Pen Llystyn
At the base of the Lleyn peninsula, between Segontium and Tomen-y-Mur, stood the earth and timber fort of Pen Llystyn. It has now been completely destroyed by the gravel working which led to its discovery. It proved possible to recover most of the plan of a fort of 1.8 ha, probably built for two cohortes quingenariae; as at other sites, the fort was partitioned in order to separate the two units. The presence of two commanding officers may explain the abnormally large house provided. It is noteworthy that water was piped into the fort through the NE gate. The fort showed a single period of occupation, ending in destruction by fire; the finds suggest that it was held from ca. A.D. 78 to ca. 90. There appears to have been a plan to build a fort of reduced area, but when rebuilding finally took place only the N quarter of the original fort was kept, giving a fortlet of ca. 0.5 ha. While not securely dated, this does not seem to have been occupied later than ca. A.D. 150.
BIBLIOGRAPHYA.H.A. Hogg, “Pen Llystyn. A Roman fort and other remains,” ArchJ 125 (1968) 101-92MPI; id. in V. E. Nash-Williams, The Roman Frontier in Wales (2d ed. by M. G. Jarrett 1969) 101-3MP.
M. C. JARRETT