Cyngor Archaeoleg Brydeinig CYMRU Council for British Archaeology WALES ** Online Information for Archaeology in Wales **

In this issue:

A newly discovered neolithic enclosure, at Lower Luggy, Berriew, Powys

Excavations at Cwm Meudwy, Llandysul

Heather and Hillforts

Institute of Field Archaeologists Annual Conference

Long hot summer reveals cropmarks along western coasts

Excavations at the Arddleen defended settlement

Wales on the Web/Cymru Ar y We: Discover the online history of Wales

The House Under The Water

Two new publications on Roman Wales

2004 Spring Meeting and Symposium

Editorial

Locating Neolithic settlement sites in Wales is a bit like waiting for a bus, nothing happens and then several turn up at the same time. In this newsletter Alex Gibson reports on an excavation at Lower Luggy, Powys, a possible new type of Neolithic enclosure. The excavations are as yet only supported by a single radiocarbon date and there are no artefacts, but Alex hopes to return this summer to continue his work. A note in the last newsletter described the prehistoric site at Cwm Meudwy, Llandysul in Ceredigion. Radiocarbon dates now confirm a Neolithic element, and these are supported by the identification of Neolithic pottery assemblage. A note in this newsletter gives these dates. And in Archaeology in Wales 2001 Nigel Page gave a summary of site, probably domestic, of Neolithic and Bronze Age date at Sageston in Pembrokeshire. In addition to Neolithic settlement, a report by Hereford Archaeology in the recently published Archaeology in Wales for 2002 outlines the exciting discovery of an excarnation mound at Trostrey Castle in Monmouthshire. One can only hope that these excavations presage more research and discovery on this little understood period of Welsh prehistory.

I would like to draw your attention to two new important monographs, one recently published on the Roman town and fort at Carmarthen, and the other which will appear very shortly on the Roman fort and gold mines at Pumsaint/Dolaucothi in Carmarthenshire. Collectively they represent over 50 years of diligent research and fieldwork and will greatly enhance our knowledge of one of the most far-flung regions of the Roman world. Details of both volumes are provided in this newsletter.

Finally, I would like to appeal to all members of CBA Wales for copy for the Autumn newsletter. Any item is suitable (as long as its vaguely archaeological). I would particularly welcome discursive and/or opinionated pieces (as long as they are not libellous).
Please send to:
Ken Murphy,
Cambria Archaeology,
The Shire Hall,
Carmarthen Street,
Llandeilo,
Carmarthenshire SA19 6AF
email ken@acadat.com

STOP PRESS

You might wish to look at the newly created website for the Reasearch Framework for the Archaeology of Wales. This site, partly funded by CBA Wales, contains transcipts of the papers given at last year’s regional seminars and information taken from the four SMR audits that preceeded them. CBA members are invited to comment on these papers and offer their own thoughts on the preparation of the Research Framework. The address is www.cpat.org.uk/research.

A newly discovered neolithic enclosure, at Lower Luggy, Berriew, Powys

The Lower Luggy enclosure is situated c.7km S of Welshpool, in the Severn Valley at SJ201019 and was recognised as a cropmark during routine flying in 1996. The enclosure is just to the N of the Lower Luggy long Barrow the trial excavation of which has been reported on elsewhere (Gibson 2000). Both sites form the most northerly element of the Dyffryn Lane henge complex. The enclosure was visible on the aerial photographs as a subrectangular cropmark measuring approximately 40m NW-SE by 30m SW-NE. There are no surface features.

Fig 1 (Right) Plan of Lower Luggy, showing the enclosure and the Lower Luggy long barrow (Gibson 2000)

The enclosure resembled a small enclosure at Brynderwen, 7.5km SW of Lower Luggy, where a pit containing Fengate Ware was located within the enclosed area. Whilst the pit could not be related stratigraphically to the enclosure ditches, this find nevertheless offered tantalising possibilities for Neolithic settlement in the valley of the Upper Severn. The proximity of the Lower Luggy enclosure to the long barrow further enhanced this possibility. Accordingly, a small excavation was planned to try and date the enclosure.

