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2,000-year-old road runs length of Wales — you can still walk it from start to finish
2,000-year-old road runs length of Wales — you can still walk it from start to finish
The Roman road runs from the south coast to the north and is one of the most well-preserved in the country — you can still walk it
This 2,000-year-old road runs the length of Wales — you can still walk it from start to finish
(Image: Gareth James/CC BY-SA 2.0 DEED )
One of Wales' best-kept secrets is a living piece of history that's right under our noses — but even people who live on it are oblivious to its existence.
This ancient Roman road, stretching from Neath in the south to Conwy in the north, is a unique, semi-concealed marvel. Sarn Helen, one of the most well-preserved Roman roads in Wales, reveals its cobbled stone remains in certain spots, exposed due to centuries of erosion.
A favourite among walkers, Sarn Helen was constructed nearly 2,000 years ago. It's thought to be named after Celtic princess Elen Lwy-ddawg — or Saint Elen, an early founder of churches in Wales — who was wedded to Magnus Maximus, the formidable Roman emperor who landed in Britain around 368AD.
As the daughter of the Romano-British ruler Octavius, it's believed she convinced her husband to construct roads across the country, enabling his soldiers to defend it more effectively against invaders.
Sarn Helen Roman road as it looks not far north of Glynneath and east of the village of Coelbren in the southern fringes of Bannau Brycheiniog
(Image: Kev Griffin/CC BY-SA 2.0 DEED )
Large standing stones, some towering at 13ft high and significantly predating the Roman occupation of Britain, are scattered along certain stretches of the road. One stone, known as Maen Madoc, still carries an ancient Latin inscription that reads: "Dervacus, son of Justus. Here he lies."
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Located within the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park, it's perfectly aligned with the area's largest standing stone, Maen Llia, situated at the head of the Llia Valley. In fact, if not for the intervening forestry, one could clearly see one stone from the other, despite a distance of approximately two miles.
The enigmatic Maen Madoc standing stone
(Image: Jeremy Bolwell/CC BY-SA 2.0 )
Maen Llia is believed to have been erected during the Bronze Age. Given that a quarter of the stone is buried deep in the ground, the effort required to position this massive stone would have been considerable.
The purpose of these stones continues to be a subject of debate among scholars, with theories ranging from primitive route markers, Stone Age territorial signs, to gravestones marking the burial sites of those who perished by the roadside.
However, while the theories about them are as well-trodden as Sarn Helen itself, the truth likely remains just beneath the surface, tantalisingly elusive.
A section of the Sarn Helen Roman road near Betws-y-Coed
(Image: Jeremy Bolwell/CC BY-SA 2.0 )
In 2020, writer Tom Bullough embarked on the challenge to trek the entire length of Sarn Helen, beginning his journey in Neath. At the former starting point sits Roman Way, a modern housing estate, yet residents there seemed unaware of the historical significance when Tom queried them.
Beside the current road lies a small fragment of a stone wall encircled by railings, representing the remnants of the ancient Roman fortification that existed there long ago.
The small section of wall that used to be a Roman fort, now next to a housing estate in Neath
Bullough recounts his experience in his book, aptly titled 'Sarn Helen', "It is not until you reach Hirfynydd, the hill running north-east away from Neath, that you first encounter Sarn Helen," he notes. "A grass-stripped track framed by broken walls, it follows the ridge through puddles and swamps, over occasional passages of stone once laid down by Roman legionaries. Some of them still have a distinct surface, with neat kerbs to either side."
The road is a living link to the Roman legions that travelled it centuries ago
(Image: Richard Thompson/CC BY-SA 2.0 )
He elaborates on the paths that wind gently among the wildlife and sheep, belonging to the dawn of Roman rule in Britain. The struggle for control of South Wales was fierce, with the local Silures tribe resisting for decades.
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Eventually, following their defeat of the second legion, the Romans established Neath's fort around AD74, dating the road to roughly that era. The road runs straight in parts, now marked by the tracks of bikes and off-road driving.
The road concludes at the Conwy estuary, as Bullough pens: "Here, 1,900 years ago, the Roman galleys would ride the tides to land or collect their supplies and men. Here it was that Sarn Helen ended and the rest of the world began".
