Editing Silures (section)

== Origins ==
According to [[Tacitus]]'s biography of [[Gnaeus Julius Agricola|Agricola]], the Silures usually had a dark complexion and curly hair. Due to their appearance, Tacitus believed they had crossed over from Spain at an earlier date.<blockquote>The dark complexion of the Silures, their usually curly hair, and the fact that Spain is the opposite shore to them, are an evidence that Iberians of a former date crossed over and occupied these parts.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Church|first1=Alfred John|last2=Brodribb|first2=William Jackson|date=1899|title=The Agricola and Germany of Tacitus, and the Dialogue on Oratory|location=London|publisher=Macmillan & Co.|page=11|url=https://archive.org/details/church-and-brodribb-agricola-germany-dialogiae-1899-en/page/11}}</ref></blockquote>

[[Jordanes]], in his [[Getica|Origins and Deeds of the Goths]], describes the Silures.
<blockquote>The Silures have swarthy features and are usually born with curly black hair, but the inhabitants of Caledonia have reddish hair and large loose-jointed bodies. They are like the Gauls or the Spaniards.</blockquote>

The [[Iron Age]] [[hillfort]] at [[Llanvair Discoed|Llanmelin]] near [[Caerwent]] has sometimes been suggested as a pre-Roman tribal centre.<ref>[https://www.roman-britain.co.uk/places/llanmelin-wood-hillfort/ Roman-Britain.co.uk on Llanmelin]</ref> But some archaeologists{{who|date=January 2024}} believe that the people who became known as the Silures were a loose network of groups with some shared cultural values, rather than a centralised society.{{citation needed|date=January 2024}} Although the most obvious physical remains of the Silures are hillforts such as those at Llanmelin and [[Sudbrook, Monmouthshire|Sudbrook]], there is also archaeological evidence of [[Roundhouse (dwelling)|roundhouses]] at [[Gwehelog]], [[Chepstow|Thornwell (Chepstow)]] and elsewhere, and evidence of lowland occupation notably at [[Goldcliff]].<ref name=gch>[[Miranda Green (academic)|Miranda Aldhouse-Green]] and Ray Howell (eds.), ''Gwent In Prehistory and Early History: The Gwent County History Vol.1'', 2004, {{ISBN|0-7083-1826-6}}</ref>