Castra Deva Victrix

roof tile showing the badge and standard of Legion XX, from Holt, in north Wales]] According to the 1st- and 2nd-century geographer Ptolemy, Deva was in the lands of the Cornovii. Their land bordered that of the Brigantes in the north and the Ordovices in the west and included parts of what is now Cheshire, Shropshire, and north Wales. When the Romans' treaty with the Brigantes—who occupied most of what is now Northern England—failed the Romans embarked on military conquest of the area. The campaigns were initially led by Sextus Julius Frontinus and later Gnaeus Julius Agricola. Their expansion into the north of Britannia during the reign of Vespasian meant that the Romans needed a new…

An essential part of the Roman supply lines to all its Britannia legionary fortresses was good access for sea-going ships. Deva needed reliable and regular supplies of foodstuffs, most notably grain and other supplies shipped directly from the Mediterranean area, Gaul, Spain and the Rhinelands. It also expected to have good access to the heavy and bulky raw materials needed to build and maintain a fortress, such as lead and copper from North Wales, and bricks, tiles and pottery from elsewhere in the province. The fortress served as a stepping-off point for military expeditions further north or west, in which ship transport was a key feature. A strategic advantage to siting the fortress here…