Cyfarthfa Park, Merthyr Tydfil Community archaeological field evaluation April 2017
A report for Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council By Charlotte James-Martin BA (Hons) ACIfA and Paul W Huckfield BA (Hons)
GGAT report no. 2017/031 Project no. P1854 National Grid Reference: SO 04314 07751
The Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust Ltd Heathfield House Heathfield Swansea SA1 6EL
Cyfarthfa Park, Merthyr Tydfil: community archaeological field evaluation
Contents
Page
Summary ........................................................................................................................ 2 Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... 2 Copyright notice............................................................................................................. 2 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 3 1.1 Project background ........................................................................................ 3 1.2 Location and geology..................................................................................... 3 1.3 Historical and archaeological background ..................................................... 4 2. Methodology ......................................................................................................... 7 3. Results ................................................................................................................... 8 4. Finds .................................................................................................................... 19 5. Volunteers ........................................................................................................... 20 5.1 Volunteering strategy ................................................................................... 20 5.2 Volunteer feedback ...................................................................................... 20 6. Conclusions ......................................................................................................... 25 Appendix I: Inventory of contexts ............................................................................ 27 Appendix II: Inventory of finds ................................................................................ 29
Figures Figure 1. Location of trenches (red) ..............................................................................6 Figure 2. Plan of trenches in Northern Area ..............................................................17 Figure 3. Plan of Trench 7 ...........................................................................................18
Plates Plate 1. Section of Trench 1, view to the south (Scale in 0.5m increments) ...............8 Plate 2. Section of Trench 2, view to the south west (Scale in 0.5m increments) ......9 Plate 3. Section of Trench 3, view to the north west (Scale in 0.5m increments) ......9 Plate 4. Section of Trench 4, view to the south west (Scale in 0.5m increments) ....10 Plate 5. View of excavated feature 402, view to the south west (Scale in 0.5m increments) ........................................................................................................ 10 Plate 6. Section of Trench 5, view to the north (Scale in 0.5m increments).............11 Plate 7. Features 502, 504 and 506, view to the east. (Scale in 0.5m increments) ...12 Plate 8. Possible field boundary 511, view to the east. (Scale in 0.5m increments) .12 Plate 9. Wall 603, view to the west. (Scale in 0.5m increments)................................13 Plate 10. Possible surface 612, view to the south. (Scale in 0.5m increments) .........13 Plate 11. Trench 6 extension showing deposit 605, view to the west. (Scale in 0.5m increments) ........................................................................................................14 Plate 12. Compact stone deposit 601, view to the south. (Scale in 0.5m increments) .............................................................................................................................14 Plate 13. Trench 7, view to the north. (Scale in 0.5m increments) ...........................15 Plate 14. Stone capped drain 702, view to the north. (Scale in 0.5m increments) ...16 Plate 15. Drain 703, view to the east. (Scale in 0.5m increments) .............................16 Plate 16. Two examples of the publicity used to promote the project ......................21
Front cover: Photographs of the community excavation ďƒ“GGAT
Cyfarthfa Park, Merthyr Tydfil: community archaeological field evaluation
Summary The Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust carried out an archaeological field evaluation of two areas within the grounds of Cyfarthfa Park, Merthyr Tydfil. The evaluation was carried out in partnership with Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council (MTCBC) and Merthyr Tydfil Leisure Trust (MTLT) with the assistance of members of the public of all ages. The field work was undertaken from 22nd August to 4th September 2016. During the course of the evaluation structural remains of the Bryn-cae-owen Farm, noted on a 1766 estate plan, was revealed within the northern group of trenches. Additionally, a fruitful assemblage of multi-period finds was also recovered from all areas under excavation. Whilst one of the main objectives of the evaluation was to investigate the potential for Roman structural remains, no structural remains of this date were discovered. The archaeological work was carried out to the professional standards laid down by the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists. Acknowledgements The project was managed by Richard Lewis BA MCIfA (Head of Projects). The fieldwork was undertaken by Charlotte James-Martin BA ACIfA (Project Officer), Paul Huckfield BA (Outreach Officer), Jon Burton BA MA PCIfA (Project Archaeologist), Sarahjayne Clements BA MA PCIfA (Project Archaeologist) Daria Dabal MA (Project Archaeologist) of GGAT Projects. The report was prepared Charlotte James-Martin and Paul Huckfield and the illustrations prepared by Charlotte James-Martin. Copyright notice The copyright of this report is held by Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust Ltd; GGAT has granted an exclusive licence to MTCBC and their agents to use and reproduce the material it contains. Ordnance Survey mapping is reproduced under licence (AL10005976), unless otherwise noted. Annotations are GGAT copyright. Abbreviations GGAT:
Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust
HER:
Historic Environment Record (curated by GGAT Curatorial)
HLCA:
Historic Landscape Characterisation Area (Cadw and ICOMOS UK 1998).
