Towns were built; the two
Chesters or Caerlleons (Castra Legionum), on the Dee and the Usk,
being the most important from a military point of view. Roads were
made; two along the north and south coasts, to Carmarthen and
Carnarvon; two others ran parallel along the length of Wales, to
connect their ends. On these roads towns rose; and some, like
Caerwent, were self-governing communities of prosperous people.
Agriculture flourished; the Welsh words for "plough" and "cheese" are
"aradr" and "caws"--the Latin aratrum and caseus. The mineral wealth
of the country was discovered; and copper mines and lead mines,
silver mines and gold mines, were worked. The "aur" (gold) and
"arian" (silver) and "plwm" (lead) of the Welshman are the Latin
aurum, argentum, and plumbum.
The Romans allowed the Welsh families and tribes to remain as before,
and to be ruled by their own kings and chiefs. But they kept the
defence of the country--the manning of the great wall in the north of
Roman Britain, the garrisoning of the legion towns, and the holding
of the western sea--in their own hand.
Gradually the power of Rome began to wane, and its hold on distant
countries like Britain began to relax. The wandering nations were
gathering on its eastern and northern borders, and its walls and
legions at last gave way.
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