GGAT’s Archaeological Planning Officer Judith Doyle is featured in a new online video for Welsh learners

The video was made as part of the new “Pecyn Ymarfer” – Practice Pack for Welsh Speakers and Learners in association with St Fagans National Museum of Welsh Life as part of the new Perthyn Exhibition. It provides explanation of why and how people speak and learn Welsh and to encourage other learners.  Full details are available from the St Fagans website and follow links to Perthyn – Belonging.

Roedd y fideo hwn gwneud fel rhan o’r Newydd “Pecyn Ymarfer” – Practice Pack am ddysgwyr Cymraeg a siaradwr – gyda Amgueddfa Werin Cymru yn Sain Ffagan fel rhan o’r arddangosfa newydd Perthyn. Mae’n darparu gwybodaeth yn pham a phryd mae pobl yn siarad a ddysgu yr iaith Cymraeg ac annog ddysgwyr eraill. Mae manylion llawn ar gael o’r wefan Sain Ffagan Sain Ffagan a ddilynwch y linc Perthyn – Belonging.

The presence of a small wooden feature located approximately 330m south of the promenade on the Swansea foreshore was reported to Steve Sell, (GGAT’s Portable Antiquities Recording Officer) by Brian Price of the Swansea Metal Detector Club in the summer of 2008.

An initial site visit was conducted by GGAT field-staff with Brian Price on the 6th September 2008 during which the feature was tentatively identified as a short section of hurdle, and that a funding grant should be made to Cadw to enable further investigation of the feature. Cadw authorised a grant for the work to be carried out in early 2009 and a small team from GGAT Projects conducted a rescue excavation at the beginning of this month.

Working within a narrow tidal window the feature was cleaned, positively identified as a short section of hurdle, photographed and drawn. The six largest timbers from the hurdle where recovered for detailed post-excavation study, AMS dating and species identification. It is hoped that the AMS dating (Accelerator Mass Spectrometry) will return a date during the Iron Age and thus be comparably to features recorded on the Brynmill Peat Shelf in 1992.

Currently two interpretations of the feature are postulated, firstly that it represents the remains of a fallen hurdle leader fence, used for guiding fish into single-basket, tidal fish-trap; secondly that it represents the remains of a hurdle trackway used to cross a particularly marshy piece of ground.

Come and visit GGAT at the 2009 Archaeology Festival being held in Cardiff over the weekend of 7-8 February.

The 2009 Archaeology Festival hosted by Current Archaeology and this year in conjunction with Cardiff University and the National Museum, Wales is the UK’s biggest and most popular archaeology conference. The GGAT stand will bring you right up to date with recent work undertaken by the Trust, you will have the opportunity to investigate the archaeology of the Southeast Wales area with our interactive Historic Ennvironment Record and GGAT’s friendly staff will be on hand to answer any questions you may have.

To book tickets and to find further details please visit the Current Archaeology website.

Recent investigations at Ffos-y-fran have identified the remains of three rectangular structures believed to be a part of the remains of the 19th century Penydarren Brickworks, adjacent to the Sarn Howell Pond. The two eastern buildings are aligned east to west and are roughly comparable in size (c7.5m x 4.5m), whilst the western building is only partially exposed. All three buildings form part of the brick manufacturing process from the preparation of the raw material through to moulding/setting, drying and firing. The brickworks is likely to have served the Penydarren Colliery, including buildings associated with its incline tramroad to the GWR line at Cwm-bargoed and numerous small scale local industrial concerns. The brickworks is thought to have had a comparatively short life since it is shown in use on the OS 2nd Ed map (1901) but retired by the publication of the OS 3rd Ed map (1920).

During the evaluation of an area to the south of the site on the edge of the Taff-bargoed Valley we have discovered a large mound or cairn of stones directly beneath the topsoil. The cairn appears to contain a centralised rectangular arrangement of inverted stones, which may be a Bronze Age burial mound. However, further investigation is needed to prove its provenance. Bronze Age round barrow cairns are a type of monument which can be found broadly distributed on the nearby Gelligaer Common.  For more information on cairns visit the Prehistoric Funerary and Ritual Sites in Southeast Wales project pages on the GGAT website http://www.ggat.org.uk/cadw/fun_rit/english/cairn.html

In an area adjacent to the supposed cairn, several features have been identified, which include a possible cremation burial. A small quantity of burnt bone was recovered from a shallow pit that was surrounded by an area of burning. Although highly probable as a burial, the recovery of worked pieces of flint in the immediate vicinity along with more evidence of burning may indicate that this is food waste rather than funerary in origin.

