Editing Caerleon (section)

===Pre-Roman history===
The area around Caerleon is of considerable [[archaeological]] interest, with a number of important [[Neolithic]] sites. By the [[British Iron Age|Iron Age]], the area was home to the powerful [[Silures]] tribe and appears to have been the centre of a wealthy trading network, both manufacturing and importing [[La Tène culture|La Tène]] style goods.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Peterson |first1=R. |last2=Pollard |first2=J. |last3=Morris |first3=E. |year=2006 |chapter=Prehistoric Pottery |title=Lodge Hill Camp, Caerleon, and the Hillforts of Gwent |publisher=British Archaeological Reports |location=Oxford |series=BAR British Series |volume=407 |pages=33–37 |isbn=978-1841719351}}</ref> From the 5th century BC, the town was the location of a great Iron Age hillfort crowning a hill overlooking the [[River Usk]] and what would become the Roman port. The hillfort at Lodge Wood Camp is defended by three lines of massive ramparts and ditches, and is the largest fortified enclosure in South Wales.<ref name=Coflein93396>{{Coflein |desc=Lodge Wood Camp |num=93396 |access-date=8 April 2023}}</ref>

The excavation in 2000 found that the hillfort had been continuously occupied from its founding in the 5th century BC until the construction and occupation of [[Isca Augusta]] (also called Isca Silurum) around 78 AD. There is no evidence that the fort was taken militarily, and the abandonment of the fort may have been part of the terms of peace.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Howell |first1=R. |last2=Pollard |first2=J. |title=Caerleon, Lodge Wood Camp |journal=Archaeology in Wales |year=2000 |issue=40 |pages=81–83}}</ref> The fort was reoccupied during the Roman period and remained in use following the [[end of Roman rule in Britain]], suggesting that some version of the Pre-Roman society survived the occupation.