Caerwent, the Venta Silurum of the Romans, is now an inconsiderable
village; it was once a seaport, but at present is two miles distant
from the Severn; it occupies a gently inclining plain. Mr. Coxe, in his
"Tour through Monmouthshire," has given a plan of the Roman town, which
was defended on all sides except the southern, by a deep fosse. The
walls are from twelve to twenty-four feet in height, and from nine to
twelve in thickness. Many curious figures which have been discovered in
the pavements, have been destroyed through the ignorance of the country
people. The mounds and mouldering walls in the adjacent fields, present
melancholy memorials of the former grandeur of this place.

The village of Trelech is remarkable for three Druidical stones,
which give name to it. Harold here defeated the Britons, and from an
inscription on a pedestal in the village, we may suppose that a large
tumulus near this spot, contains the bones of the slain.

At the mansion of Courtfield, at Welsh Bicknor, the seat of the Roman
Catholic family of Vaughan, Henry V. is traditionally reported to have
been nursed, under the care of the Countess of Salisbury; a monumental
effigy of a lady in accordance with the style of that age, is in the
church.

The celebrated ruins of Tintern Abbey, on the banks of the Wye, which
are kept in high preservation by the Duke of Beaufort, afford a noble
specimen of Gothic architecture, and retain marks of their ancient
magnificence:

"The fair wrought shaft all ivy bound
The tow'ring arch with foliage crown'd
That trembles on its brow sublime,