Gobannium Gobannium was a Roman fort and civil settlement or Castra established by the Roman legion s invading what was to become Roman Wales and lies today under the market town of Abergavenny , Monmouthshire in south east Wales . Documentary evidence . Gobannium was first recorded in the Antonine Itinerary of the late 2nd century AD as ' Gobannio ' sited some 12 miles from Burrium , ( modern Usk ) and 22 miles south of Magnis ( now Kenchester , Herefordshire ) . Gobannium is also mentioned in the Ravenna Cosmography as ' Bannio ' , sited between Isca Augusta the major legionary fortress covering South Wales ( Caerleon ) further down the River Usk , and Bremia ( Llanio , Ceredigion ) . The name is thought to have a Celtic or Brythonic language origin and linked to Gobannus and Gofannon and may mean ' the place of the blacksmiths ' . Location . Gobannium lies in the broad valley of the River Usk surrounded by hills and mountains , such as the Sugar Loaf Mountain , Wales , the Skirrid and the Blorenge , just before the valley narrows and the site has some archaeological evidence of human activity dating from the British Iron Age and earlier British Bronze Age . The valley was certainly used as a major prehistoric route through the land of the Silures between the coastal plain of the Caldicot and Wentloog Levels and the Brecon Beacons . The invading Romans , under Publius Ostorius Scapula , needed a suitable staging post at this site between their major legionary bases and a string of forts in the interior , such as Y Gaer , Brecon and with links northwards to Watling Street , eastwards to Blestium ( Monmouth ) and Glevum ( Gloucester ) . Site . The Romans selected a spur forming a steep incline above the nearby River Usk at a point where the smaller River Gavenny meets it - a naturally defensible site that may well have been settled or fortified previously and that commands clear views across the surrounding landscape . Level ground on the spur offered the scope for a fort layout and subsequently space for an additional civil settlement . Artefacts and excavations . Artefacts from the site include stamped roof tiles showing the stamp of the Legio II Augusta , based at Isca Augusta , well worn Roman currency such as a coin from the Augustan period , sixteen pieces of high status Samian ware pottery sherd s , items of bronze military equipment compatible with Celtic Roman auxiliary troops , plus rubbish pits . The excavations that have taken place have been small in scope and piecemeal , often in the face of redevelopment of buildings and amenities in the modern town centre . Digs in advance of the building of the new post office and telephone exchange in the centre of Abergavenny between 1962 and 1969 found evidence of a military ditch system , timber buildings with posthole s , small granaries for storing grain over winters and turf and timber ramparts . Further explorations over the years since 1970 have revealed wattle and daub walling , clay sling or sling shot ammunition and further rubbish pits . In 2002 , a metal detectorist in a field of Pentwyn Triley Farm unearthed an upturned vessel . A zoomorphic handle was found detached at the bottom of the pit . The form of this handle has led to the cup being called the Abergavenny ' Leopard Cup ' . It was displayed shortly in Abergavenny and is currently displayed in the National Museum and Galleries Wales ( Cardiff ) . Discussion of its precise origins and usage is ongoing . Some of the artefacts recovered to date can be seen at Abergavenny Museum within Abergavenny Castle .