Autumn 2013 issue - Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust

Clwyd-PowysArchaeological TrustNewsletterAutumn 2013

Welcome to the Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trustnewsletter for autumn 2013!NewsThe Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust (CPAT) helps to conserve,understand and interpret archaeology and heritage in Wales andbeyond. We do this by maintaining the regional Historic EnvironmentRecord (HER), advising planners, landowners and farmers, and providingarchaeological services to Welsh government, local authorities anddevelopers. We are one of four Welsh Archaeological Trust – see the mapon the centre pages for more information.Our new Director – Paul Belford – started workin June 2013, after the retirement of Bill Britnell.Paul’s archaeological career has covered arange of places and periods, from palaeolithicAustralia to twentieth century heritage inBermuda – and also including many years incharge of archaeology at Ironbridge. Perhapsnot surprisingly, his main areas of interest aremedieval and post-medieval archaeology,particularly the iron and steel industries, and heis passionate about public archaeology.Paul Belford, the new director of CPATText by Paul Belford, Jeff Spencer and Sophie Watson; design by PaulBelford and Sophie Watson. Images are copyright © the Clwyd-PowysArchaeological Trust unless otherwise stated.

Conservation work continuesat our hillfort at BeaconRing, under a managementagreement with Cadw. For themoment we are concentratingon clearing gorse and treesfrom the ramparts, and tryingto understand more about themonument. Volunteers arevery welcome: we have alreadyworked with local schools, theWelsh Probation Trust, and afirm of accountants; there willbe opportunities through theyear to come and work with us,so please check the website fordetails.Beacon Ring hillfort from the air (topright) and a recent reconstruction (incake) in honour of our former directorBill Britnell, who retired earlier this year.We are very excited to be hostinga Community ArchaeologyTraining Placement for a yearfrom September 2013. ThisCouncil for British Archaeology(CBA) bursary scheme givesus the opportunity to extendour community archaeologywork into exciting new areas.The focus of the job is ‘youthengagament’, so expect to seeour bursary holder out and aboutin the coming months!The Historic Environment Records of all four Welsh Archaeological Trusts areonline at Archwilio. Archwilio is an easy way to discover the archaeology ofWales through the records of over 100,000 archaeological sites.There is now an Archwilio ‘app’ for mobile phones, again developedjointly by the four Trusts, which means you can carry all of theinformation about Welsh heritage in your pocket!

Hen CaerwysThe joint CPAT/Cadw project at HenCaerwys, is now in its third year. Thissummer the team were joined by localvolunteers and students from the Universityof Chester to continue investigation of thisenigmatic site. First discovered in the 1960s,Hen Caerwys is a ‘deserted medieval village’– although perhaps it is more accurate tosay that it is a multi-period settlement andassociated landscape. Finds so far haveincluded pottery, metalworking debris andbone. This year’s excavations investigatedone of the house platforms, and alsoexamined a stone-walled enclosure to revealhow it was constructed.Festival of ArchaeologyFor the second year running, CPATwas at the Elan Valley Visitor Centrenear Rhayader for the Festivalof Archaeology. Visitors had thechance to make a medieval pot anda helmet – in keeping of coursewith early-medieval re-enactmentgroup Cwmwd Iâl, who also setup camp for the weekend to showvisitors what life would have beenlike for an army on the move in thedays of the Mabinogion. Cookeryand crafts were on display, as wellas a demonstration of battle skillsby the Cwmwd Iâl warriors.

NantclwydEarlier this year enthusiastic volunteersand local school groups joined CPATstaff excavating a mysterious mound inthe Lord’s Garden at Nantclwyd House.The house, which is more than 500 yearsold, is Listed Grade I, and the gardensare designated Grade II. Our work wasinvestigating several theories which havebeen put forward to explain the mound. Itcould have been associated with the CivilWar siege, perhaps forming an artilleryposition overlooking Ruthin castle.Alternatively it could be a garden viewingplatform. In fact the mound turned outto be more recent, and constructed ofbuilding rubble from Nantclwyd House.Portable AntiquitiesCPAT has a good relationship withseveral local metal detector users whovisit to show us their finds and havea cup of tea. Each item is carefullyphotographed, weighed and measuredbefore being returned to the finder,the data being added to the HistoricEnvironment Record and the PortableAntiquities Scheme (PAS) database.We also provide help to report finds ofpotential Treasure to the Coroner.An unexpected find during the Lord’sGarden excavations - a prehistoricflint microlithVolunteersVolunteers make an enormouscontribution to the work of CPAT,and not just in fieldwork. So farthis year we have been assistedby Joe Hampton, who joinedus for a month on placementfrom Chester University; AndrewEvans of Welshpool is processingthe results of photographicsurveys of historic buildings andRobert Dobson of Newtown istravelling the length and breadthof the Clwyd-Powys regionphotographing archaeologicalsites and monuments for additionto the Historic EnvironmentRecord. If you want to help, pleaseget in touch!See the CPAT or PAS webpages http://www.cpat.org.uk/services/portable/portable.htm orhttp://finds.org.uk/treasure/advice/summary for more information.