The excavation trench was located over the entrance causeway of the enclosure and the western ditch terminal was excavated. The ditch silts were derived from the inside of the enclosure, presumably from an internal bank. A few flint flakes were derived entirely from the ditch or the overlying ploughsoil. A large charcoal deposit of mixed charcoal was located directly on the floor of the ditch terminal beneath the primary silts. A single twig was submitted to Beta Analytical; for AMS dating and a date of 4720±50 BP (Beta 177037) was obtained. This calibrates to 3640-3370 Cal BC (at 2 sigma). This is exactly contemporary with the dates for the Lower Luggy long barrow (c.3700-3300 BC – BM 2954 & 2955) and is slightly earlier than the 2 dates for the Fengate pottery recovered from the Brynderwen enclosure mentioned above (c. 3350-3000 Cal BC – OxA-4409 & 5317). This places the enclosure firmly in the earlier part of the middle Neolithic.

Problems persist. As mentioned above the Brynderwen enclosure cannot be stratigraphically tied to the Fengate-producing pit within it and secondly, the full outline of this enclosure has not been determined for it is partly overlain by a railway embankment. Thirdly, even when from a sealed context and from a young sample, the over-reliance on single radiocarbon dates is dangerous, especially given the lack of cultural material from the Lower Luggy excavation. Nevertheless there are similar corner-entranced sub-rectangular enclosures within the Upper Severn Valley and the two that have been partially investigated have produced Neolithic material. This may suggest that we have a ‘new’ type of middle Neolithic enclosure in this area or, at the very least, not all small enclosures need be of later prehistoric date. Further work at the enclosure is planned.

Fig 2 (Right) The enclosure during excavation (looking NW). The rounded ditch terminal is clearly visible.

The excavation was generously financed by the National Museums and Galleries of Wales and the University of Bradford and run as a student training excavation. I am grateful to the landowner, Mr Bob Jones of Trehelig for permission to excavate and to the Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust for the loan of some equipment and for SMR advice.

Bibliography
Gibson, A.M. 2000. Survey and Excavation at a newly discovered long barrow at Lower Luggy, Berriew, Powys. Studia Celtica, 34, 1-16.
Gibson, A. M. & Musson, C. R. 1990. A cropmark enclosure and a sherd of later neolithic pottery from Brynderwen, Llandyssil, Powys. Montgomeryshire Collections, 78, 11-15.

Alex Gibson
Dept of Archaeological Sciences, University of Bradford, BD7 1DP

Excavations at Cwm Meudwy, Llandysul

(Left) Aerial photograph of the three ditches taken during the visit by pupils of a local primary school (© Welsh Development Agency).

The last Newsletter carried a report on the excavation of a palisaded enclosure and three ring ditches at Cwm Meudwy, Llandysul. Since then seven radiometric dates have been obtained and Jody Deacon of the National Museums & Galleries of Wales has made an initial assessment of the pottery. Two later Bronze Age – early Iron Age dates (800 to 520 BC and Cal 740 to 390 BC calibrated at 2 sigma) were obtained from carbon from the base of the ring-ditches. If not from residual material, these two radiometric dates indicate monument construction and use later than the accepted Early Bronze Age for ring-ditches and round barrows. A wider date range was indicated from the area of the palisaded enclosure, with three Early Neolithic dates obtained from charcoal from shallow pits (3650 to 3510 BC, 3700 to 3630 BC and 3710 to 3530 BC all calibrated at 2 sigma), an Early Bronze Age date (2030 to 1870 BC calibrated at 2 sigma) from a post-hole of the western entrance to the palisaded enclosure, and an Iron Age date (380 to 170 BC calibrated at 2 sigma) from a 4-post structure within the palisaded enclosure. The pottery assessment confirmed the Early Neolithic and Early Bronze Age components of the site The assemblage was derived from ten pits found to the west of the palisaded enclosure, both inside and outside the circuit. Of the 87 sherds recovered the majority appears to be Early Neolithic in date with one or two sherds suggesting a possible continuation of use into the Early Bronze Age. No other artefacts were recovered from the site.

Although the radiometric dates have confirmed the Early Neolithic component to the site, the date of the palisaded enclosure is still unclear. It is hoped that this problem can be resolved by obtaining two further dates.

For more information contact ken@acadat.com

Ken Murphy
Archeolog Cambria Archaeology

Heather and Hillforts

Two distinctive features of Denbighshire’s countryside will be the focus of an exciting, integrated new project in the Clwydian and Llantisilio uplands: its Heather and its Hillforts.

