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There is no doubt that a character by the name of Caradoc, or Caractacus, made a final and dramatic stand against the might of Rome. Effectively, his stand was the last in a long line of resistance against an invading force. But almost two thousand years after the event can we determine the actual location, or even determine whether it was in Shropshire, as there are other counties that also make that claim.
It is logical to assume that, as the Romans took control, resistance forces would retreat, and the most logical direction of that retreat is westwards towards the safety of the mountains of Wales. Such logic is reinforced by later events, (the invasion of Saxons and Normans), when the mountains of Wales gave shelter to the defenders of their country. Some claim that the final battle of Caradoc (Caractacus) is said to have been on a hill now called Caer Caradoc, but this gives us a problem as there are at least two hills of that name in Shropshire alone, as well as a number of other sites claiming to be the genuine article. Let us look at a few of them.
Lying between Knighton and Clun, this ancient hill fort stands alone on the windswept mountainside. It certainly has the atmosphere. It has its river, in the shape of the River Redlake, but that would hardly have been an obstacle to the Romans.
This hill is certainly steep and would be a difficult place to attack, giving the advantage to the defenders. But Tacitus mentioned a river at the foot of the hill. This lets out Caer Caradoc at Church Stretton as there is no river there.
The first time I visited Bucknell was very early one misty October morning. The mist was low on the ground and occasionally I was high enough to see over it. Just over Linden Bridge, which spans the river Teme, I stopped and looked across the low ground towards Coxall Knoll which was just visible above the mist. Perhaps it was on a day like this, centuries ago, that Caractacus made his final stand against the invading Romans. (They may have come from nearby Brampton Bryan, where there is a site of a Roman camp.) There are those who say that Tacitus was not writing about Coxall Knoll, even though it could be said to closely fit the description, but on that misty morning I could almost hear the passage of the Roman soldiers as they crossed the Teme and marched resolutely towards Coxall Knoll.
This is an even more dramatic spot, and with a number of prehistoric sites, in the form of settlements and forts must have at one time been an important area. The Breiddens also has a river, the River Severn, which is certainly a formidable obstacle, particularly in the winter.
More recently, historians have suggested Llanymynech Hill as being the site of the battle. Here the River Vyrnwy would have been the obstacle for the attackers. This perhaps fits the description best of all, but the present summit of Llanymynech Hill, with its carefully tended golf course is not a place to sense the ghosts of Caradoc's men today.
The trouble is that whichever hill fort you visit in Shropshire, it is not impossible to sense that you are on the very spot where Caradoc stood against the might of Rome. - Such is the atmosphere of these places.