One of the most significant finds was of a 3rd-century Romano-British boat found at Wilcrick near Magor. The Romans occupied the area from the 2nd to the 4th centuries. In 1878, a boundary stone marking the building of 33 paces of embankment by Roman soldiers was discovered at Goldcliff. Research suggests that, initially, reclamation of the natural salt marsh for farmland began at a few "island" sites within the marshes, such as at Nash and Redwick, before a sea wall was built along the whole coast.