Luentinum

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Luentinum was a fort and mining settlement in the Roman province of Britannia. It was associated with the Dolaucothi Gold Mines and its remains lie beneath the adjoining village of Pumsaint in the Welsh county of Carmarthenshire.

Luentinum appears to have been founded as a square 5½ acre (2.25 hectare) auxiliary fort controlling the adjoining gold mines, around AD 75. It had an earthen rampart and double ditch. On the east bank of the River Cothi, a few hundred yards south of Pumsaint village was discovered a small double-roomed building with hypocaust and plain tesselated floors. It was probably the military bath-house. The internal buildings of the fort underwent a number of rebuildings until the fort was abandoned around 140. The surrounding civilian vicus then took over the area and, no doubt, also the mines.

The name Luentinum appears only in Ptolemy's Geographia. It appears to be related to the Brythonic word for 'washing', as suggested by George Boon. This presumably relates to panning for the local gold.