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Further prehistoric discoveries at Llandegai
Gwynedd cropmarks reveal intriguing sites
Excavations on a defended enclosure at Troedyrhiw, Verwig, near Cardigan
Llandeilo Roman Fort, Dinefwr Park, Carmarthenshire - 2005 update
A Roman Corn Drying Kiln at Llidiart Yspytty, Tremadog
Offa’s Dyke Initiative 1999-2005
Excavations at Llangynfelin, Ceredigion - 2005 update
Ruthin e-trail - An innovative mobile guide to heritage
The Archaeology of Metal Mining in Wales – A Reminiscence
The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales has appointed a new chief to head its staff of specialists responsible for recording the historic environment throughout Wales.
The new ‘Secretary’ of the Royal Commission is Dr Peter Wakelin. Until his appointment, Dr Wakelin was Head of the Regeneration Unit in the Communities Directorate of the Welsh Assembly Government. Prior to that, he was for 12 years an Inspector of Ancient Monuments and Historic Buildings at Cadw, where he was a key player in the inscription of Blaenavon as a World Heritage Site in 2000.
Peter Wakelin grew up in Swansea, attending the city’s Olchfa Comprehensive School. His passion for the historic environment developed early, and as a schoolboy he was involved with the local industrial archaeology society and the preservation group for the Neath Canal. He also worked as a volunteer for the Royal Commission as a teenager, helping with surveys of local industrial heritage. He graduated in Geography from Keble College, Oxford, then took the newly-created Masters course in Industrial Archaeology at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum in the early 1980s. Subsequently he led a research programme at the University of Wolverhampton concerned with the computerisation of records for early trade on the River Severn, on which he based his doctoral research. Dr Wakelin is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London and an Honorary Fellow of the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, School of Art. He writes regularly on heritage issues, history and art criticism.
The Chairman of the Royal Commission, Professor Ralph Griffiths, commented: “Dr Wakelin’s wide experience and enthusiasm make him well qualified to sustain and develop the Royal Commission’s important work in recording and interpreting the sites, buildings and landscapes of Wales, including its initiatives in upland, industrial and maritime archaeology and history whose foundations have been laid during the stewardship of Mr. Peter White, Secretary of the Royal Commission since 1991. The Commissioners recently paid warm tribute to Mr. White’s work.”
Dr Wakelin said, “The Royal Commission is one of the jewels of Welsh cultural life, and it is a tremendous privilege to be able to lead it towards its forthcoming centenary in 2008. The work being done by its skilled and dedicated staff, supported by the Welsh Assembly Government, is bringing forward new perspectives on the environment in Wales, which are highly relevant to its future as well as its past. Digital technologies are revolutionising the way in which we can share these findings with people throughout Wales and around the world.”
RCAHMW
Aberystwyth
Gwynedd Archaeological Trust is currently working in advance of construction of a new business park outside Bangor. The site is close to the henge complex excavated in 1966-7 that lies under the present industrial estate so it was important to be able to locate all prehistoric features, to allow a better understanding of those previously excavated. To achieve this all construction areas are being stripped under archaeological supervision and the features identified are evaluated and excavated as appropriate.
This methodology has proved very successful. We have discovered the best preserved early Neolithic building in Wales and several groups of pits containing large quantities of middle and late Neolithic pottery. The pits are contemporary with the henges, and are sited so that they overlook the ceremonial zone.
To date we have 8 burnt mounds and a circular structure that may be related to Bronze Age metal-working. In the lower, more sheltered part of the site, is a Romano-British settlement apparently composed of two roundhouses each with its own enclosure ditch; the enclosures being linked by boundary ditches. There is at least one outlying roundhouse and others may lie further west.
A collection of 235 blue glass beads and 19 red reeded beads were discovered in a small hole. This seems to be isolated, but more work is necessary to check for associated features. The beads are not very diagnostic as they were made over a long period from the Iron Age to the early medieval period.
We still have two more large areas to strip, so we don’t know what we might find next. More burnt mounds probably.
Jane Kenney,
Gwynedd Archaeological Trust.
The 2005 cropmark season was reasonably productive but was characterised in Wales by particularly patchy conditions. Whilst one region could be entirely unresponsive to cropmarks, another could be very good. In practice this meant it was difficult to predict where cropmarks might appear next, or would become washed-out by rain, but some particularly fine discoveries have repaid the reconnaissance work carried out by RCAHMW.
