Roman Merthyr Tydfil

[jeffery07]

One day as a child I strolled into the Keir Hardy museum(is it still there?) and was spellbound as I wandered round the Roman section of the museum. I just loved the Roman artifacts! I was amazed to discover that beneath Penydarren football pitch lay the remains of a real Roman fort! (Apparently there was one, too ,at Pentrebach, but a wooden fort). I used to wonder why archaeologists did not simply dig the pitch up in order to learn more about Merthyr's Roman past. I had no idea as a child about priorities. (Would have been a riot!). Ever since I've been hooked on Roman history and possess many history books on the subject. Can anyone tell me if, over the years ,there have been any digs on the site and anything discovered,or learnt? Thanks. PS The Romans occupied this country for 400 years and had great difficulty conquering the Welsh and Scots.

[anwen]

I too have always been interested in the Roman History of Merthyr Tydfil, in the early sixties a lad from the Quar found quite a few Roman coins in the area of the old Goetre  Pond, if my memory serves me right it was being drained at the time, the story made the Merthyr Express,  also my mother during the war worked for either a Captain or Colonel ( I think the surname was James) who lived in Penydarren House, by Penydarren Park there is a bunglow estate there now built in the sixties, she told me that in the cellar of this house there was a Roman mosiac tiled floor.
The Roman road used go up the side of Gwaunfarren Baths, towards Pant, I have walked on some of the road at Pant, I was also told that there was some forn of Roman charcoal or smelting works at Dolygear nr Pontsticll.
I know that Vaynor Church is very old,   Norman parts of it and there was supposed to have been a battle where the huge mound is in the field nr the church, apparently it was excavated in the thirties and they found nothing.

I would be really interested to read of anyone else's information of the Roman past of Merthyr.
  

[bassey]

hi
my names anthony and i run a page on facebook called merthyr tydfil the past, i have a roman section on there in the photos.
iv always had an interest of roman merthyr and are researching it all a time and hopefully will have a book out about it.
very interesting reading ur post about the man who found the coins and in merthyr express, love to find the article, also u mention u seen a roman road in pant, any ideas where.

look forward to hearing from you
anthony

[robertjones]

Beginning of 1900s there was a formal dig of the Penydarren Roman fort
copies of the report are in Merthyr Central Library

[jeffery07]

Thanks everyone.