Pen y Cloddiau

The distinct purple heather moorland that carpets the Clwydian Hills contributes to creating its outstanding beauty and creates a valuable habitat for wildlife. The area of heather moorland has declined over the past fifty years, with a significant amount of the remaining area being in poor condition. Enhancing the quality of the heather moorlands, through better management and understanding, is a key aim for the Heather and Hillforts Project.

Another striking feature of these hills is the string of Iron Age forts that lie along the hill tops. The hillforts are remnants of a past culture and way of life, forming a unique historic landscape in Wales. Little is known about this intriguing pattern of hillforts, the aim is therefore to investigate our past, ensuring that it is suitably managed for the future. Hillforts within the project area are Pen y Cloddiau, Moel Arthur, Moel y Gaer Llanbedr, Foel Fenlli, Moel y Gaer Llantisilio and Caer Drewyn. Little accurate topographical survey exists of these sites and the few excavations that have taken place date back to the middle of the 19^th century, there is a great deal still to find out. These sites are also very much a part of the modern day landscape. The Offa’s Dyke National Trail crosses three of them and unofficial motor bike access affects another. Many people do visit them but often they are unaware of their importance or the stories that they have to tell. One aim of the Heather and Hillforts project is to address some of these gaps in our understanding, introduce positive management and increase public awareness and understanding of their importance.

Moel Arthur

Denbighshire applied to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) last year for a ‘Project Planning Grant’ to help take the project forward to a full HLF application. We were successful and have recently appointed an officer to take the project forward. Helen Mrowiec started work at the beginning of January. Until recently Helen was working with the Campaign for the Protection of Rural Wales which gives her the ideal broad based background to tackle this wide ranging project.

Overall, the Heather and Hillforts Project aims to improve understanding, increase awareness and accessibility, and influence the future management of these areas. Over the next year detailed plans will be put together that will benefit wildlife and the historic monuments, and will re-establish the links between people and the uplands, a link that has been so strong in the past. We hope that the overall project application will be successful and that in years to come I will be able to report some of its successes in this newsletter.

Fiona Gale
Denbighshire County Archaeologist

Institute of Field Archaeologists Annual Conference, Liverpool 6 – 8 April 2004

It will be of interest to CBA Wales/Cymru members, especially those who live close the northeast borders of the Principality, that this year’s annual IFA conference will be hosted by the Department of Archaeology, University of Liverpool. Following the pattern of previous conferences, there will be several sessions, some of them concurrent, addressing archaeological themes and current professional issues. The provisional programme includes sessions on: Battlefield Archaeology; Archaeological Science and Site Management; Improving Our Skills; Professionals, Institutes and the Historic Environment; Urban Design and the Historic Environment; Maritime Archaeology; Interpreting Archaeology to the Public; Research, Experiment and Practice in Palaeolithic and Mesolithic Archaeology; Archaeology and the Media; Marine Sites and The Historic Environment: Future Perfect?

Further information can be obtained from:
The Institute of Field Archaeologists,
SHES,
The University of Reading,
Whiteknights,
PO Box 227,
Reading, RG6 6AB
Tel: 0118 3786446
email admin@archaeologists.net

Long hot summer reveals cropmarks along western coasts

In 2003 Wales enjoyed its driest summer since 1959 (according to BBC news), and the best summer season for cropmark archaeology since1996. Aerial reconnaissance by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales built on a productive winter of low-light flying and earthwork discoveries (for example: Archaeology in Wales 42, 96-7 & 123-4), with cropmarks developing from mid July. Yet, spells of rain in May and June, following a dry spring and preceding the dry summer, effectively prevented cropmarks from forming as widely or as fully as in previous record summers, such as 1976, 1984 or 1995. Consequently, although many new sites were discovered, results over the summer were at best regional or even localised to particular hills or areas of coastal plain. The best cropmark conditions were seen in western/coastal Ceredigion, north-west Gwynedd and south Anglesey, and the valleys of northern Montgomeryshire/south Clwyd. By contrast, virtually the whole of the counties of Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and Glamorgan remained unresponsive to cropmark development.