This year as in previous years the south Ceredigion coastal plain displayed many fine cropmarks of later prehistoric settlements in ripening barley fields. The majority were known sites, showing at their best in nearly 10 years, although one new square defended enclosure (NPRN 403366) was discovered near Felinwynt, west of Aberporth, adding to the regional cluster in this area.
Figure 1. Penrhyn Park enclosures, Gwynedd, discovered in parched grassland (© Crown copyright. All rights reserved. RCAHMW. Licence number: 100017916).
By the end of July, the Soil Moisture Deficit (SMD) in north Wales was exceeding 100, indicative of excellent cropmark potential. A flight across Lln and the coastal plain between Caernarfon and Bangor revealed a number of new sites. Of interest were two new enclosures discovered in parkland to the west of Penrhyn Castle, Bangor, half a kilometre north of the famous henge monuments at Llandygai (Figure 1). Parchmarks in grass showed a large oval enclosure some 148m long with a square enclosure at the east end (NPRN 403359); nearby to the south was a D-shaped enclosure some 60m across (NPRN 403367). Both are likely to be prehistoric. Together with the ongoing Gwynedd Archaeological Trust excavations near Llandygai (reported on in this Newsletter), these discoveries extend the known archaeology of this important buried landscape on the outskirts of Bangor.
Figure 2: Ty’n Llwyn barrow, near Pentir, Gwynedd. Note the possible remains of a palisade on the north side. The central mass shows the extent of the mound material (© Crown copyright. All rights reserved. RCAHMW. Licence number: 100017916).
Some 4.5 kilometres to the south, near Pentir, a plough-levelled barrow with a causewayed ditch and partial surrounding palisade was discovered (Figure 2; NPRNs 403376 & 403377). More problematic is the fact that the mound is surmounted by an undated standing stone, which forms part of a wider circle of stones and a levelled mound currently of unknown date, surrounding nearby Ty’n Llwyn farm. More work is needed to ascertain the true date and origins of these features.
Figure 3. Penarth Fawr ring ditch, Gwynedd, which lies close to a palstave findspot (© Crown copyright. All rights reserved. RCAHMW, AP_2005_1552).
A happy coincidence of features was seen with the discovery of a plough-levelled ring ditch at Penarth Fawr east of Pwllheli (Figure 3; NPRN 403379). It closely matched the find spot of a palstave recorded on the Gwynedd SMR (PRN 5045), and thus one could conclude that this was the original context for the find.
Figure 4. St. Baglan’s Church, Gwynedd. Complex enclosures surrounding this church which is home to an Early Christian monument (© Crown copyright. All rights reserved. RCAHMW. Licence number: 100017916).
A final discovery of note was a complex group of enclosures surrounding St. Baglan’s Church, west of Caernarfon (Figure 4; NPRN 403370). Striking cropmarks in ripening barley showed a large enclosure some 170m across, with hints of multiple phases and additional enclosures along the south side. The church is home to a later 5th or early 6th century inscribed stone (‘FILI LOVERNII / ANATEMORI’) described by RCAHMW in 1960. The enclosures are clearly overlain by the present churchyard wall, and may represent the site of an Early Christian establishment of some importance.
Toby Driver
Project Manager, Aerial Survey, RCAHMW.
In 2004, and previously reported, six small, crop-mark, defended enclosures to the north of Cardigan were examined by geophysical survey. In July and August 2005, five other enclosures were similarly examined and one surveyed in 2004, Troedyrhiw, was partially excavated.
Troedyrhiw is a strongly rectilinear enclosure approximately 50m by 45m with a west-facing entrance. An annexe marked by a slighter crop-marked ditch but of similar area and also with a west-facing entrance lies to the south of the main enclosure. The excavations concentrated on the entrance to the main enclosure and a small part of the interior just within the entrance, with a second trench positioned over the annexe entrance.
