Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust Newsletter

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1 Newsletter Spring 2015

2 Welcome to the Newsletter for Spring 2015 NEWS PAGES Jenny Britnell Over 50 years in archaeology Jenny Britnell, CPAT administrator, retired last November after having spent 57 years working in archaeology. We asked Jenny to tell us about her career and here she shares her thoughts... I started like so many others in school holidays digging on a University of Belfast excavation in Lydford, Devon and finding I was not averse to a wet back, muddy knees and scraped knuckles, I joined the Council for British Archaeology to Jenny taking a teabreak find other excavations. (typically with book) in 1979 I then spent the next during excavations on the two summers digging rampart at Moel y Gaer, Rhosesmor brochs on Skye and in the Western Highlands with Euan MacKie and the Hunterian Museum Glasgow a Celtic Connection developing even back there I see. A year at Colchester museum followed A levels, a time which included a job interview with Sir Mortimer Wheeler (success probably depended how well you managed the walk down the very long passage-like office in the BM that had the great man and a large desk at the far end) I was not offered the job... What turned out to be a permanent move to work in Wales came next and successive summers in the late 60s with University College Cardiff on excavations at Usk, and winter work with Bill Manning s Usk publication team on the top floor of the wonderful main college building. In 1977 I was on University Challenge for Cardiff and we got through 2 rounds! In the early to mid 70s working with the Rescue Archaeology Group (RAG) at Moel y Gaer, Breiddin and Beckford, as well as with the University in Cardiff, led next to three further years in Cardiff as a student. By the time I graduated, RAG had morphed into the Clwyd- Powys Archaeological Trust with the formation of the Welsh Archaeological Trusts. Jobs in archaeology were widely available through the Manpower Services Commission s graduate schemes and thus myself and several of my long term colleagues joined CPAT in the 80 s, myself as archaeologist and then administrator. It s been a great job all through, and I m grateful to everyone I ve worked with over the years for making it so... So thanks to everyone Jenny Britnell Friends of CPAT We are pleased to report that a total of 20 people attended the first meeting of the Friends on the 2nd December at our offices in Welshpool. Our director, Paul Belford opened the evening by welcoming our guests and introducing the Trust and some of our most recent work. Viviana Culshaw, CPAT Community Archaeologist, offered an illustrated talk on community archaeology and public engagement, followed by a wellillustrated presentation on conservation work at the Trust s own hillfort, Beacon Ring, by Abi McCullough, CPAT Heritage Management Archaeologist. CPAT Annual Day School On October 25th, the Trust held its first annual archaeology day-school at the Marches School in Oswestry. Over 120 people attended the event, to hear presentations about recent work at Offa s Dyke, Wroxeter, Llangollen and Ironbridge, as well as reports on longer-term projects in the Marches covering a wonderful variety of archaeological remains from Neolithic ritual landscapes to twentieth-century aircraft crash sites. The event also included a photographic exhibition designed to tell the story of CPAT s work from the late 1970s to the present day, by looking at some of the fascinating archaeological sites of Wales. We hope to make next years event even more successful. Details about future talks can be found on our website at A Royal Charter for the IFA The Institute for Archaeologists received its Royal Charter in late 2014, and in April 2015; the first Chartered Institute for Archaeologists Conference will take place in Cardiff. Owing to the significance of the Charter, the location of the Conference in Wales, and the fact that we are celebrating our 40th anniversary, CPAT along with the other Welsh Archaeological Trusts are co-sponsoring the Conference. As well as having a stand at the Conference, providing information to delegates on the work of CPAT, staff members including Paul Belford, Chris Martin, Abi McCullough, Ian Grant, Viviana Culshaw and Menna Bell are also speaking in several sessions over the three days. The has been a Registered Archaeological Organisation with the CIfA since This requires us to follow strict professional codes of conduct and standards across every aspect of our work. We strive to maintain the highest quality in all that we do, and we are committed to publication and promotion of our findings to the widest possible audience.