	Cardigan area: Cropmark discoveries, summer 2003. Romano-British style defended enclosures. The general map shows the location of the three sites illustrated. The southern dot represents both the Brongwyn-mawr and Penparc enclosures which lie only 0.6 km apart. Scales measure 100m. © Crown copyright. All rights reserved. Royal Commission on the Ancient & Historical Monuments of Wales. Licence number: 100017916, 2004.
	Brongwyn-mawr, Cardigan SN 20844862 NPRN 308514
	Trecefn-isaf, Verwig SN 29624975 NPRN 309072
	Penparc, Cardigan SN 20654796 NPRN 308515

Cropmark returns from Ceredigion were excellent, with eleven previously unrecorded later prehistoric defended enclosures coming to light. These included the surprising discovery of a new, upstanding small hillfort at Pant Da Wood (NPRN 308517) on the Rheidol Valley, where parchmarks helped to pick out the complete circuit and outworks of this damaged site. Three new Romano-British-style defended enclosures were also discovered in the Cardigan area (see illustration), adding to an established distribution of these cropmark monuments on this coastal plain and raising interesting cultural and economic questions about their apparent concentration in this area. Cropmarks of what could be an early medieval cemetery near Blaenporth were also discovered (NPRN 308907), but these will only be confirmed with further investigation or future aerial survey.

Elsewhere in Wales small defended enclosures were discovered as cropmarks in northern Montgomeryshire and northwest Gwynedd. Parchmarks were also recorded of the buried foundations of destroyed rooms at Tretower Court, Powys (NPRN 16305), which may be contemporary with the medieval buildings. A discovery from more recent times was a system of First World War practice trenches, recorded as ‘zigzag’ parchmarks in the grassland of Maesdu Golf Course at Llandudno, Conwy (NPRN 308518). These can be paralleled with better preserved examples at Bodelwyddan Park, Clwyd, and Penally, Pembrokeshire, and are an important addition to the local history of the Conwy region. National records have been created for all new discoveries, and further information can be obtained from the National Monuments Record of Wales, Aberystwyth. (Tel: 01970 621200. nmr.wales@rcahmw.org.uk).

Toby Driver
RCAHMW, Crown Building,
Plas Crug,
Abersytwyth,
Ceredigion. SY23 1NJ.
email: Toby.driver@rcahmw.org.uk

Excavations at the Arddleen defended settlement

The double-ditched enclosure at Arddleen is one of the many defended settlements recorded by aerial photography in the Severn Valley. The enclosure's banks and ditches have been entirely levelled by cultivation but it shows well on air photographs, sandwiched between the Montgomery Canal and the A483 Welshpool to Oswestry road. Straightening of the road at Arddleen in 1979 was preceded by the excavation of a narrow strip through the enclosure and across its eastern ditches which confirmed it as of late Iron Age and Romano-British date.

Recently, extensive excavation of part of the enclosure within, across and outside its ditches has been undertaken by CPAT in advance of housing development. The inner ditch was approximately 5m wide and up to 2.8m deep with a steep V-shaped profile and a characteristic 'ankle-breaking' trough cut into the base. The ditch had been re-cut or cleared of primary silt debris in the early part of its use, followed by a long period of neglect resulting in continuous silting. The outer ditch was approximately 4.7m wide and up to 2.5m deep. All of the excavated sections revealed multiple recuttings, although the profile remained largely unchanged: unlike the inner ditch, it had steep, almost vertical sides with an irregular curved base. The tertiary silts produced numerous fragments of Samian possibly demonstrating heightened activity within the enclosure during the latter part of the 1st century AD, followed by a long period of ditch silting through the later centuries.

A significant number of features were identified within the enclosure interior, the most notable of which was a small roundhouse, with two or three phases of construction. This was some 5.2m in diameter and defined by a slightly raised platform surrounded by shallow drainage gullies with an entrance on the north-north-west side. Much of the interior had been disturbed by animal burrowing which, due to the partial infilling with stones, would appear to be contemporary with the building's period of use. This, and the lack of finds, suggest that the building was a food store rather than a dwelling. Several postholes were identified within the roundhouse, although they did not form an obvious pattern and indeed may not all be contemporary with the structure. Elsewhere within the interior several substantial drainage gullies were identified, along with two possible post-built structures.

Ian Grant
Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust

Wales on the Web/Cymru Ar y We: Discover the online history of Wales

The gateway is a fully bilingual online guide to high quality, validated websites offering dependable information relating to Wales and all aspects of Welsh life, and is available at www.cymruarywe.org or www.walesontheweb.org.

It is funded by Cymru Ar-lein of the Welsh Assembly Government, and is based at the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth.

