Ancient Welsh city found

Caer Caradoc at Mynydd y Gaer, Glamorgan, is one of the most important locations in all of ancient British history. It is the fabled fortress city of King Caradoc 1, son of Arch, who fought the Romans from 42-51AD.

And now, a small team of dedicated researchers working with historians Alan Wilson and Baram Blackett, have been able to pinpoint the location of this site. "It is great news for the local, regional and national economy," said Alan Wilson today. "We have been making these discoveries for many years and with the Electrum Cross discovered at nearby St. Peter's in 1990, it looks like a boost for jobs is likely."

"What is more," added research team leader Baram A Blackett, "this is but one of several South Wales sites we are currently investigating. And the others are arguably bigger news than this!"

"What we have is a clearly-defined walled city in exactly the place the records tell us it should be. The Welsh manuscripts and supporting records are always precise and allow us to make major progress in terms of identifying royal burial mounds, tombs, artefacts and more," said Wilson.

Aerial photographs obtained by the research team via Google Earth are available for viewing on the Internet via, realhistoryradio.blogspot.com

A Caer is a fortress and Caers were major fortress cities and towns for example: Caer Lllundain (London), Caerdydd (Cardiff) Caergrant (Cambridge) and Caer Loyw (Gloucester).

Historical references to Caer Caradoc are many and include statements in the Brut Tyssilio (684 AD) and the later Gruffyd ap Arthur (1135 AD) where Merddyn Emrys (Martin Ambrosius) and his mother are said to have met with the Ambassdors of Vortigern at St. Peter's Super-Montem Church at Caer Caradoc, where they lived.

(The ruin of the ancient St. Peters' Super-Montem Church, owned by Alan Wilson and Baram Blackett, is still on the low mountain immediately above the city of Caer Caradoc. The church is similarly ancient, dating to the 1st Century AD as shown in the 1990 dig at the site.)

Another reference is that of Teithfallt/Theodosius, who buried the 363 British noblemen murdered by treacherous Saxons at the notorious "Peace ConfereThe team say the Mynwent y Milwyr, "monument to the soldiers", is still to be found on the second highest point of Mynydd y Gaer above the city of Caer Caradoc that they have found.

A third reference is that of the "Uthyr Pendragon" , King Meurig/Maurice, who lies buried at the giant circle at Caer Caradoc. There is, at this location, a gigantic ditch and mound shaped like a boat, next to St. Peter's Church ruin. In this 180 yards by 70 yards wide earth mound and ditch feature there is the huge grave mound of Meurig.

At the highest point of the Mynydd y Gaer, "Fortress Mountain", lies the burial mound known at "Twyn Caradoc", for King Caradoc 1 who returned from Rome in 59AD.

The area around St. Peter's Church is called Portref, or "Supreme Manor Place", and other place names include "the throne of the knight," "the ridge of the soldiers" and the "pass of the soldier". King Lleirwg (King Luke) rebuilt St Peter's circa 160AD and an archaeological dig undertaken there in 1990 showed four successive ancient church rebuildings dating back to the 1st Century AD. The illustrious Welsh records known as the Triads state that the Caer Caradoc church was the most important in Britain.

Around 150 yards away from St Peter's ruins are the ruins of a thick castle wall and the bases of two gate towers where a castle once stood allowing watchman the best possible views of the coastal views of Glamorgan and the Severn Estuary.

There was a major battle near Caer Caradoc in 51 AD where the Khumric-Welsh claimed victory over the Romans. This battle site was located north west of Mynydd y Gaer near Merthyr (Merthyr Tydfil today), or vale of the Martyrs.

After winning the battle, Caradoc went north to get assistance from the Queen of the Brigantes, Aregwedd, misnamed Cartismandua by the Latins. Instead, the Queen, known as the "traitor", handed Caradoc over to the Romans. He was subsequently taken to Rome where he resided for seven years before returning home.

The team say tthe discovery of Caer Caradoc, a pre-Roman British city is a severe embarrassment to academics who take no notice of Welsh records. Despite this, they now have clear photographic evidence, proof positive, of a rectangular walled city located on the flatlands just city south of St. Peter's and north of Brynna village. Although they are not yet allowed on-site, as it is privately owned, the site can be seen easily.

This city, Caer Caradoc, was once the capital of the Paramount King of Britain, and the team started to look for its precise location in 1990 but it was not until the development of the aerial imaging programme, Google Earth, that they were able to make the identification, and this was a difficult process of checking and re-checking.

There is further conclusive evidence based upon Tithe Maps. These are a detailed record of every Welsh field. Each field had a designated number, details of the owner and tenant farmer and, importantly, the field's name. Every field had a name and often described what had occurred there, if anything. Around St. Peters, the field names show it to be the location of the Peace Conference of 456 took place. "Field of the Conference, "Field of the Quarrel," "Field of the Blood". Copies of Tithe maps are easily obtained.

This is a major find by any standards and we welcome questions, queries and requests for further detail from all comers.

Why do academics ignore Welsh records?

Victors write the history. Traditions of defeated people get turned into "myth" anytime they are in conflict with "real" history.

The oldest surviving Gothic Bible is dated to about 350 AD. Goths are believed to have originated in Southern Sweden & they were a Germanic people. History books say Charlemagne "Christianized" those "barbaric pagan" German tribes.

Back to Wales. Welsh built stockade type forts & they retreated from them when necessary to survive. They'd attack parties trying to forage from the locations of their former forts. The Welch long bow was useful for this, so attackers found staying is Wales unattractive.

Romans built stone fortresses along the Welch coast, so I have to think that digs along the coast that look like permanent settlements would have to be from the Roman "occupation", though they would be upon older Welsh settlements. Get deeper into the heart of Wales, a defeated people's last stronghold, purposely inaccessible, built of wood becomes a "mythical" place pretty quickly.

Actually the Goths were already Christian before Charlemagne. Arian Christian but Christian none the less!
For example Christian Goths with Aetius one the last great Western Roman commanders against Attila. Also the Goths what defeated a Western Roman army at Adrianople were Christian, again Arian Christian. The Ostrogothic Kingdom in Attila which followed the battle of Adrianople was a Christian kingdom, again Arian Christian.

In Scotland there is a little castle on Loch Ness called Urquehart Castle. Nobody knows who built it or why. Certainly not a bunch of guys that drank beer and went fishing there years ago. Maybe it had another purpose. The rain in the summer there is about the same temp as the water temp. I skinny-dipped around there once and that is a very deep glacial lake. Cute little red heads live around there that like to fish. Inverness has a nice restaurant that serves steamed or fried fish. Dunvegan is on the Isle of Skye and it's sort of like Kansas. Nice people there.

http://www.castles.org/Chatelaine/URQUHART.HTM

http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/drumnadrochit/urquhart/

From the looks of it, I was gonna say it was built in the Middle Ages. A lot of castle building involved using stones from previous structures, other crumbling castles or walls. It was faster to "borrow" than to start from scratch.

Text from the second link I posted...

"Opinions differ as to whether Urquhart Castle was originally the site of a Pictish fort dating back to a visit by St Columba in 597, but there was certainly a Pictish settlement in the area at the time. The first real evidence of anything recognisable as a castle dates back to the years following 1230, when Alexander II crushed a revolt in the province of Moray, to the north, and decided to defend this strategic route."

From what I can tell, my MacBean ancestors were from Iverness. Maybe they had a hand in building it. :o)


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