IV.

History

Dyfed had many prehistoric remains, including Stone Age burial chambers. The Romans built a fortress at Carmarthen but did not establish any permanent settlements or government in the area. Christianity arrived during the Roman era. St David (Welsh, Dewi), patron saint of Wales, founded St David's, now the smallest city in the United Kingdom, in the early 6th century ad. The area was conquered by the Normans in the early 1100s. The counties of Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire, and Pembrokeshire evolved during the Norman period. They gained legal status by the 1536 and 1543 Acts of Union between England and Wales, and remained largely unchanged until 1974.