the town (insula XIV) and the other in a suburban district of its north-western quadrant (insula I). These two areas, and a third, located outside the walls on the eastern approaches to the town, were investigated by the Time Team evaluation.
The project aimed to carry out a limited programme of non-intrusive investigations and evaluation trenching over three days. Fieldwork consisted of seven machine excavated trial trenches as well as geophysical and topographic surveys. The geophysical survey clearly demonstrated the potential usefulness of these techniques, particularly ground penetrating radar, for providing detailed information about the below-ground remains surviving at Caerwent.