Monmouth

History

Excavations undertaken by the Monmouth Archaeological Society on sites along Monnow Street have uncovered details of the early history of the town. The Council for British Archaeology has designated Monmouth as one of the top ten towns in Britain for archaeology. Evidence of a Bronze Age boat building community, including three channels adjoining the site of a now-vanished lake, was discovered in September 2013, during archaeological investigations by the Monmouth Archaeological Society of the Parc Glyndwr housing development site, immediately north-west of the town. The excavations later revealed the remains of a Neolithic dwelling. The dwelling was constructed on stilts on a human-made island away from the lake shore in water up to deep. Oak timbers had been "skillfully" cut with stone or flint axes to form stilts, of posts and poles, which "probably" rested on three parallel fully-grown tree 'sleeper beams', up to wide, laid horizontally on the lakebed. The first recorded settlement at Monmouth was the small Roman fort of Blestium, one of a network of military bases established on the frontiers of the Roman occupation. This was connected by road to the larger Roman towns at Glevum (Gloucester) and Isca Augusta (Caerleon). Archaeologists have found Roman pottery and coins within the modern town centre. During the later Roman period, between the 2nd and late 4th centuries, it appears to have been a centre for iron working, using the local iron ores and charcoal also worked at nearby Gobannium (Abergavenny) and Ariconium (near Ross-on-Wye). After the end of Roman rule in Britain, the area was at the southern edge of the Welsh kingdom of Ergyng. The only evidence of continuing settlement at Monmouth is a record of a 7th-century church, at an unknown location…

Geography

Monmouth is in an area of Devonian age Old Red Sandstone, at the point where the River Wye is joined by its tributary, the River Monnow, and immediately north of the point at which the smaller River Trothy flows into the Wye from the west. Immediately to the south, the Wye enters a valley, incised into sandstone and, in particular, Carboniferous Limestone. The town is surrounded by wooded hills to its north, east and south, including Buckholt Wood (), The Kymin (), and The Graig (), with more gently undulating terrain to the west. The town centre itself is sited on a low-lying spur between the floodplains of the Wye and Monnow, and has frequently suffered from severe flooding. The water-meadows to the north and south of the town centre, known respectively as Vauxhall Fields and Chippenham Mead, have generally remained free of development. In climatic terms, the town is located between those areas around the Severn Estuary which show a maritime influence, and the cooler and drier conditions of the English Midlands further inland.

Most-observed species

• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,217
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,097
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,952
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,667
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,447
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,250
• Common Chaffinch

  Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,083
• Eurasian Wren

  Troglodytes troglodytes (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,886

Most recent

• M 3.4 — 2023-02-24
  1 km ENE of Brynmawr, United Kingdom
• M 3.2 — 2022-02-21
  5 km N of Hockley, United Kingdom
• M 3.4 — 2019-12-05
  1 km ESE of Taunton, United Kingdom
• M 4.3 — 2018-02-17
  5 km NE of Clydach, United Kingdom
• M 3.9 — 2008-10-26
  2 km N of Bromyard, United Kingdom
• M 2.7 — 2006-11-05
  4 km NNE of Tenbury Wells, United Kingdom