Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1920-07-15
Seeking CAESAR
IN ROMAN RUINS.
Buried Fortress Of Segontiufn,
/ r!f
Near Castle, to Be Ex-
l
Cavated.
OF GREAT HISTORIC INTEREST
Results OF the Excavation Will Be
keenIy Followed by Archaeology
lists Of Both Hemisphere
British History Involved.


Less than half mile to the SOUTH
easl of the ancient castle OF Carnar-
yon IN North Wales lies the buried
Roman fortress of Segontium. The
castle is a grim and lordly pile plant
ed hy a grim king in token of his
might: erected, so Pennant says. by
the forced labor Of Welsh peasants on
money wrung from the Welsh chief-
tuinS who had failed in the struggle
against King Edward l. 1t dates back
some seven hundred years In British
History, but compared with the Roman
fortress of Segontium it is thing OF
Yesterday, Ernest II. Ram tells the
BnSton Transcript. Long before the
Saxon. Dane or Norman trod the SOIL
of Britain the land echoed to the
heavy tread of armed Roman legions
rs they pushed on toward the setting
sun IN their attempt to establish the
dominion of the Caesars over the
,,hoic OF western Europe. They laid
the course Of Waiting street diagonal
is across the country, through ST. Al
bans tverolamium). PUNISHABLE (Duro-
cobri,ae) and Towcester (Lacth-
dorun, to Chester (Deva) on line
now followed by the London ana
Northwestern railway. Through
Chester they passed on to Carnarvon
tSegunlium) and struggled across the
Menai straits, over track now foi'
ioweu 10y the "Wild Irishman." the
London Northwestern mall train. as
/, swirls on to Holyhead.
The Light Of the Spade In History.
At Segontium was established the
last Roman fort, at the terminus or
their military road in North wales.
II is this Roman fort which British
archaeologists now propose to exca.
yate if the sufficient sum Of $4,000
can he raised to defray the expenses
of the work.
There are few more obscure periods
In the. history Of Wales than that OF
the is.nan occupation. and 1t Is not
TO be expected that much light Will he
thrown upon It by literary records,
But the spade may give US what we
seek Ia vain from the written or print
cd page. and excavation has already
yield..i valuable results from Caer-
went, Ceiiigaer, Castell COLLEEN ana
Caer.ws. So far, however. nothing
has been done in the northwest cor
'ner of The principality. that region OF
Gwynneid which occupies so large e
spaca ir the history of medieval
Wales The proposed excavation OF
Sre,rtium may enable this gap to be
flied win accurate If not extensive
information.
The Roman fort Of Seg"ntium took
its name from the river (now the
SANITY on which 1t stood. and occu-
pied the higher ground behind the
present town Of Carnarvon where IN
later age was built the church OF
IIanbcbllg. It was known to the
Welsh as "Caer Saint" or "Y Gaer
WI Arcon." While inferior in import
ance TO the legionary stations at lsca
and C,.va, 1t was fortress of some
consequence, covering about five and
half acres and serving, us l have
said. as the terminus of the military
road rhl h ran through North Wales.
And | msy add that from Aberglas-
iyn and Gortmadoe, in the neighbor-
hood Of Carnarvon, Prince Mador ap
Owain Gwynedd is said in Welsh
legend 70 have mustered his forces
and sailed in ten ships for the coloni-
zation of North America. toward the
o.,I ,,T thu ruolfrb
A Belgian Garrison.
An Inscription Of about 200 A. ID.
chronicles the fact that at that time
the water supply of the place was put
In rider by the first cohOrt Of Sunici.
and this auxiliary force. drawn or
partly drawn from Belgium. may have
furnished the regular garrison of Sc
gontium. No attempt has hitherto
been made to examine the site sys-
teIlntically, and. as was said by the
late Doctor Haverfeld-than whom
no greater authority on Roman Brit
ain liyed--"The spade alone can de-
termrne the successive stages which
Roman Carnarvon may have expert
enced. This much Is certain. There
Is 40 site In North Wales. and only
one o. two others In the whole PENN
sula. which are so likely, II properly
and Systematically explored, to throw
light on the condition of the country
in the later Roman and earliest post
Roman ages"
Chance finds that have already been
made are of considerable historical
value. particularly talisman or
charm In the form of a thin plate of
god-hearing magical characters and a
Greek inscription calling on sundry
spirits TO protect enc Aiphianos from
evil. II is probable that 1t was made
IN Alexandria In the seosnd century.
What had been its wanderings before
II was crushed among the ruins Of
Segontium!
The fragment of similar charm
may he seen at York. and these make
the only two Of their kind to be found
IN Britain. ~,
Another find was the famous god
crossbcw brooch OF the fourth century.
which ls now preserved In the Carnar'
Won town library
In rrtier to secure the land for the
,nrrcrp re excavation. a number Of
people interested In Welsh's' archeoi-
ogy. and with one exception resident
in the counties of Carnarvon and
Anglesey. purchased the areas near
the "WaterwOrks" In order that they
might be saved from the hands of the
builders and be systematically ex-
plored. Three acres are within the
wall of the fortress, and half an acre