The ditch terminals flanking the entrance were 2.9m deep, rock-cut and V-shaped. Neither had evidence of re-cuts, but it is entirely possible that, given very hard bedrock, the ditch fills had been cleaned out many times leaving no archaeological trace. An assemblage of Romano-British pottery (Samian Ware, Severn Valley Ware and Black Burnished Ware) and late Iron Age/Romano British ‘Native Wares’ was found in the upper fills of the ditches, with a sherd of Severn Valley Ware 2m down in the southern ditch terminal. A two phase, simple gate evidenced by rock-cut post-holes marked the entrance to the enclosure. Within the enclosure no definite structures were located, but rock-cut gullies, post-holes, trenches and pits indicate that elsewhere in the interior evidence of buildings is likely to survive.
The ditches at the annexe entrance were V-shaped and less than 1m deep. No artefacts were discovered in their fills.
Cambria Archaeology (grant-aided by Cadw) and the Department of Archaeology, University of York carried out the excavation.
Ken Murphy, Cambria Archaeology
The discovery of a Roman Fort in the eastern part of Dinefwr Park was made during a geophysical survey in 2003. This demonstrated the presence of not just one but two overlapping Roman forts of different dates. They were shown to be associated with roads, a civilian settlement (vicus) and a possible bathhouse. These structures have left no visible surface trace. Further survey in 2005 filled in the gaps left by the original survey producing a complete picture of both forts.
The combined 2003 and 2005 geophysical surveys, by Stratascan, showing the layout of the forts at Llandeilo.
In June and July 2005, six excavation trenches were opened up in order to better understand the archaeology detected by the surveys. Some on this work was shown live on Channel 4’s Time Team Big Roman Dig. Trench 2 confirmed that the larger of the two forts was the earlier, and there was some evidence for reuse of the smaller fort by the civilian population (for burials) after the soldiers had left. In Trench 1 one side of the gateway into the early fort was excavated. Trench 6, positioned over what was identified as the possible bathhouse, demonstrated that 18th century brick making caused the distinct geophysical anomaly in this area.
Carenza Lewis from the Time Team and the cremation pot found on the first day of the excavation
Results of the excavation are awaiting full analyses, and dating evidence is still inconclusive. However, an initial scan of the pottery has not positively identified any pre-Flavian material, and there is nothing to indicate any occupation later than c AD150.
The archaeological work is being carried out by Cambria Archaeology and the National Trust and forms part of a wider project being undertaken by the Trust with the aim of restoring the designed landscape of Dinefwr Park, enhancing the natural landscape and facilitating access to all. This work is being funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Welsh European Funding Office and the National Trust.
Gwilym Hughes, Cambria Archaeology
The Llidiart Yspytty corn drying kiln under excavation
In January 2005, Gwynedd Archaeological Trust excavated an area in advance of a new hospital on the outskirts of Tremadog. The development area was adjacent to an iron ore mine that had reached its productive height between 1839 and 1850. The route of a tramway and the old toll road to Caernarfon crossed the site. The excavations illuminated the construction and use of the tramway but the most interesting find was unforeseen. A Roman bath-house had been excavated nearby in 1908, so Roman finds were not entirely unexpected, but we were quite surprised when a random evaluation trench revealed a stone-built Roman T-shaped corn drying kiln with associated bread ovens. These are usually dated to the late 3rd and 4th centuries AD, although the few finds from our site suggest a 2nd century date. They are also associated with villa economies in southern and eastern England and southeast Wales, and have not been found in northwest Wales, until now.
Jane Kenney, Gwynedd Archaeological Trust.
The Offa’s Dyke Initiative, managed by CPAT and jointly funded by Cadw and English Heritage, aims to carry out practical management of Offa’s Dyke, and also to develop a long term conservation strategy for this nationally important 80 long ancient monument. In addition, complementary project work on the 40 mile long Wat’s Dyke has been an increasing element of the scheme, and advice has also been offered to Cadw, English Heritage and others on the care of earthwork monuments in general.