LB:
Listed Building
MTCBC:
Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council
MTLT:
Merthyr Tydfil Leisure Trust
NGR:
National Grid Reference
PGW:
Registered Park and Garden in Wales (Cadw and ICOMOS UK 1998)
PRN:
Primary Record Number (HER - indicated by a letter suffix, in this case ‘m’)
SAM:
Scheduled Ancient Monument (prefixed by the letters MM) 2
Cyfarthfa Park, Merthyr Tydfil: community archaeological field evaluation
Introduction 1.1 Project background Evidence for Roman activity within Merthyr Tydfil was first discovered in 1786 during the construction of Penydarren House, when Roman bricks and a tessellated pavement were revealed. Further discoveries during limited excavations at Penydarren Park in 1902 – 4 and in 1957 confirmed the existence of a Roman fort. Discoveries outside the fort have been limited to three cremation urns, a tessellated surface and a Roman bath-house. Whilst Roman forts are frequently found with an associated civilian settlement nearby, no civilian settlement had ever been located until a local historian and metal detectorist noticed extensive, unusual-looking rectangular crop-marks on aerial photographs of Cyfartha Park. This information was brought to the attention of the Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust who confirmed that the crop marks had the potential to be Roman in origin. In March 2016 the Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust Projects Department (GGAT Projects) undertook a grant aided (Cadw, MTCBC, MTLT and Merthyr Valley Homes) community geophysical survey over the area of crop-marked fields amounting to 9.6 hectares within Cyfarthfa Park in order to establish the full extent and form of the potential buried features identified on the aerial photographs (Lewis and Roberts 2016). However, the results of the geophysical survey provided little supporting evidence for Roman settlement in the area, although it did identify the potential for features associated with pre-parkland landscape of the area, and features such as the early post-medieval dwelling at Bryn Cae Owenw. The Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust Projects Department were commissioned by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council (MTCBC) and Merthyr Tydfil Leisure Trust (MTLT) to carry out an archaeological field evaluation with the assistance of members of the local community to try and determine the origins of the crop marks and geophysical anomalies. The evaluation was carried out between the 22nd August and 4th September 2016. The social purposes of the project were to connect local residents with the archaeology of their area, while increasing general employability and engagement by providing them with new skills and the opportunity to take part in group activity. The project reflects a partnership with MTCBC, MTLT and Cyfarthfa Park, and is located within Communities First and a WG Pioneer Area. It will help to deliver certain objectives of the Historic Environment Strategy for Wales, notably in the areas of skills development in the community, interpretation and engagement, and volunteering and participation. The archaeological work was carried out to the professional standards laid down by the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists. 1.2 Location and geology 1.2.1 The area subject to the evaluation lay within the upper part of Cyfarthfa Castle Park (NPRN 301660; II* registered parks and gardens GM1) over an area of landscaped fields currently open to the public to the north east of the castle. The trenches to the north were centred at SO 04314 07751 and the trenches to the south were centred at SO 04674 07363 (Figure 1). The underlying geology is the Bishopston Mudstone Formation in the north of the area, and the South Wales Lower Coal Measures of sandstone in the south. These were overlain by a deposit of Devensian till (BGS 2016). 3
Cyfarthfa Park, Merthyr Tydfil: community archaeological field evaluation
1.3 Historical and archaeological background The first evidence for Roman occupation in Merthyr Tydfil was noted in 1786 during the construction of Penydarren House for the ironmaster Samuel Homfrey when both Roman bricks and tessellated pavement were revealed. Later, between 1902 and 1904 during the preparatory groundworks for construction of the Merthyr Tydfil Athletics Club track and later football ground, the remains of a Roman granary, a building with a hypocaust system and a water-well were discovered. Following an analysis by Dr F Haverfield of Oxford University, it was concluded that the remains probably belonged to a Roman Fort (James 1906). Rescue excavations were later undertaken in 1957 in advance of housing development by Dr Brenda Heywood from the University of Cardiff, supported by university students and pupils from a local school (Heywood 1991). This revealed a corner of the fort’s defences, including a rampart consisting of an 8.25m wide clay and turf bank 8.25m, possibly standing at 1.6m above a stone base with two ditches, 3.96m and 3.05m wide respectively, separated by a berm 2.74m wide. In addition, a small section of possible via sagularis was found within the east rampart and evidence for two ovens in the intervallum (the area found between perimeter road and rampart). Civilian settlement in a vicus, including domestic and industrial activity, is often associated with forts of this type. However, with the exception of the remains of a bathhouse and three Roman cremation urns, little evidence of such a settlement had been discovered at Merthyr until recently. The excavated evidence suggested that the fort has two phases of building and was occupied until c.AD 140. However, there has recently been a substantial number of artefacts discovered in the Merthyr Tydfil area to suggest that the Roman occupation possibly continued there until at least the early 4th century. No confirmed civil settlement of Roman date has yet been identified within the vicinity of Penydarren Fort, or Merthyr Tydfil. The previous geophysical work was designed to investigate finds and features noted on aerial photographic images that were suggestive of potential buried Roman settlement remains. A recent archaeological evaluation and archaeological watching brief at Penydarren Park has found further material relating to the Roman fort, including pottery and structures, including a likely track (Hart and James, 2014; GGAT Forthcoming). Prior to incorporation within Cyfarthfa Park upon the construction of the Castle c.1824, the agricultural use of the land is recorded on an estate plan of 1766, which shows the area largely within the holding of ‘Bryn Kae Owen’ (Bryn Cae Owen) to the north and partly within that of ‘Gwyld y Du Garth’ (Gwaelod-y-Garth) to the south (Lewis and Roberts 2016). Below is a summary of Cyfarthfa Castle and Park from Historic landscape characterisation: Merthyr Tydfil: ‘The historic landscape area of Cyfarthfa Castle and Park is a nationally important 19th century historic park and garden, representing a mature designed landscape, graded as II* (GM1/301660/02442m) (Cadw/ICOMOS UK 1998, 95). The house (a Grade I Listed Building LB11396/18504/01089m) is an important example of an iron master’s seat within its parkland setting, with important historic and artistic associations. The house was commissioned by William Crawshay in 1825, and was designed by Robert Lugar as a mock castle’ (Roberts 2003).
