Monmouthshire Antiquarian Association

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Wednesday 14 August, 11am: Early medieval site of Dinas Powys, with Dr Alan Lane from Cardiff University (Map Reference ST17SW)

Dinas Powys is a key site in south Wales, and an example of a court or Llys which were often placed within former hill forts. Dinas Powys hill fort was the seat of minor Welsh kings of the 5^th-7^th centuries. Leslie Alcock excavated the site in the 1950s but more recently it has been excavated by Alan Lane and Andy Seaman. Finds include large amounts of pottery-wine amphorae and fine table wares from Greece, Turkey, Syria and France plus evidence for fine metalworking. This was quite unexpected for a period thought to be one of isolation after the end of Roman rule, but which has since been illuminated by archaeology. There are substantial complicated earthworks on the site.

Please let us know if you are coming as so that we will know if we need to wait for you at the assembly point.  The access is by a footpath from the south-east. Park on or near Millbrook Road.  We will assemble at the junction of Millbrook road and Pen y Turnpike Road. The footpath runs from this junction north-west. There is a 10/15 minute walk past the castle to Cwm George at the western side of the hill. There is a short sharp climb up a wood revetted path – which can be slippery when wet. The first part of site at the top of this path encompasses Tyn y Coed enclosure (Alcock’s ‘Southern Banks’). Then we will walk for 5 minutes (normal fit adult) along flat path to the main hillfort site – Alcock’s Dinas Powys fort.

Directions to meeting place:  Come off the M4 Motorway at junction 33 and take the A 4232 which goes past St Fagans and merges into the A 4050 Port Road on the way to Cardiff Bay. 6 miles from the motorway take the turn off to Cardiff City Stadium, and follow the signs around the roundabout, with Asda is on your left, for Dinas Powys. You go left back under the Port Road and up Leckwith Hill. After about a mile up Leckwith Hill there is a turning right to Dinas Powys, but unfortunately it is not sign posted. 1½ miles along this road called Pen-y-Turnpike you come to a road on the left called Millbrook Road, just before St Peter’s Church which is on the right. Park where you can and just opposite Millbrook Road you will see us gathering at the start to the foot path that leads up to the site. We will provide a map if you need one.

Lunch: We can lunch in Dinas Powys. There are several eating places such as The Star, The Three Horseshoes, The Crosskeys and The Huntsman restaurant.

At 2.00pm we will assemble in Llandough Churchyard where Jeremy Knight will talk about the site and the tenth-century pillar cross. We will provide directions on the day.

The Church of St Dochwy was rebuilt in 1865 and stands on an elevated site near Dinas Powys. A Roman Villa was found close to the churchyard 2^nd-4^th century. The church site was probably the site of St Dochwy’s monastery and is a text book example of the relationship between a high status secular site such as Dinas Powys and an ecclesiastical site such as Llandough. The tenth-century pillar cross in the churchyard is identical to the cross found at Llandaff and so relates to the rise of Llandaff as a monastery and the eclipse of St Dochwy’s monastery. These two sites illustrate the development of society following the decline of Roman control.

Saturday, 23 November: A Local Archaeological/History Day, in conjunction with the local history and archaeological societies.

More details will become available later and letters/emails will be sent to out to historical and archaeological societies. Please contact us if you are a member of a society that would like to take part.

This is a new venture for the MAA. The aim is to provide a venue for local societies to meet and exchange information which adds to our collective historical knowledge. Needless to say the day will be reported in the events section of The Monmouthshire Antiquary and displayed on the MAA website.

There will be two anchor lectures concerning Caerleon.

Dr Peter Guest, of Cardiff University will give an update on the  on the recent Caerleon excavations

and

Dr Mark Lewis  curator of The National Roman Legionary Museum will talk about the recent facial reconstruction of the Roman soldier’s skull which can be viewed in the museum on the same day.

Lunch can be taken in the many Caerleon hostelries and morning coffee and afternoon tea and cakes will be available at a small charge in the Endowed School.

Societies’ presentations

Societies will be invited to book a table for the day at a cost of £5 and display information about their association. This cost is aimed at covering the hire of the hall for the day. Societies can also book a period of time to give a short talk about their association and discuss any projects they have undertaken that year.