The city of Wrexham in north-east Wales has a history dating back to ancient times. The former market town was the site of heavy industry in the 19th and 20th centuries, and is now an active commercial centre. Wrexham was granted city status in 2022. Prehistoric to Roman times Approximately 8,000 years ago Mesolithic man ventured to what is now the Wrexham area. These people were hunter-gatherers and led a nomadic existence. They left little tangible evidence of their existence, save a number of small flint tools called microliths that have been found in the Borras area. A number of Neolithic (4300 – 2300 BC) stone axe heads have been found in Borras, Darland and Johnstown. Two Bronze Age mounds are situated within the city at Fairy Mount, Fairy Road and Hillbury on Hillbury Road. Both of these mounds lie within the grounds of Victorian properties in the south west of the city. It is likely that construction work within this area during the early 20th century eradicated other related features. The Acton Park Hoard of skilfully made early Middle Bronze Age axe heads found in Wrexham suggests that the area was a centre of advanced and innovative metalworking. The area surrounding Wrexham is well served by several rivers, including the Clywedog, Alyn and Gwenfro, all of which are tributaries of the Dee. These rivers would have served as highways for early man. Finds within the Alyn area reveal that trade was taking place along this river with places as far away as Ireland during the Bronze Age. A number of Iron Age hillforts also exist within the surrounding area, perhaps marking a tribal boundary. These include Bryn Alyn (near Bradley), Y Gaer (near Broughton, Flintshire) and Y Gardden (near Ruabon). At the time of the Roman conquest of Britain, the area which Wrexham formed part of was held by a tribe called the Cornovii. The Cornovii held the lowland forests of Cheshire and Shropshire. Their tribal capital was at Wroxeter, near Shrewsbury. The original hill fort hillfort capital of the tribe was located on the Wrekin hill and one theory for the origins of the name 'Wrexham' is that it developed as a description of a settlement of men from the neighbourhood of the Wrekin: the 'Wrocansaetan' or 'Wreocensaetan'. In 48 A.D the Roman Legions reached Wroxeter and then proceeded to attack a tribe called the Deceangli who were