The area is also characterised by its historical connectivity with the adjacent Cyfarthfa Ironworks (GM425/1169m) and the wider extractive landscapes beyond, strongly demonstrated by the paintings of Penry Williams and photographs of the mid-19th century. 4
Cyfarthfa Park, Merthyr Tydfil: community archaeological field evaluation
Initially, the surrounding parkland was Romantic and informal, but by the late 19th century a more formal layout as a landscape park had developed. There were two entrances, the southwest entrance originally had lodges but these had gone by 1873. The areas behind the house, to the east and north, have developed as mixed woodland. The 1875 6-inch OS map indicated an Ice House adjacent to the boundary wall of Castle Wood, north of the house (405524/06428m). More recently, following the sale of the park to Merthyr Tydfil Council in 1910, the area has been developed for a range of later recreational and educational uses; including tennis courts, and a bowling green. Cyfarthfa Castle until recently performed the dual function of school and museum, however following the closure of the school in now exclusively in use as a museum.
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Cyfarthfa Park, Merthyr Tydfil: community archaeological field evaluation
Trench 5 Trench 6 Trench 4
Test Trench 1
Trench 7
Trench 3 Trench 2
GRID N
0
Based on the Ordnance Survey 1:10000 Landplan with the permission of The Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, Š Crown Copyright, Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust Ltd, Licence number AL10005976 100m
Trench 1
200metres
Figure 1. Location of trenches (red)
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Cyfarthfa Park, Merthyr Tydfil: community archaeological field evaluation
2. Methodology The trenches were set out using a Leica GPS SmartRover to the positions agreed in the project design (James-Martin 2016). The evaluation consisted of eight trenches, six initially measuring 20m by 2m with some extensions to investigate features of further interest. The seventh measured 2m by 2m and the final test trench measured 1.2m by 1.5m. The initial excavations of Trenches 1-6 were conducted by machine to remove any turf and topsoil deposits. When archaeologically significant deposits were encountered, they were then excavated by hand. Trench 7 and Test Trench 1 were excavated entirely by hand Trenches 1-6 were grouped over two primary areas of interest identified by the previous geophysical survey. The trenches to the north (Trenches 4-6, centred at SO 04314 07751) were over the Bryn-cae-owen Farm which appears on a 1766 estate map. This farm is thought to have medieval or early Post-medieval origins. The trenches to the south (Trenches 1-3, centred at SO 04674 07363) were sited over an anomaly picked out by the geophysical survey. Trench 7 and Test Trench 1 were located over an area highlighted by local metal detectorists as the position of a wall briefly exposed during their activities. The work was undertaken to the standard required by The Chartered Institute for Archaeologists’ Standard and Guidance for Archaeological Excavation (2014). A full written, drawn and photographic record was made of all archaeological contexts, in accordance with the GGAT Manual of Excavation Recording Techniques. Contexts were recorded using a single continuous numbering system, and are summarised in Appendix I. All significant contexts were photographed using a Sony Cybershot DSC – H300 (20mp) digital camera. An archive of records relating to the preparation of the reports has been prepared to the specifications in Management of Archaeological Projects (English Heritage, 1991) Appendix 6 and ICON’s and CIfA guidelines Standard and guidance for the creation, compilation, transfer and deposition of archaeological archives (2014). After an appropriate period has elapsed, copies of the report and archive index will be deposited with the regional Historic Environment Record (HER). A copy of the report and archive index will also be deposited with the National Monuments Record, RCAHMW, Aberystwyth.
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Cyfarthfa Park, Merthyr Tydfil: community archaeological field evaluation
3. Results Trench 1 Trench 1 measured approximately 20m by 2m and was aligned north to south (Plate 1). The basal deposit of consisted of an orange yellow natural sandy clay (103) with subangular stones of all sizes. It was excavated to a maximum depth of 0.75m, although this deposit was not bottomed. This was overlain by a deposit of light brown sandy clay (102) that had a depth of 0.19m and contained a moderate amount of variously sized stones. The uppermost deposit encountered was the dark brown sandy clay loam topsoil (1001) which had a depth of between 0.1m-0.29m.
