By: John P. Grant
The Cardiff castle is a unique historical object lesson. Form the first century, when the Romans established their camp, the site has been in constant occupation, and on entering by the gateway from Castle Street, works may be seen covering a period of nearly twenty centuries. The roman, the Norman, and those of the Medieval age, as well as the builder of each successive century have all left their traces, and there is sufficient material, either mounds, moats, or stonework, to re-construct, not only the actual features, but the manners, habits, and customs of the inhabitants of each period.
Immediately in front of the gateway is the North Gate of the Roman occupation, with wing walls extending on either side beyond the grate bank. The wall and bank can be seen on the east and south sides as far as the Entrance Gateway. The remaining portion on the south and west sides were originally defended by a similar wall and bank, and formed the Roman camp of the first to the forth centuries. The roadway passing through North Gate led to the Via Julia, roadway which marched men of the Roman legions, bent upon the subjugation of the Welsh.
A little to the west of the Roman Gate is the Norman mound and Keep. This was the Castle of the eleventh to the fifteenth centuries, and its masonry shows the development from the rude and massive defensive work if the early Normans, through the period of skilled fortifications, to the time when the necessity for strong defensive castles gave way to comfort and luxury.
In the thirteenth century, the Black Towers at the south entrance, the wall connecting it with entrance tower of the keep, and a curtain wall consisting of the reconstructed Roman wall on the west and south sides were built, forming a great ward which was again subdivided by cross walls into middle and inner wards, each of which had to be penetrated before the entrance to the Keep could be attacked.
To the east of the great ward was a larger quadrangle forming the outer ward, in which were situated the lodging of the knights, the Shire-hall, and other buildings connected with the government and administration of the shire. This outer ward was enclosed on the north and east by high banks of earth formed by the strengthening and heightening of the remains of the Roman fortifications with soil taken from the moat, the position of which is indicated by the Canal on the course of the Dock feeder on the north and the Canal on the east.
The castle Lodgings, or present-day dwellings are situated on the west of the old middle ward and present a picturesque if not combination of styles from the fifnteenth century to the present day.
