It began one night in Autumn Term at John Anderson’s flat in Lichfield Street looking at old maps. The quest soon took us to the desolate old fort at Tomen y Mur near Llyn Trawsfynydd and finally to the frozen hills of the Nannau estate at Brithdir.
We were looking for the road that connected a networyk of forts that was used by the Romans to secure their supply lines and the Empire’s western frontier. Throughout the 70s, there had been significant local resistance to Roman rule and the Ordovices had massacred an entire regiment of cavalry. In AD 78, the celebrated general Agricola was appointed Governor of Britannia and one of his first priorities was to finish the conquest of Wales. Tacitus tells us he quickly exterminated the Ordovices, and then struck north to the island of Môn where the druids were rounded up and the inhabitants forced to sue for peace.
Sadly, through the mists of time, the Editor cannot say with any certainty if his search was ultimately successful, but he can attest to the quality of John Alwyn Dickson’s roast chicken dinner that was the highlight of a second visit to find the lost legions of Rome.
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