Plate 1. Section of Trench 1, view to the south (Scale in 0.5m increments)
Trench 2 Trench 2 measured approximately 20m by 2m and was aligned northwest to southeast (Plate 2). The basal deposit encountered was a yellow orange natural sandy clay (202) which was excavated to a maximum depth of 0.7m but not bottomed. Overlying the natural was a light grey deposit of sandy clay (201) which had a depth of 0.2m. Deposit 201 contained inclusions of coal. The uppermost deposit encountered was again the sandy clay topsoil (1001).
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Cyfarthfa Park, Merthyr Tydfil: community archaeological field evaluation
Plate 2. Section of Trench 2, view to the southwest (Scale in 0.5m increments)
Trench 3 Trench 3 measured approximately 20m by 2m and was aligned northeast to southwest (Plate 3). The basal deposit encountered was an orange brown sandy clay (302) which was excavated to a maximum depth of 0.4m but not bottomed. This was overlain by a deposit of mid brown silty clay subsoil (301) which contained isolated sub-angular and subrounded stones. Deposit 301 measured 0.15m in depth. This was overlain by topsoil deposit 1001.
Plate 3. Section of Trench 3, view to the northwest (Scale in 0.5m increments)
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Cyfarthfa Park, Merthyr Tydfil: community archaeological field evaluation
Trench 4 (Figure 2) Trench 4 measured approximately 20m by 2m and was aligned northwest to southeast with an extension along the northwest edge (Plates 4 and 5). The basal deposit encountered was a light brown silty clay (401), possibly the natural clay deposit. This measured 0.2m in depth and contained a moderate amount of angular stones. It also contained flecks of charcoal.
Plate 4. Section of Trench 4, view to the southwest (Scale in 0.5m increments)
Cutting deposit 401 along the north western edge of the trench was a sub-circular feature (402), possibly a pit or post-hole (Plate 5). It measured 0.57m by 0.52m and was 0.29m in depth. The fill of this feature was a dark brown silty clay deposit (403) containing charcoal and a single piece of ceramic. The uppermost deposit was a dark brown silty clay loam topsoil with an average depth of 0.3m.
Plate 5. View of excavated feature 402, view to the southwest (Scale in 0.5m increments)
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Cyfarthfa Park, Merthyr Tydfil: community archaeological field evaluation
Trench 5 (Figure 2) Trench 5 measured approximately 20m by 2m and was aligned east to west with extensions along its northern, southern and eastern edges. The basal deposit was a light brown silty clay (510) with occasional angular stone of various sizes (Plate 6).
Plate 6. Section of Trench 5, view to the north (Scale in 0.5m increments)
Deposit (510) was cut by multiple features: The first feature (502) was a possible posthole that measured 0.18m by 0.2m. The fill of this feature was a deposit of grey brown silty clay with flecks of charcoal and coal (503). To the south of 502 were two more possible post-holes also cutting deposit 510 (Plate 7). Both features (504 and 506) measured 0.1m by 0.18m and contained fills of grey brown silty clay (505 and 507). At the far western end of the trench was a possible pit (508) which measured 0.4m by 0.24m and was sub-rounded in shape. This feature contained deposit 509 which was a dark brown silty clay.
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Cyfarthfa Park, Merthyr Tydfil: community archaeological field evaluation
Plate 7. Features 502, 504 and 506, view to the east. (Scale in 0.5m increments)
Overlying deposit 510 was the remains of a possible field boundary constructed of sparsely laid stone of varying sizes, up to 0.5m by 0.5m (511). This was excavated for a length of 3.0m with a maximum width of 1.6m (Plate 8). Overlying features 502 to 508 and 511 was a light brown silty clay subsoil with a maximum depth of 0.2m (501), the uppermost deposit was the topsoil (101).
Plate 8. Possible field boundary 511, view to the east. (Scale in 0.5m increments)
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Cyfarthfa Park, Merthyr Tydfil: community archaeological field evaluation
Trench 6 (Figure 2) Trench 6 measured approximately 20m by 2m with an extension along its western edge and was aligned north to south. The basal deposit was a natural orange brown silty clay (611). This was excavated to a maximum depth of 0.4m. Overlying this deposit was a stone built wall (603) aligned east to west, which was exposed for 2.0m (Plate 9). The wall measured 0.5m in width and had a remaining height of 0.23m. The wall was situated within a dark brown silty clay which included high quantities of mortar. Adjoining the wall to the south was a possible floor surface (612). The exposed area of these irregular flat stones measured 2.0m east to west by 1.2m north to south (Plate 10).
Plate 9. Wall 603, view to the west. (Scale in 0.5m increments)
Plate 10. Possible surface 612, view to the south. (Scale in 0.5m increments)
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Cyfarthfa Park, Merthyr Tydfil: community archaeological field evaluation
Overlying surface (612) was a deposit of heat affected clay (605). It was an orange and black silty clay deposit containing coal and charcoal fragments with undefined limits (Plate 11). The thickness of the deposit varied up to a maximum of 0.1m.