A varied range of practical management projects have been in progress or under development this year. A typical example has been work on Offa’s Dyke at Caeugwynion (Powys) undertaken with funding from the Tir Gofal agri-environment scheme. This project involved removal of tree and scrub cover from the dyke facilitating better conditions for grassland recovery of formerly heavily cattle poached areas, additional fencing to control future animal access, and relocation of animal watering points away from the dyke. Management agreements between landowners and the national heritage agencies have also been used to facilitate better ongoing care of sections of the dykes; these have included Cadw supported agreements on sections of the dyke at Forden, Powys (where grazing and scrub control measures were put in place) and Knighton, Powys (where the condition of a well preserved section of the monument adjacent to Frydd Road has been consolidated following a housing development on the adjacent field). A productive route to care of longer sections has been to facilitate management plans with major landowners. For example, management plans have been recently agreed with the Woodland Trust for sections of Offa’s Dyke at Granner Wood (Powys) and Bigsweir Woods (Gloucestershire), with the latter case incorporating ongoing woodland thinning aimed at placing a 3 km section of the dyke in more stable and visible condition. In all, work on 21 sites along 7 km of the dykes in Wales and England has been in hand during the year.
Offa’s Dyke, Caeaugwynion, Wrexham: before and after views of tree removal
Advisory and management advice has also been provided for conservation of other earthwork monuments. An earlier management plan prepared for Cadw in 2003 for improved care of sections of the medieval defensive circuit of Montgomery has been partially implemented during 2004/5, and other management plans have likewise been undertaken for Cadw on sites including Bryn-y-Castell Motte, Knighton and Twyn-y-Gaer hillfort (Brecon). Some wider advisory work has also been undertaken in Wales linked to the Tir Gofal agri-environment scheme such as assistance with the development and implementation of schemes in Gwynedd at Penydinas hillfort and Llanfairfechan motte. The continuing expansion of agri-environment schemes on both sides of the border continue to generate opportunities for pro-active archaeological management work of this kind, and with the impact of the new ‘cross compliance’ agricultural regulations alongside these funding processes, the possibilities for developing care of earthwork monuments and resolving long term management problems are currently very positive.
Offa’s Dyke, Bryndrinog, Shropshire showing recovery of cross dyke cattle track erosion scars following erection of fence to restrict animal movement and installation of a gateway at a less sensitive location
Work to control the impact of proposed development on the dykes has been, as ever, a major area of work, especially with regard to Wat’s Dyke and the northern end of Offa’s Dyke in the vicinity of the Wrexham conurbation. Continuing input has been made to the drafts of both the Flintshire and Powys Unitary Development Plans (both currently in process), and site advice has been made for a range of residential development proposals including, for example, Offa’s Dyke on the former Christian factory site in Knighton (Powys), Offa’s Dyke at Craignant (Shropshire) and Wat’s Dyke at Hope (Flintshire). Pressure associated with expansion of commercial premises remains a significant threat, with applications recently commented on including continuing proposals for expansion of a hotel adjacent to Wat’s Dyke at Bwcle (Flintshire). While success is being had in limiting the impact of such schemes on the dykes and their immediate environs, loss of wider context and setting remains a pressing problem which will need to be a continuing focus of ongoing lobbying. The issue was highlighted by a residential development at Ruabon (Wrexham) where earlier advice was not properly incorporated within planning conditions and some damage to the dyke and significant encroachment on setting took place as a result. Working with Cadw and the developer, some mitigation of this disturbance was subsequently possible, but the need to prevent such errors in the first place is clear.
Development control work: area of proposed car park extension adjacent to Wat’s Dyke, Beaufort Park Hotel, Flintshire opposed on setting grounds , and reverse slope of Offa’s Dyke, Ruabon, Wrexham cosmetically reconstructed following encroachment during residential building work
Provision of advice and supervision linked to the maintenance of the Offa’s Dyke Path has remained a significant element of ongoing work. 12 Scheduled Monument Consent applications associated with footpath furniture replacement have been prepared and implemented during the year, with furniture moved to less sensitive locations off the monument wherever possible. At the southern end of the dyke in Gloucestershire, re-alignment work has now taken place to move 1 km of the Offa’s Dyke Path off the monument in the Wye Valley, with clearance and upgrade work completed on the new off dyke path route. More widely, day to day liaison with the local authority representatives involved in the routine management of the Offa’s Dyke Path has continued on a wide range of practical, monitoring, management and other issues. For example, upgrade work on a section of the Offa’s Dyke Path realigned off the dyke in 2003 at Garbett Hall (Shropshire) has now meant that it is possible to proceed with extinguishing the remaining PROW on the dyke itself, and this work is currently in progress.
