News 2006

Amman Loughor Walks: Panels & Leaflets

During 2006, the finishing touches have been put on this long running project to develop an interpreted footpath network for the Amman and upper Loughor valley area in Carmarthenshire and Neath Port Talbot. From Llandybie in the west to Cwmllynfell in the east, 13 large heritage panels and 9 heritage leaflets will give the world a better insight into the fascinating history and landscape of the area. We were fortunate to be part of the team able to work with local communities and members of the Walks Committee to put the story together.

On the shores of Bugeilyn

We spent several more weeks this year undertaking fieldwork for two projects funded by the RCAHMW’s Uplands Initiative.  We studied were the area northeast of Pumlumon, around Bugeilyn lake, Montgomeryshire, and the Gwaunceste hills in Radnorshire. The archaeology was tremendous — from Bronze Age burial sites and mediaeval huts to Victorian lead mines. On the hottest day of the summer (37C in the late afternoon) we sought the cool shores of Bugeilyn, probably one of the most picturesque places in mid-Wales.

Maenclochog Castle

During the hot summer, we carried out a topographical survey of the presumed site of Maenclochog Castle, Pembrokeshire, for Cymdeithas Clochog. The project was designed to explore the tradition that the lost medieval castle of Maenclochog is located at the site of the modern village car park. Extensive research and field survey drew us to conclude that the site is almost certainly that of the castle, but that it may well also be the site of an earlier Iron Age fortification. The community hope to revitalise the car park area and bring it into the heart of community life—and interpret and promote the history of the site and the village at the same time.

Welsh History Forum at Plas Tanybwlch

We contributed papers to the inaugural conference of the Welsh History Forum, held at Plas Tan y Bwlch, Gwynedd in October. Jenny spoke on “The Value of Heritage” and Paul on “Living and Working in the Mid-Wales Uplands: An Archaeological Perspective.” The WHF brings together people from local societies and community groups, along with those from the commercial and public sector and offers a potentially important forum for future debate for those interested in the history and landscape of the nation.

Remembering the Home Front in Carmarthenshire.

We were delighted to have the opportunity to undertake a project with Carmarthenshire County Museums during the year, recording and promoting people’s experiences of the Second World War on the Home Front in Carmarthenshire. We created a database for the museum, which includes details of many places and stories associated with the war years in the county. We also researched and wrote material for a 22-panel exhibition, the project booklet, a Home Front Trail leaflet, which explores the most important 10 wartime sites in the county. These include the RAF fighter base at Pembrey and the surviving section of the fortified Carmarthenshire Stop Line, built in 1940 to resist the expected invasion. Each of the 10 sites will have a panel also. The booklet is available from Carmarthen Museum for just £3!

News 2005

Investigating the history of Pwllcrochan with the Princes Trust Cymru

In the spring, we were asked by Princes Trust Cymru in Pembrokeshire to involve young volunteers in an exploration of the history of Pwllcrochan. During the half term holiday, the group created timelines, explored the locality and described or drew points of interest. We put their work together to make an information panel for the entrance to the education centre, at the old Pwllcrochan parish church, which has been beautifully framed by the volunteers themselves.

Exploring the mid-Wales uplands

We spent several weeks of the summer undertaking fieldwork for two projects funded by the RCAHMW as part of their Uplands Initiative, which is intended to see a full archaeological survey of the uplands of Wales.  The two areas that we studied were a large block of land to the north of Pumlumon, on the ceredigion/Powys border, and the Mynydd Carno block in Powys.  Both areas are spectacularly beautiful and rich in archaeological remains dating from prehistory to more recent times.

Interpretation for Mynydd Mawr Woodland Park

We worked with Carmarthenshire County Council and Cambria Archaeology to produce six interpretation panels for the new Woodland Park at the edge of Tumble in Carmarthenshire.  The park has been created on the site of two former anthracite collieries, later turned into an opencast mine.  This old industrial landscape has now become a haven for wildlife and plant species as well as a popular park for the public.

Heritage seminars for Gallu– Developing People in Tourism

Over 30 tourism businesses attended a series of heritage seminars we ran for Gallu (opens in a new window) over the autumn. The sessions were split into two, the first part being capacity building, telling people how they could do it for themselves and the second part giving them an introduction to the history of their area. The seminars were held at several locations in Swansea, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire.

Our first book launch!

It was an unexpected experience to find ourselves treated as ‘celebrities’, signing copies of the book we wrote for the community of Llandysilio, at the launch evening on 9th December!  The project was the idea of the Llandysilio Historical and Entertainments Committee (the real heroes!) and involved working with the community for 9 months resulting in an illustrated bilingual history of Llandysilio West, Pembrokeshire.

Summer 2004

Cambria Archaeology

In our first three months operating as a partnership we undertook several pieces of work for Cambria Archaeology to help as they put staff in place as our replacements. We completed a project that we had been working on for Symud Ymlaen (Drefach Felindre). They wanted to know about the archaeology and history along various trackways and also a history of the status of each trackway/footpath.

We also worked on databases for Early Medieval Ecclesiastical and the Prehistoric Funerary and Ritual projects for 2003-4 ensuring the integrity of the SMR databases and producing gazetteers and statistics from the data. To see more about these projects, visit www.cambria.org.uk (opens in a new window).

Carmarthenshire County Council

Over the summer, we worked on 13 walking routes to be promoted on leaflets by Carmarthenshire County Council. The Council had been successful in applying for a grant from the Adfywio fund and we were asked to write the text for the 13 leaflets. The leaflets will be available soon from Carmarthenshire Tourist Information Centres.