Plate 11. Trench 6 extension showing deposit 605, view to the west. (Scale in 0.5m increments)
Plate 12. Compact stone deposit 601, view to the south. (Scale in 0.5m increments)
Overlying deposit 605 was a layer of redeposited clay (609). The extent of this deposit remains unknown, although it was found to have a maximum depth of 0.14m. Overlying deposit 609 was a grey brown silty clay loam (602) which was in turn overlain by a deposit of stony material (601). This deposit measured up to 4.0m in length north to south and 14
Cyfarthfa Park, Merthyr Tydfil: community archaeological field evaluation
comprised frequent sub-angular stones up to 60mm in diameter held in a matrix of dark grey brown silty clay (Plate 12): This could possibly represent a floor surface. To the north of the wall was a deposit of grey brown silty loam exposed for 7.0m in length (604). This directly overlay the natural clay (611). The uppermost deposit was the topsoil (101). Trench 7 (Figure 3) The location around Trench 7 was originally investigated by the hand excavation of two 1m by 1m test trenches. Following the discovery of stonework, Test Trench 2 was expanded to 2m by 2m (becoming Trench 7). The basal deposit was the orange brown silty clay natural (704). Cutting this deposit were the construction cuts (705 and 706) for the construction of stone drains (702 and 703). Cut 705 contained stone drain 702 (Plates 13 and 14). Drain 702 was exposed for a length of 1.2m north to south, it was 0.55m in width externally, 0.15m internally and had a depth of 0.15m. It comprised two side walls and a stone capping. The cut 706 measured 0.8m in depth, 0.7m in width. The stone drain (703) contained within this cut (706) was exposed for a length of 2.2m north east to south west, was 0.6m in width externally, 0.28m internally and was 0.8m in depth (Plates 13 and 15). This drain had a similar form to 702 at the base however the upper part of the structure comprised irregularly laid stone. It is unclear whether drain 702 fed into 703 or if the construction of 703 truncated 702. Overlying both stone structures was the mid brown silty clay subsoil (701), up to 0.2m in depth, which was overlain in turn by topsoil deposit 1001.
Plate 13. Trench 7, view to the north. (Scale in 0.5m increments)
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Cyfarthfa Park, Merthyr Tydfil: community archaeological field evaluation
Plate 14. Stone capped drain 702, view to the north. (Scale in 0.5m increments)
Plate 15. Drain 703, view to the east. (Scale in 0.5m increments)
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Cyfarthfa Park, Merthyr Tydfil: community archaeological field evaluation
Trench 6 604
603
Trench 5
510
502 511
508
510
504
605
506
601
Trench 4 401
GRID
0
5.00
402
10.00metres
N
Figure 2. Plan of trenches in Northern Area
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Cyfarthfa Park, Merthyr Tydfil: community archaeological field evaluation
702 704
702 704
703
704
GRID
0
0.5
Figure 3. Plan of Trench 7
18
1.00metres
N
Cyfarthfa Park, Merthyr Tydfil: community archaeological field evaluation
4. Finds A sizeable assemblage of finds was recovered during the course of the evaluation. The vast majority of assemblage consisted of Post-medieval and Modern pottery and glass, mostly recovered from the topsoil. Perhaps surprisingly, the only Roman material recovered was a single Roman coin and two sherds of Roman pottery from subsoil 701. As this context also contained significant amounts of Post-medieval and modern finds, it is evident that this deposit has been disturbed or redeposited, probably with farming activity and or the later landscaping of the park. Similarly, although two fragments of medieval pottery were also found (one each from contexts 501 and 602), these contexts contained substantial amounts of Postmedieval and Modern material, again indicating that these subsoil deposits had been disturbed or redeposited. On the other hand, during the course of the evaluation, no fewer than 17 separate worked flints were recovered from trenches 1, 3, 5, 6 and 7. The majority again were found either in topsoil contexts or in contexts where Post-medieval finds have also been discovered, although this could be due to disturbance relating to farming or the later landscaping of the park. Nevertheless, the number of flints is suggestive of some prehistoric activity nearby. Additionally, a large number of undated finds, mainly iron, were also discovered during the course of the work. An inventory of these finds has been included in Appendix II.