A key element of the project continues to be the active public promotion of Offa’s and Wat’s Dykes and their significance, and educational dissemination of earthwork management techniques. 12 public talks concerning the conservation and archaeology Offa’s Dyke have been presented to groups in the Marches and beyond during the year, with talks on the project also delivered to professional staff at English Heritage and Cadw. Offa’s Dyke has featured on BBC1’s ‘Countryfile’ programme on Radio 4, while filming in mid April of a Channel 4 ‘Time Team’ investigation at Ffrith (Flintshire) will include part of the northern end of Offa’s Dyke (as well as the Roman settlement which the dyke overlies hereabouts). The Offa’s Dyke Initiative website (attached to the main CPAT site) continues to be a popular public resource for information about the dyke, with regular requests for use of photographs from the Offa’s Dyke press pack page.
Offa’s Dyke Path, re-location of stiles off the earthwork: Pentre Shannel, Shropshire (left), Discoed, Powys (right)
Discussion is currently underway with English Heritage and Cadw concerning the possible future extension of the Offa’s Dyke Initiative beyond the end of current funding arrangements in August 2005, and it is hoped that it will prove possible to continue to develop the scheme and further capitalize on the momentum of what has so far been achieved.
Ian Bapty,
Offa’s Dyke Archaeological Management Officer
As previously reported excavations at Llangynfelin on the fringes of Borth Bog, Ceredigion, revealed a timber trackway of Early Medieval date overlying industrial deposits, probably the waste of lead smelting. During the winter of 2004-05, radiocarbon determinations from charcoal within the waste returned late Iron Age/Romano-British dates (60BC-AD90 and AD20-AD220, calibrated at 2 sigma).
In June 2005, excavations investigated more of the trackway, but concentrated on the industrial deposits. A series of test pits were excavated one of which, just to the south of the bog edge, revealed the remains of a furnace. This consisted of a patch of heated clay in a shallow hollow. Heat affected stones, some with lead glazing, which appear to have been furnace lining were also present. Galena bearing ore rocks were also recovered from this pit. Initial rapid assessment of the galena bearing rock indicates a local origin, although it is probably not from the nearby Erglodd mine. Fragments of furnace lining were also recovered from several other test pits and sherds from a green blue glass vessel that may be Roman were found in one of the pits.
Cadw and The Institute of Archaeology and Antiquity, The University of Birmingham supported the excavations.
Nigel Page, Cambria Archaeology
Up to the minute technology will very soon bring the heritage of Ruthin alive. Visitors and residents will be able to tap into their local history using hand-held mobile computers (PDAs), to view information, old photographs and drawings as they go around the historic town. The pioneering new technology could be available across Wales within a few years.
A set of the PDAs has been provided through a grant from Cymal, the Welsh Assembly’s policy division for Museums, Archives and Libraries. Users follow an interactive map developed by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW). Global positioning technology displays the user’s changing position on the map as he or she walks around the town. Information alerts are triggered when specific locations are reached which provide directions, facts and questions. Information and images from the Denbighshire Record Office and RCAHMW’s public online database – Coflein – are displayed when users tap the highlighted buildings on the screen.
Students from Brynhyfryd High School in Ruthin have prepared some of the material for the Ruthin e-trail by selecting information and images from Denbighshire Record Office. Their involvement will continue next year as they work towards the creation of their own e-trails under the guidance of their teachers and supported by the Key Skills Support Programme Cymru. This project is an integral part of their studies towards the Welsh Baccalaureate.
Councillor Sue Roberts, Denbighshire County Council's Cabinet Lead Member for Promoting Denbighshire, said: "The Council is delighted to be involved in such an innovative scheme, which will bring history documented at our Records Office alive through modern technology. Ruthin has a wealthy historic past and there are many interesting buildings and structures to interest visitors and residents alike. We are particularly pleased that pupils from Ysgol Brynhyfryd, Ruthin have been actively involved in this project and we hope that the introduction of the scheme will tempt more people, young and old, to show an interest in local history."
Ruthin is in the forefront of the use of this technology, but there is potential for a wide range of future applications to bring archaeology and history alive in this exciting and innovative format. Communities throughout Wales could tell their stories and bring their heritage alive.
The Ruthin e-trail has been made possible by the partnership between Denbighshire County Record Office, RCAHMW, Cymal, Key Skills Support Programme Cymru, Ysgol Brynhyfryd, and Ruthin Civic Society, all of whom have contributed to this ground-breaking project.
