• We have updated the guidelines regarding posting political content: please see the stickied thread on Website Issues.

Cardigan Castle: 9,500 artefacts found in archaeological dig

ramonmercado

CyberPunk
Joined
Aug 19, 2003
Messages
58,109
Location
Eblana
Cardigan Castle: 9,500 artefacts found in archaeological dig
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-mid-wales-25878701

Medieval iron arrowhead

The iron arrowheads date back to the medieval period

Part of a dolphin skull and a medieval arrowhead are among more than 9,500 artefacts uncovered by an archaeological dig at Cardigan Castle.

The 18-month project to uncover the 800-year history of the site has been conducted by NPS Archaeology.

Excavation work has also revealed a new part of the original castle which dates back to the 1170s.

It is part of an £11m renovation project which aims to re-open part of the site this year.

NPS Archaeology project manager Nigel Page said the dig had recovered more than 9,500 objects ranging from medieval pottery and animal bones to a NAAFI (Navy, Army and Air Force Institute) mug from World War II.

"They give a small window on the people who have lived and worked at the castle," he said.

'Exciting discovery'
The building is regarded as the first stone castle built by the Welsh princes and was the stronghold of Rhys ap Gruffydd, prince of the medieval kingdom of Deheubarth.

It is also said to have hosted what is regarded to be Wales' first eisteddfod, but for years it stood crumbling at the riverside gateway to the town centre.

Stone structure under excavation
The stone structure was part of the original castle
"The most exciting discovery is a three square metre stone structure made from pitch stone which dates back to the earliest stone castle which was built in 1171.

"It was a completely unexpected discovery lying just below the soil in the castle's garden."

Mr Page said the dolphin's skull also dated back to the medieval period before the 15th Century.

"It is not uncommon to find dolphin remains in castles near the coast because they would have been eaten by people at medieval feasts along with swans and other large animals," he added.

Cardigan Castle had a turbulent early history and was captured and lost several times by Llywelyn the Great before it returned to Norman hands after his death in 1240.

"Interestingly the rusted remains of a medieval iron arrowhead is the only evidence for warfare found during the works other than the thick castle walls," said Mr Page.

For the past 15 years the Cadwgan Building Preservation Trust has campaigned to save the site and it still needs to raise over £20,000 by 2015 to ensure the project can be completed.

Cardigan Castle exterior
Cardigan Castle's £11m renovation project started in February 2013
When work on the castle is finished it will have educational facilities, including for Welsh language, cultural, environmental and horticultural studies.

There will also be luxury accommodation for hire, a restaurant and an eisteddfod garden.

The aim is to increase visitor numbers from 3,000 to 30,000 a year.

The project has received funding from the lottery and the European Regional Development Fund, through the Welsh government, along with other organisations.
 
Another Welsh dig.

An historic site could be "elevated in importance" due to new archaeological finds, experts have said.

Bailey Hill, in Mold, Flintshire, is the site of a castle which was thought to have been built using timber in the 11th Century. But a masonry wall has been found, along with arrowheads and human remains during redevelopment work. A £1.8m project aims to encourage further use of the site for leisure and events. Building work started in February and is due to be completed in January, despite delays because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Paths have been re-laid to make the area more accessible, a performance area has been installed in the inner bailey, and a cottage at the foot of the site has been extended to showcase the site's history.

Archaeological discoveries, such as two sections of a masonry wall, may change the narrative about Bailey Hill, according to Ian Grant, senior archaeologist with the Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust.

"Up until we uncovered that masonry construction, the generally perceived idea of what the castle would have looked like is that it would have been constructed from timber, in a classic motte and bailey style," he said.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-55452189
 
More Welsh digs.

Llanddwyn Island off Anglesey is probably best known to many as the setting for Demi Moore's 2006 horror film Half Light.

Though the small tidal island, which can be reached at low tide, could hold more secrets than even Hollywood could have dreamt of. In 2011, archaeologists excavated the nave of St Dwynwen's, a ruined medieval church on the island. Archaeologists believe this, and similar tiny isles off Anglesey, could be time capsules of pre-invasion Wales.

They returned this month and have uncovered the remains of several buildings beneath the ruin, including what may have been a medieval priory. Archaeologist Dr George Nash and SLR Consulting were able to return to the island following permission from Cadw, Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and Isle of Anglesey County Council. Dr Nash, who made the discovery along with geophysicists Les Dodd and Phil Dell, said the priory was probably converted into a parish church some time after Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries during the late 1530s.

"The geophysical survey, undertaken in early October, shows the possible remains of a medieval priory building, L-shaped in plan, constructed against a rock outcrop which provided protection from prevailing Irish Sea storms," said Dr Nash. "The earliest remains probably date from the 14th Century, but are much more in keeping with pre-English Welsh ecclesiastical architecture."

While Edward I's conquest of Wales between 1277 and 1283 reached as far as Beaumaris Castle on Anglesey, the English invasion force and their cultural influences never spread to these outlying islands. ...

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-58925766
 
Back
Top