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Cyfarthfa Park, Merthyr Tydfil: community archaeological field evaluation
5. Volunteers Merthyr has seen a number of community projects over the past few years. In 2015 the Merthyr Tydfil Housing Association funded the Redhouse (Merthyr Tydfil Old Town Hall) Youth Forum with support from GGAT, targeting young people aged 14 to 18 years old in order to promote the past life of the town and to foster a sense of community responsibility for the areas heritage. More recently, the Trust undertook a community geophysical survey within the park (Lewis and Roberts 2016), which formed the precursor to the present project. 5.1 Volunteering strategy The recruitment for the project was carried out by Merthyr Leisure Trust and was through local historical societies, social media and existing electronic circulation (Plate 16). The Leisure Trust consulted with GGAT concerning a volunteering strategy and timetable. The rota allowed the volunteers to have a short experience of the archaeological process. One of the main aims of the project was to engage and recruit significant numbers of new volunteers with no previous experience. For the purposes of planning the project, figures of skilled: unskilled volunteers were projected of 40%:60%; this closely mirrored the actual outcome (see Table 1 below). It was also considered that as the project was located within the centre of the Merthyr Tydfil Communities First Cluster, this would allow us to deliver our goal of upskilling participants and address a number of objectives in the Cadw Community Archaeology Framework Action Plan. Archaeological activities undertaken by the volunteers include:
Use of Global Positioning System survey equipment
Basic archaeological excavation techniques
Levelling using an automatic level
Basic sampling
Photography
Archaeological recording (both drawing and written context sheets)
Finds washing/processing
5.2 Volunteer feedback Feedback forms recording the success or failure of the event and level of training provided were provided each day, the results of which are included in a table below (see table 2). Also depicted are the geographic location of the volunteers to better understand the demographic of volunteers attending.
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Cyfarthfa Park, Merthyr Tydfil: community archaeological field evaluation
Plate 16. Two examples of the publicity used to promote the project
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Cyfarthfa Park, Merthyr Tydfil: community archaeological field evaluation
Table 1: Percentage of New and Returning Volunteers to the Project.
Table 2: Fieldwork Feedback (Data taken from feedback forms).
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Cyfarthfa Park, Merthyr Tydfil: community archaeological field evaluation
Merthyr
Aberdare
Caerphilly
Pontypridd
Blackwood
Swansea
Cardiff
Rhondda
Neath
Newport
Other
Table 3: Geographic location of adult volunteers (taken from registration forms)
Powys
Carmarthenshire
Kingston Upon Thames
Canada
Table 4: Geographic location of volunteers from outside of the GGAT area
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Cyfarthfa Park, Merthyr Tydfil: community archaeological field evaluation
Overall the feedback from those attending were very positive with a healthy percentage of those that filled in the feedback forms stating that they would happily attend another event. Below is a sample of the feedback recorded.
‘We thoroughly enjoyed the experience myself and my 4 year old son and my son is now more interested in archaeology than ever…’ ‘Thoroughly impressed, we were made to feel very welcome and we all enjoyed ourselves immensely’ ’Both children, aged 9 and 5 years, really enjoyed the experience they are requesting to return again tomorrow’
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Cyfarthfa Park, Merthyr Tydfil: community archaeological field evaluation
6. Conclusions The main aim of the project was to investigate the possibility of Roman activity in the vicinity of Cyfartha Park, north of the known fort at Penydarren. However, despite the large number of Roman discoveries by metal detectorists in the vicinity and the aerial photography analysis, no features of Roman date were discovered during the course of the evaluation, the recovered Roman material being limited to a single coin and two sherds of pottery (See Appendix II). The trenches in the southern area (Trenches 1-3), positioned to investigate a cropmark feature, revealed only natural stratigraphy. It is likely that the features originally highlighted on the aerial photographs could be explained by more recent superficial features, such as the cricket square identified on the geophysical survey report (Lewis and Roberts 2016). The trenches in the northern area (Trenches 4-6) showed great potential for the survival of buried structural remains relating to the farm buildings which once stood here. The wall and possible internal flooring in Trench 6 align with the 1766 estate plan as does the possible field boundary in Trench 5. Further investigation of the features exposed during the evaluation may reveal more information for dating these buildings, as would expanding the areas of investigation to uncover more of the structures associated with the farm. It appears after analysing the recovered artefacts that the wall (603) and the possible floor surface (612) were of Post-medieval date. Trench 7 showed well-made stone drains. However, these cannot be linked to other features in the area without further investigation to expose more of their routes or potentially any dating evidence held within. A number of flint artefacts were recovered, predominantly from the northern site (ten from the northern group of trenches and seven from the southern). Therefore, the potential for prehistoric features in the immediate area is an avenue worth investigating for future projects.