Ysgol Brynhyfryd pupils will demonstrate the system to Welsh Assembly Government Minister for Culture, Welsh Language and Sport, Alun Pugh, on September 9th at the Denbighshire Record Office in Ruthin, at 4pm. It will then be used for town tours on the European Heritage Days in Ruthin on the 17th and 18th September 2005, when Ysgol Brynhyfryd pupils will assist Civic Society members to guide visitors through the streets of Ruthin.
RCAHMW
Aberystwyth
Archaeology at the University of Wales, Lampeter continues to have international interests in teaching and research with this summer having seen projects in Botswana, Madagascar, Israel and Cyprus, while not forgetting the great deal of work we are conducting in the UK (Gwent, Aberdeenshire, Sussex, Devon) and David Austin’s second season of research and training excavations at Strata Florida Abbey, just up the road at the head of the Teifi Valley. We continue to offer degrees in archaeology (also at Trinity College, Carmarthen) and the popular combinations of archaeology with anthropology or ancient history and have diversified to offer short courses in forensic archaeology and traditional conservation methods, the latter through our partner at Ty Mawr near Brecon.
At postgraduate level we offer EU funded Diplomas in Cultural Heritage Management, Landscape Management and Environmental Archaeology (a few funded places may still be available as we go to press). The postgraduate research community is currently very strong with a number of the PhD students researching topics of Welsh interest. We also continue to offer professional services in dendrochronology and environmental archaeology. For further information visit our Website at www.lamp.ac.uk/archanth/ or phone 01570 424732.
David Austin shows the excavations at Strata Florida to Kate Roberts, Peter White and Richard Avent.
Some recent books by staff in the department:
Paul Rainbird
Department of Archaeology, Lampeter
Publication of the CBA’s Mountains and Orefields is a milestone, and reflects the explosion of interest in the subject over the past two decades. It is worth recalling how this came about, with some of the consequences involved.
Twenty-five years ago, the suggestion of metal-ore mining in pre-historic Britain was greeted with scorn. In addition, it was commonly believed that no such evidence could survive the destructive nature of later mining. One well-known critic would not countenance any antiquity without archives to support it, but all such objections have since been answered time and again.
When radiocarbon dating first attributed the Great Orme mines to the Bronze Age, the official attitude was still entirely negative. Old mines were at best a hazardous eyesore, and the Forestry Commission in particular was proud of its role in ‘removing the scars of industry’. Before wiser counsel prevailed, the desecration to upland archaeology as a whole does not bear thinking about.
At this time, the scheduling of mine-sites was without precedent, and the chances of such a step seemed very remote. When in 1983 Simon Timberlake proved Bronze Age workings at Cwmystwyth, I well recall us guiding the late George Boon of the National Museum and one of the RCAHMW Commissioners, together with Jeremy Knight of Cadw, up exhausting climb to Copa Hill to consider its case. Fortunately, as author of the definitive book on Cardiganshire silver, Boon was a likely supporter, but the obstacles were very great.
‘You are asking me to persuade my fellow Commissioners, antiquarians and academics steeped in a world of border castles, long barrows, standing stones, stately homes and stained glass windows, to schedule a hole in the ground’!
But it was done, and many more of its kind have followed in the wake. How different is the scene today compared to my first explorations and recordings nearly 60 years ago, when, except for a few others of similar bent, such an activity was deemed eccentric at best and unworthy of the slightest archaeological attention.
There is however, the danger of the pendulum swinging too far. Sites are at risk of becoming sacrosanct to the point where the public may be excluded even from an innocent walk looking for minerals or perhaps in hopes of a communion with ‘the Old Men’. On Parys Mountain several years ago I was forcibly rebuked by a youthful countryside official for disturbing the lichens on one of a thousand heaps of waste. He was without a sense of proportion, and was no doubt unaware that without the amateurs, the present advances would have been put back a generation and probably even more.
As for the Bronze Age, with the dearth of furnaces or slag our understanding of what those primordial miners were seeking is very incomplete. Copper or lead is the orthodox assumption, but was it for pigments or other purposes? These are intriguing questions, and many more still remain. In death, these ancient mines are more alive than ever.
David Bick
Newent
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