| Canovium | |
|---|---|
 View from the fort down to theRiver Conwy | |
  Location inConwy | |
| Founded | c. 75 AD |
| Abandoned | 4th century AD |
| Place in the Roman world | |
| Province | Britannia |
| Structure | |
| — Stone structure — | |
| Built | 2nd century AD |
| — Wood and earth structure — | |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 53°12′58″N3°50′03″W / 53.2161°N 3.8341°W /53.2161; -3.8341 |
| County | Conwy |
| Country | Wales |
| Reference | |
| UK-OSNG reference | SH775702 |
Canovium was afort in theRoman province ofBritannia. Its site is located atCaerhun in theConwy valley, in thecounty borough ofConwy, inNorth Wales.
The fort appears in theAntonine Itinerary asConovio and in theRavenna Cosmography asCanubio. The first element possibly represents aborrowing into Latin of a pre-existingBrythonic name for the wetland area (from a word meaning reeds,cawn inModern Welsh).
Although the second element may derive fromNovius (meaning new), it has also been proposed that the –ovium termination may simply meanwater orriver.[1] Both of these etymologies would seem to reflect the purpose of building a new fort at this location, to control the lowest fording point across the river Conwy.
Canovium was a square fort built in timber at an important river crossing (atTal-y-Cafn) by theRoman army around AD 75, possibly to house a 500-strong regiment of foot-soldiers. Rebuilding in stone began in the early 2nd century. It contained the usual headquarters building, commanding officer's house, granaries and barrack blocks, but the two former buildings were unusually large for the size of the fort. There was a bath-house to the east and an extensivevicus to the north. A large second centurymilestone dedicated to the EmperorHadrian, now preserved in theBritish Museum, was found 7 miles from Canovium in the late nineteenth century.[2]
The fort was the largest Roman military installation in the area and it is likely that the administrative functions of theDeceangli tribe were conducted from here. Although the tribe remained largely "un-Romanised" and noCivitas Deceangorum ever existed, the vicus at Canovium the fort may possibly have functioned as such.[3]
There may have been a brief abandonment of the site in the very late 2nd century, but occupation quickly resumed, with the erection of a new cookhouse, and continued until at least the late 4th century. The north-east quarter of the site is now occupied by the 14th-centuryparish church of St Mary and its churchyard.
There have been several publications on the Canovium fort, described at the Kanovium Project link below. The classic study of the fort was the 1938 collected reports ofP.K. Baillie Reynolds, ofAberystwyth University, the culmination of four summers of excavation by him.[4][5]
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