Heritage managementThis work is all about making sure thathistoric ‘assets’ are protected and survivein the modern world. Glastir is a WelshGovernment agri-environment scheme, andCPAT’s Heritage Management team provideadvice to Glastir contract managers andlandowners, on how to manage historicfeatures in areas of farmland and woodland.This involves consulting the HistoricEnvironment Record, looking closely at oldmaps and photographs, and making sitevisits. This once-grand ruin was the subjectof a recent assessment, and is typical ofmany of the issues involved. Located inthe Vale of Grwyney in the Brecon BeaconsNational Park, this is called ‘Hermitage’and may have been a hunting lodge.Although beyond restoration, the complexmanagement issues have been addressedthrough Glastir with support for vegetationremoval and masonry consolidation,prolonging its life.Prehistoric settlementand medieval ironworkingOur ongoing project at BorrasQuarry near Wrexham continuesto produce some excitingresults. There is now a greatdeal of evidence for what lookslike the largest prehistoricsettlement to be recorded inthe region. Several groups ofpits (some of which had beenused as hearths and ovens) havecontained a large amount ofpottery, and post-holes hint atvarious structures. The site alsocontains the only evidence inthe region for early medievalmetalworking. We have foundsubstantial quantities of ironsmithing debris, which has beenradiocarbon dated to between610 and 965 AD.

Mills and millingRossett Mill, Wrexham - a Grade II* Listed 16th century mill withsurviving driving machinery including pit wheel, wallower, andlarge spur wheel.Many mills have very longhistories; some survive almostcomplete, others are now nomore than earthworks. Thisproject is revisiting ListedBuildings or ScheduledAncient Monuments that werefirst looked at in the 1990s.The purpose of the work isto review the condition ofeach site to see whether anychanges are needed to the wayin which they are protected.Airfields / First World WarThe first phase of the Cadw-funded projecton twentieth century military sites came to anend in March with the completion of a pan-Wales study of airfields. CPAT staff recordedthe 3 airfields of the RFC and RAF in northeastWales along with a range of structures in thesurrounding landscape. We are now lookingmore broadly at the heritage of the FirstWorld War in our region.Melin-y-Wern, Grade II Listed corn mill, LlanbedrDyffryn ClwydFinal reports of all of the projects featured inthis newsletter – as well as all our other work–can be found via Archwilio, and summariesare available on the CPAT website.Pillbox built to protect RAF SealandCrest of 30 Maintenance Unit, RAF

Digwyddiadau 2013Darlith, Evenjobb, 22ain Awst.......................................................Diwrnod Hwyl, Caersws,7fed Medi.......................................................Arddangosfa, Sioe Kington,14eg Medi.......................................................Darlith, Llandrindod,15fed Medi.......................................................Darlith, Holt, 27ain MediHen CaerwysRAF SealandRAF PenarlâgRAF HawardenMelin Yr OrseddYmddiriedolaethNantclwydRossett MillArchaeolegolGwynedd Chwarel Borras/Borras Quarry HoltGwyneddArchaeological RAF Wrecsam/RAF WrexhamTrust GwyneddArchaeologicalTrustEvents 2013Talk, Evenjobb, 22nd August.......................................................Fun Day, Caersws,7th September.......................................................Exhibition, Kington,14th September.......................................................Talk, Llandrindod Wells,15th September.......................................................Talk, Holt, 27th SeptemberYmddiriedolaethArchaeolegolClwyd-PowysY Trallwng/WelshpoolCaerswsCanolfan Ymwelwyr Cwm ElanElan Valley Visitor CentreLlandrindodLlandrindod WellsCaer DigollBeacon Ring hillfortEvenjobbKington

YmddiriedolaethArchaeolegolDyfed DyfedArchaeologicalDyfedTrustArchaeologicalTrustClwyd-PowysArchaeologicalTrustBro GrwyneVale of GrwyneyYmddiriedolaethArchaeolegolGlamorgan-GwentMorgannwg-GwentArchaeological TrustGlamorgan-GwentArchaeological TrustGellir lawrlwytho'r cylchlythyr owww.cpat.org.uk/news/newslets/newslets.htm© CPATYmddiriedolaeth Archaeolegol Clwyd-Powys,41 Stryd Lydan, Y Trallwng, SY21 7RRFfôn: 01938 553670, ffacs: 01938 552179E-bost: trust@cpat.org.ukGwefan www.cpat.org.ukRhif Elusen 508301Rhif Cwmni 1212455Sefydliad Cofrestredig IFA, Rhif 6.The Newsletter can be downloaded fromwww.cpat.org.uk/news/newslets/newslets.htm© CPATThe Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust41 Broad Street, Welshpool,Powys, SY21 7RRtel 01938 553670, fax 01938 552179email trust@cpat.org.ukwebsite www.cpat.org.ukRegistered Charity 508301Limited Company 1212455IFA RAO No 6