3 Local heritage: Welshpool Excavation at Powis Castle As the majority of our work seems usually to take us to the far reaches of the Clwyd-Powys region and beyond, the field services team were surprised to find themselves recently working more or less on the office doorstep in Welshpool. Even better than that, excavating in the grounds of Powis Castle... We were invited by the National Trust to investigate a number of geophysical anomalies surveyed in 2002 on the Old Bowling Green outside the East Front of the castle. The survey had identified features thought to relate to the medieval layout of the castle including the defensive ditch, the curtain wall and a possible mural tower. The work forms part of the newly initiated East Front Project which aims to conserve and repair the East Front of the castle and its adjacent structures and eventually improve access and interpretation, as this area has been closed for many years. Historically, this side of the castle provided a grand approach from Welshpool. No evidence for the medieval ditch or curtain wall survived at the levels to which we were able to excavate. However, a trench across the mural tower, (a defensive tower usually built into the curtain wall) uncovered the corner of a sandstone building with walls over 1.5m thick. We cannot be certain at present as to the exact purpose or date of the building. However, within the rubble surrounding the building we found some fragments of floor tile, two pieces of which match the style of other tiles from the 14th century that have been found at both Montgomery Castle (though originally from Chirbury Priory) and also Strata Marcella Abbey, the site of which lies some 5k to the north-east of Powis Castle. We could assume perhaps, that the tiles were taken from Strata Marcella Abbey after the Dissolution in 1536, although there is no firm evidence to support this supposition. above left: Menna Bell excavating the sandstone building; below left: tile fragment from Powis Castle excavations 2015; right: 14th-century tile from Strata Marcella Abbey In February 2013, metal detector enthusiast Nigel Williams found a seal matrix in a field near Welshpool. A seal matrix is an object used to make impressions in wax to form a seal on a letter or other document. They first appear in Roman times and are used throughout the medieval period and into postmedieval times ( ). This particular example was different from those that Nigel had seen previously and he contacted CPAT for information and advice on what best to do with it. The matrix is made of lead, is in the shape of a pointed oval and appears to have a figure in the centre and an inscription (assumed to be in Latin) around the outside; on the back is a bar, pierced to allow suspension from a chain. This year alone, over 50 artefacts have been reported to the Trust by members of the public which have been recorded via the Portable Antiquities Scheme as well as 10 flint scatters which have been discovered in the Walton Basin in Radnorshire. Portable Antiquities After weighing, measuring and photographing the matrix (it is 43mm long, 26mm wide, 11mm thick and weighs 23.7g) it was suggested that the Rev David Williams who compiled the Catalogue of Seals in the National Museum of Wales (National Museums & Galleries of Wales, 1998) might be able to shed further light on it. He kindly provided the following: It appears to depict the Blessed Virgin, crowned, and Child, under a canopy, and given the size it must be the seal of a monastery, bishop or other important ecclesiastical body or person (like an archdeacon). The lettering is indistinct, but it might be early 14th century. Realising the potential importance of the discovery, Nigel and the landowner agreed to donate the matrix to Powysland Museum in Welshpool and owing to this generous donation it has been possible to send the matrix to Cardiff University for cleaning and conservation, during which it may be possible to read the inscription and learn more about to whom or to what institution the seal belonged. For the time being the seal matrix remains in Cardiff but upon its return to Powysland Museum it is hoped to display it alongside material from Strata Marcella Abbey.

4 Working with communities Clun Forest, Shropshire The Walton Basin, Radnorshire Another recent project that has involved working with communities has taken us over the border to the Clun Valley in Shropshire. The Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust was approached by local volunteers and the Shropshire Hills AONB to bring their expertise in community archaeology and historic landscapes to the Clun Forest communities to help train local people and equip them with a variety of skills. The Cadw-funded investigations in the Walton Basin of eastern Radnorshire have been ongoing since 2012 with this, the final season of fieldwork, being conducted in The Basin is well-known for its complex of nationally important prehistoric monuments. The aim of the project was to increase local participation in understanding, managing and interpreting the historic environment in the three parishes of Bettws y Crwyn, Newcastle and Mainstone. The project is a follow up for the HLF-funded Down to Earth project run by the AONB from and the Land, Life and Livelihoods project ( ). Clun Castle The most recent surveys and excavations were conducted with the assistance of local volunteers and it is clear that the Walton Basin Project as a whole has had a very positive impact in the dissemination of information to, and engagement with, the local community. As well as surveying earthworks in Old Radnor (right), local volunteers have recently helped us excavate part of the Hindwell Palisaded Enclosure (above) which, with an area of 34ha, is the largest such Neolithic structure currently known in Britain. Up to nine burnt features on the southern side of the enclosure were discovered through geophysical survey in 1998 and have been a matter of some debate ever since, along with perhaps 20 similar survey anomalies on the north-eastern side of the enclosure. Initially interpreted as evidence for the insitu burning of the posts which define the enclosure, the recent excavations were too restricted to provide a conclusive answer, although it appears that the pits were positioned immediately inside the palisade and may have cut through the fill of the intercutting post-pits. Pottery recovered from one excavated pit included several sherds of Grooved Ware, as well as a small cup of either late Neolithic or possibly Early Bronze Age date. A series of training activities including recording historic buildings, topographic and landscape survey were developed at Bettws y Crwyn and Newcastle, enhanced by several seminars and site visits. Potential future research projects have been identified for the three parishes which will be developed at a later stage. The training programme was well-received and the project culminated in a two-day exhibition Display of work in progress in Newcastle, in March 2015 which included a series of displays presenting the research project conducted by the community group and an illustrated talk entitled Offa s Dyke - a journey in words and pictures by Jim Saunders.

5 About us... The works to protect, record and interpret all aspects of the historic environment. The Trust is divided into three departments. The Curatorial Services team is responsible for the management of archaeology and cultural heritage across 8,000 square kilometres of challenging topography. We maintain the regional Historic Environment Record (containing over 130,000 sites and events), provide Development Control advice to developers and local planning authorities, and advice and guidance to farmers and landowners on heritage management. The Field Services team is the leading archaeological practice in mid- and northeast Wales, and one of the longest-established commercial archaeology contractors in Europe. We offer a range of high quality archaeology and cultural heritage solutions to a wide client base, providing an independent and comprehensive service. We strive to maintain the highest quality in all that we do, and we are committed to publication and promotion of our findings to the widest possible audience. We are very proud of our status as a Registered Organisation with the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA). This requires us to follow strict professional codes of conduct and standards across every aspect of our work. The Education and Outreach Team delivers innovative public archaeology, community heritage, education and training projects. These include open days, day schools, talks and walks; school visits and public events; training programmes for students, professionals and non-professionals. For more information please contact us, visit our website, or follow our Facebook page! 41 Broad Street, Welshpool, Powys, SY21 7RR trust@cpat.org.uk +44 (0)