One of the structures investigated as part of the Ffos-y-fran Land reclamation scheme was a tramroad/railway at the point in which it had been spanned by an over-bridge. Due to the size and complexity of the structure it was decided to record using the latest laser scanning technologies. Total Surveys Ltd were commissioned to carryout the survey, which produced a fully integrated and interrogable 3D model of the overbridge to an accuracy of 6mm.

GGAT and Miller Argent (South Wales)are among the first companies in the UK to pioneer this type of technology for use in archaeological recording.

At this point the tramroad ran between two battered walls of rusticated sandstone ashlar, which funneled into what we think wes the site of the original overbridge and then funneled out again. These walls were raised in height at least once, probably when the line was converted to standard gauge,which is known to have occurred from the late 19th-and-early 20th centuries (OS 1st to 4th edition maps c1880–1920). No evidence for the over-bridge survives.

The original tramroad surface was identified beneath 2.5m of made ground, the latter presumably laid down for the conversion to standard gauge, and it is likely that the over-bridge was removed at this time. The over-bridge is thought to have served a ‘squatter settlement ’, which was possibly providing labour to the fledgling Dowlais Ironworks, Merthyr Tydfil, located 50m to the east.

View across the remains of the overbridge

Things are all go at the Historic Environment Record Archive, here at GGAT. The old paper record storage area has been swept aside in preparation for installation of the new swish mobile storage system. This new system will provide greater and more secure storage space, whilst improving physical access to the records.

Watch this space for more information!

Out with the old

Removal of HER archive storage shelves

For more information on the HER visit http://www.ggat.org.uk/her/english/her_mainpage.html

The full HER enquiry service will be unavailable between 6th and 24th October due to re-housing of the paper archive.

Only enquiries for data in electronic format will be undertaken. Unfortunately we will not be able to accommodate visitors to the HER during this time.

If you have already submitted an enquiry with us there may be a delay in response time. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. If you have any questions regarding this matter please contact Curatorial @ggat.org.uk

Recent excavations at Ffos y fran, Merthyr Tydfil, have unearthed some exciting and very rare prehistoric finds. During the soil stripping of part of the Cwmbargoed Mountain, north of Gelligaer Common, a large area of burning was identified beneath the peaty topsoil. Within this burnt area several worked pieces of flint were recovered, including one fine Mesolithic (8000BC-4000BC) flint core. A small quantity of burnt bone was recovered from a slight depression but it is unclear whether this is the result of food waste or possibly from a cremation. A rim-sherd was recovered a short distance from the burnt area but is not thought to be related to burnt bone. Measuring c6cm² the rim is steeply bevelled, with a short neck and rounded shoulder; the diameter can be estimated at approximately 200mm. The sherd is in extremely poor condition and the fabric is soft and very friable. The rim is believed to be prehistoric but further analysis and conservation is required before any definitive conclusions can be drawn regarding its origins.

Dydd Sadwrn 9 Awst-Day 8

Glau trwm bob dydd, yn anffordus, a felly dim llawr a bobl. Ond mynegodd rhywun caer danddaearol newydd ini yn Sain Hilari -bydd ein arbenigwr am y 2fed Rhyfel Byd wrth ei bod! Caeodd y stontinau i gyd yn gynnar, yn gynnwys ni.

Welsh weather reigns supreme

Dydd Gwener 8 Awst-Day 7
Mae llawer o diddordeb yn y tirweddau hanesyddol heddiw. Mae pobl wedi dod o amrywiaeth lleoliad – Conwy, Ceredigion a Chaerdydd.
Mae tywydd yn cymylog ond mae’n dwym iawn. Mae’r safle yn prysur iawn heddiw. Mae swn o bandiau a cherddoriaeth dros y safle yn hyfryd iawn.

Cloudy but warm today. Lots of interest in historic landscapes today and lots of people from a variety of places.
The sound of bands and music floating across the site is lovely.
A real good atmosphere!-Judith Doyle