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Cyfarthfa Park, Merthyr Tydfil: community archaeological field evaluation
Bibliography Cadw, 1998, Welsh Historic Monuments, Part 2.1: Landscapes of outstanding historic interest (Landscapes of historic interest in Wales. Part 2 of the Register of Landscapes, Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in Wales) Sponsored by Cadw: Welsh historic monuments, the Countryside Council for Wales and ICOMOS UK Heywood B, 1991, The Roman Fort at Penydarren, Glamorgan, Bulletin Board of Celtic Studies 38, 167-91. James FT, 1906, Roman Remains: Penydarren Park, Merthyr Tydfil, Archaeologia Cambrensis 6 (6th series), 193-208 James-Martin, 2016, Community Excavation at Cyfarthfa Park, Merthyr Tydfil: archaeological field evaluation project design, GGAT Report no: 2016/048 Lewis S and Roberts R, 2016, GGAT 143: Community Survey at Cyfarthfa Park, Merthyr Tydfil, GGAT Report no: 2016/015 Roberts R, 2003, Historic landscape characterisation: Merthyr Tydfil/Merthyr Tudful Part 1 and 2: landscape characterisation and management, GGAT Report no: 2003/009 Websites: http://mapapps.bgs.ac.uk/ British Geological Survey accessed 21/09/2016. Documentary & Cartographic Sources Edward John Eyre, 1766, Plymouth Survey Estate Map Ordnance Survey 1:2500, 1875, First Edition Ordnance Survey 1:2500, 1904, Second Edition Ordnance Survey 1:2500, 1919, Third Edition
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Cyfarthfa Park, Merthyr Tydfil: community archaeological field evaluation
Appendix I: Inventory of contexts Context 101 102
Type Deposit Deposit
Trench 4, 5, 6 1
103 201
Deposit Deposit
1 2
202 301
Deposit Deposit
2 3
302 401 402
Deposit Deposit Negative Feature
3 4 4
403
Deposit
4
501
Deposit
5
502
Negative Feature
5
503
Deposit
5
504
Negative Feature
5
505
Deposit
5
506
Negative Feature
5
507
Deposit
5
508
Negative Feature
5
509 510 511
Deposit Deposit Structure
5 5 5
601
Deposit
6
602
Deposit
6
603
Structure
6
604
Deposit
6
605
Deposit
6
606
Natural feature
6
Description Dark brown silty clay loam topsoil Light brown sandy clay subsoil contained occasional stone and coal inclusions Orange yellow sandy clay natural Light grey sandy clay subsoil with stone and coal inclusions Yellow orange sandy clay natural Mid brown silty clay subsoil with stone and coal fragments Orange brown sandy clay natural Light brown silty clay natural Cut for a possible post-hole or pit. Sub-oval in shape. Contains deposit 403 Dark brown silty clay fill of feature 402. Contained charcoal and a single piece of ceramic Light brown silty clay subsoil. Contained coal, charcoal and numerous artefacts Possible post-hole. Has a stone on the boundary. Feature could not be fully excavated due to the Trench becoming waterlogged. Grey brown silty clay fill of feature 502, contained flecks of coal and charcoal Possible post-hole. Feature could not be fully excavated due to the Trench becoming waterlogged. Grey brown silty clay fill of feature 504, contained flecks of coal and charcoal Possible post-hole. Feature could not be fully excavated due to the Trench becoming waterlogged. Grey brown silty clay fill of feature 506, contained flecks of coal and charcoal Possible pit, sub-oval in shape. Feature could not be fully excavated due to the Trench becoming waterlogged. Dark brown silty clay fill of feature 509. Light brown silty clay Probable field boundary, exposed for a length of 3.0m with a maximum width of 1.6m. It was constructed of sparsely laid stone of varying sizes up to 0.5m by 0.5m. Compact stony material held in a dark grey brown silty clay matrix. Grey brown silty clay loam The lower courses of a stone wall, comprised angular stone held in a dark brown silty clay matrix with frequent pieces of lime mortar. Grey brown silty loam subsoil north of wall 603. Heat affected clay. Black and orange mottled deposit containing frequent coal and charcoal fragments A small stone linear feature (natural)
27
Depth 0.3m 0.19m
Period Modern Modern
0.75m n.b 0.2m
Natural Modern
0.7m n.b 0.15m
Natural Modern
0.4m 0.2m n.b 0.29m
Natural Natural Unknown
0.29m
Unknown
0.2m
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown 0.1 n.b 0.2m n.b
Unknown Unknown Postmedieval
0.1m
Postmedieval Postmedieval Postmedieval
Unknown 0.23m
Unknown 0.1m
-
Postmedieval Postmedieval -
Cyfarthfa Park, Merthyr Tydfil: community archaeological field evaluation 607
Deposit
6
First thought to be the fill of feature 608, further investigation revealed this to be part of 605. An apparent sub-rounded cut in 604, containing fill 607. However, fill 607 later proved to be part of 605, and the cut caused by overenthusiastic excavation. Layer of redeposited yellow brown silty clay which partially overlay heat affected clay deposit (603) Same as deposit 605 Orange brown silty clay natural Possible rough floor surface to the south of wall 605. Underlay heat affected clay deposit (603) Mid brown silty clay subsoil with stone, slag and coal fragments Stone capped drain, aligned north to south, exposed for a length of 1.2m
608
Negative Feature
6
609
Deposit
6
610 611 612
Deposit Deposit Structure
6 6 6
701
Deposit
7
702
Structure
7
703
Structure
7
704 705
Deposit Negative Feature
7 7
Stone drain, similar to 702 with a mass of stone on top, exposed for a length of 2.2m, possibly truncates 702. Orange brown natural clay deposit The construction cut for drain 702
706
Negative Feature
7
The construction cut for drain 703
1001
Deposit
1, 2, 3, 7
Dark brown sandy clay topsoil
28
0.15m
-
0.15m
-
0.14m
Postmedieval
0.4m n.b Unknown
Natural Postmedieval Modern
0.2m 0.15m
0.8m
Unknown 0.15m
0.29m (max)
Unknown/ Postmedieval? Unknown/ Postmedieval? Natural Unknown/ Postmedieval? Unknown/ Postmedieval? Modern
Cyfarthfa Park, Merthyr Tydfil: community archaeological field evaluation
Appendix II: Inventory of finds Context
Type
Description/Detail
Weight (Kg)
Period
Quantity 4
0.012
101
Flint/Chert
Scraper, Part of hand axe and core?