As of December 2003, there are over 2000 websites listed within Wales on the Web. It is a useful educational tool and invaluable resource for both the academic community and for lifelong learning in Wales. Feedback received confirms that the end user of Wales on the Web crosses all boundaries and appeals to all sectors of society. Before including any websites within the gateway, the Wales on the Web team validate each website in order to ensure that the information is reliable and authoritative against a certain set of objective criteria.

Wales on the Web also has a popular online ‘suggest a resource’ form enabling users to send in details of websites to the team at the National Library of Wales. This enables Wales on the Web to keep up with the huge number of websites that are constantly appearing relating to Wales or Welsh life.

It is a Wales-wide co-operative project. Partners within Wales on the Web include: Wales Higher Education Libraries Forum (WHELF); Society of Chief Librarians (SCL) Wales; Consortium of Welsh Library and Information Services (CWLIS), National Library of Wales and Cymru Ar-lein.

In order to simplify the process of searching for Welsh related web sites, the gateway has a number of search options. Wales on the Web contains a wealth of resources relating to Museums and History and ensures that the online riches of Wales reach all four corners of the globe. The following sections of Wales on the Web provide information on the history of Wales.

• Museums: http://www.walesontheweb.org/cgi-bin/subindex/en//060
• Historical periods in Wales: http://www.walesontheweb.org/cgi-bin/subindex/en//900
• General history resources relating to the whole of Wales or to a particular county or county borough: http://www.walesontheweb.org/cgi-bin/subindex/en//940

For further details on CAYW- Wales on the Web, please contact:
Aled Betts
The National Library of Wales,
Aberystwyth,
Ceredigion, SY23 3BU
email alb@llgc.org.uk

The House Under The Water

The House Under the Water, immortalised in Francis Brett Young's romantic novel published in 1932, was spectacularly revealed during the drought of the late summer and autumn of 2003 below the receding waters of the Elan Valley reservoirs. Young describes 'Nant Esgob', based upon the eighteenth-century mansion of Nantgwyllt, below the Caban-côch reservoir, being submerged below the waters daming up behind the fictitious 'Cwm Gwilt Dam': 'the waters passed on, engulfing step by step, the box-borders, the ragged sward of lawn, the flagged path, till, scaling the threshold at sunset, they crept into the panelled hall, exploring the cracks in the pavement and filling the mice in the wainscot with urgent alarm'. In reality, all the buildings affected by the Elan Valley scheme, which included the early nineteenth-century country house of Cwm Elan, the little church at Nantgwilt, a school, Baptist chapel, and about twenty farm and other buildings, were all demolished before they were reached by the rising waters. The drought of 2003 enabled many of these sites to be recorded during the course of historic landscape characterization work funded by Cadw: Welsh Historic Monuments. Additional fieldwork was undertaken with the help of members of the Radnorshire Society and some recording from the air was undertaken with the help of funding from the Royal Commission. In addition to Nantgwyllt, exposed remains included the foundations Cwm Elan and the farmhouse at Dol-faenog, both below the Garreg-ddu reservoir, and the foundations of the farmhouse at Ty Nant below the Penygarreg reservoir. Various elements of the construction works were likewise exposed during the drought, notably the mason's yard and stretches of the former Elan Valley railway to the south-west of Caban-côch dam, and the stone and timber foundations of a workmen's hut just to the west of the Craig Gôch dam.

The extensive landsacpe at Nantgwyllt, normally submerged below the Caban-côch reservoir, includes the remains of the eighteenth-century gentry house, a walled garden, road walls and road bridge, and the foundations of numerous other buildings and cottages and extends over an area of several hectares.

The House Under the Water is by no means the earliest or most illustrious of the Elan Valley's claims to literary fame. The Romantic poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley, endeavoured with Harriet, his newly-wedded wife, to aquire Nantgwyllt in 1812, to found 'a little colony of enlightened souls'. 'Give me Nantgwillt, fix me in this spot, so retired, so lovely, so fit for the seclusion of those who think and feel. Fate, I ask no more!' In the eyes of some, the association with Shelley is clouded by the fact that his first sojourn in Elan Valley was a consequence of having been sent down from Oxford for espousing aetheism, compounded by his abandonment of Harriet and elopement with Mary Wollstonecraft just two years later. Other poets had been drawn to the dramatic landscape of the Elan Valley before Shelley. William Lisle Bowles' poem 'Coombe-Ellen', published in 1801, begins with an 'invocation to the spirit of wild untamed Nature': 'Call the strange spirit that abides unseen / In wilds, and wastes, and shaggy solitudes'.

