CAERWENT occupies a gently-inclining plane in a low situation. A few small dwellings mark the site of the ancient town; the fortifications of which form an oblong paralellogram, whose width is equal to two-ninths of its length, with the corners a little rounded; a frequent figure in Roman military works, called _Terriata castra_. The corners of the walls nearly correspond with the four cardinal points. On the south-west side are three pentagonal bastions; from which circumstance some authors have conjectured the erection of the town to have taken place under the lower empire, as flanking projections were not in use before that period; but it is justly supposed to be equally probable, that they were added after the general embattlement. The circuit of the rampart, near a mile in extent, may still be traced, in most places surrounded by a deep moat; the wall is constructed of grout-work faced with squared lime-stone; but the facings have been for the most part removed for private uses. From the present ruinous state of the walls, we cannot speak with certainty of their former height; but it appears to have varied considerably; perhaps eighteen feet may be a good medium: they are about twelve feet in thickness at their base, and nine at top. A fragment of the wall, nearly twenty feet in length and twelve high, has fallen near the southern angle; and, although the ponderous ruin revolved in its fall, the mass remains unshattered and impenetrable. Such is the boundary of a spot once crowded with palaces and temples: at present, the church and parsonage, a farm-house, a public-house, and a few scattered cottages, chiefly built with squared stones of the Roman town, are the only buildings on the area, which is generally laid out in fields and orchards. But ancient foundations, projecting above the level, and concealed under green hillocks, rise in many places; and elegant columns, tesselated pavements, and coins, are continually met with in ploughing and digging.