In the foreground can be seen field walls and the foundations of the former house at Garreg-ddu, below Caban-côch resevoir, which gave its name to the Garreg-ddu viaduct.

These literary associations were well known when work began on Birmingham's reservoir scheme and are likely to have subtly influenced the picturesque aspects of its design. Writing in 1894 William Rossetti, perhaps with a vision of Millais' iconic Ophelia before him, observed somewhat melodramatically that 'Harriet Shelley died by her own deed in the Serpentine in 1816, Shelley in the Mediterranean waves in 1822; and now a watery doom effaces the scenes of their short-lived love, Nantgwilt and Cwm Elan. A world of waters, a world of death.' Like the foundations of the houses and gardens revealed as the water levels recede these literary associations provide a significant though often subliminal dimension to this designed landscape of the late Victorian and early Edwardian period.

Entrance through the walled garden at Nantgwyllt, with Caban-côch dam in the far distance. In normal years this wall is entirely under the water, like the rest of Nantgwyllt garden.

The Elan Valley historic landscape is defined in the Register of Landscapes of Special Historic Interest in Wales, of which details can be found on the website of the Countryside Council for Wales www.ccw.org.uk. The excellent Powys Digital History Project website history.powys.org.uk makes available an extensive archive of photographs and drawings about the construction and opening of the reservoirs. A report on historic landscape characterization in the Elan Valley will appear on the CPAT website www.cpat.org.uk in due course. This year marks the Centenary of the opening of the reservoirs by King Edward VII, two years before the works themselves were completed.

Bill Britnell
Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust

Two new publications on Roman Wales

EXCAVATIONS IN ROMAN CARMARTHEN 1973-1993 by Heather James. This Britannia Monograph is the first detailed publication on Roman Carmarthen, Moridunum, tribal capital of the Dematae of west Wales. The volume covers excavations carried out by Cambria Archaeology (Dyfed Archaeological Trust) in the Roman town and auxiliary fort located to the west of the town. The largest site, at Priory Street, encompassed the intersection of two Roman streets, flanked by a sequence of buildings (early second to late fourth century) with evidence of smithing and baking. Important evidence was produced on the process of laying out a Roman town. A substantial building, possibly a mansio, on the south side of the town was also sampled. The finds assemblages are valuable for comparison with other towns, especially in the context of the lightly romanised hinterland.

The price is £48 until 30 June 2004, and £60 thereafter. To order a copy contact:
The Roman Society,
Senate House,
Malet Street,
London WC1E 7HU.
email romansoc@sas.ac.uk

DOLAUCOTHI – PUMSAINT: SURVEY AND EXCAVATIONS AT A ROMAN GOLD-MINING COMPLEX, 1987-1999 by Barry and Heather Burnham. This Oxbow monograph, which will be published at Easter 2004, will cover both the Roman fort at Pumsaint and related settlements, and various aspects of the leat systems and processing activities relating to gold mining at Dolaucothi.

2004 Spring Meeting and Symposium

The Spring Business Meeting of CBA Wales/Cymru will be held in the Village Hall Llangynidr (an on-line map is available here) on the morning of Saturday 13 March 2004 starting at 11.00am. The Symposium, held in association with the Llangynidr Local History Society, will take place in the afternoon, when we are very pleased to invite non-members as well as members to hear these talks of particular local interest.

Members of the Local History Society have kindly offered to provide for sale at lunchtime a choice of sandwiches, rolls, soup, tea, coffee and wine, so there should be no need to bring a packed lunch. Please order in advance by phoning Mike Scott-Archer on 01874 623404.

During lunch please take the opportunity to browse the CBA bookstall where you will find back numbers of Archaeology in Wales and a good selection of Central CBA publications. We also hope that as usual, Nick, Eva and Susanna Moore of Castle Books, will be offering a selection of second-hand, antiquarian and bargain books for sale.

FUTURE MEETINGS: The Autumn Business Meeting and Symposium 2004 will be held in Machynlleth on October 23rd in the Tabernacle Centre, and the afternoon’s talks will be a roundup of current work in Wales. The next Spring Meeting will probably be in Bangor, Gwynedd on Saturday 19th March 2005.