Prehistoric
101
Pottery
Red fabrics, some glazed/unglazed. Brown/green glazes, Blue/white glaze
Post-medieval
250
1.241
101
Coal
U/D
121
0.463
101
Glass
Fragments of brown, clear and green
Modern
33
0.089
101
Modern synthetics
one spoon end, one toy army man leg, one spectacle arm
Modern
4
0.009
101
Pottery
Fragments of clay pigeon
Modern
48
0.196
101
Other metal
Includes 2 buttons
Modern
56
0.1.282
101
Mortar/Plaster
U/D
14
0.224
101
Brick/Tile
Modern
2
0.162
101
Clay pipe
Post-medieval
18
0.034
101
Slag/Other industrial
Post-medieval
79
1.598
102
Coal
U/D
98
0.151
102
Flint/Chert
Prehistoric
1
0.001
102
Slag/Other industrial
Post-medieval
4
0.011
102
Pottery
Clay pigeon fragment
Modern
3
0.009
102
Clay pipe
Stem fragment
Post-medieval
1
0.001
102
Glass
Clear piece
Modern
3
0.009
102
Iron
Includes nails
U/D
8
0.062
102
Mortar/Plaster
U/D
1
0.001
102
Pottery
Glazed/unglazed, red fabric, Blue/white/black glaze
Post-medieval
18
0.052
301
Flint/Chert
One blade and one flake
Prehistoric
403
Coal
403
Pottery
Blue and white glazed
501
Iron
Includes nut and bolt
501
Coal
501
Glass
Clear
Modern
501
Pottery
Dark brown/green glaze, some unglazed, coarse fabric, Blue/white/brown glaze, red fabric
501
Bowl and stem fragments
Possible blade
2
0.004
12
0.020
Modern
1
0.001
Modern
5
0.168
45
0.105
1
0.001
Post-medieval
15
0.020
Brick/Tile
Post-medieval
1
0.056
501
Mortar/Plaster
U/D
1
0.001
501
Pottery
Green glazed
Medieval
1
0.001
510
Flint/Chert
Worked
Prehistoric
2
0.003
510
Coke/Clinker
U/D
1
0.011
510
Slag/Other industrial
U/D
510
Pottery
White glazed
Modern
2
0.001
601
Iron
Peg/nail
U/D
1
0.005
U/D
U/D
29
1
0.016
Cyfarthfa Park, Merthyr Tydfil: community archaeological field evaluation 601
Glass
Dark green bottle glass
Post-medieval
2
0.058
601
Glass
Green bottle glass and clear window glass
Modern
3
0.020
601
Pottery
Clay pigeon
Modern
1
0.003
601
Slag/Other industrial
U/D
2
0.024
601
Mortar/Plaster
U/D
1
0.003
601
Clay pipe
Post-medieval
2
0.001
601
Pottery
Brown/green glazed, red fabric,white glaze
Post-medieval
27
0.044
602
Flint/Chert
Worked
Prehistoric
1
0.001
602
Animal Bone
Two small fragments
U/D
2
0.001
602
Slag/Other industrial
U/D
4
0.030
602
Pottery
Medieval
1
0.003
602
Pottery
Blue/white glaze, cream glaze, green/brown glaze and unglazed. Coarse fabric. Large vessel red fabric
602
Clay pipe
Stem
Post-medieval
1
0.001
602
Glass
Clear window glass
Modern
3
0.001
602
Coal
U/D
3
0.003
603
Mortar/Plaster
U/D
14
0.169
603
Pottery
Post-medieval
15
0.159
603
Coal
U/D
2
0.003
603
Iron
Nails
U/D
4
0.042
603
Glass
Thin green glass
Post-medieval
7
0.013
604
Coal
U/D
5
0.080
604
Slag/Other industrial
U/D
13
0.245
604
Iron
Includes nails
U/D
13
0.140
604
Clay pipe
Stems and bowls
Post-medieval
6
0.006
604
Glass
Dark green
Post-medieval
2
0.015
604
Glass
Clear
Modern
3
0.002
604
Flint/Chert
Flake
Prehistoric
1
0.001
604
Pottery
Blue/white/brown glaze, brown/green glazed, redware
Post-medieval
35
0.098
605
Iron
U/D
2
0.012
605
Flint/Chert
Core
Prehistoric
1
0.001
605
Clay pipe
Stem
Post-medieval
1
0.002
605
Pottery
White glaze/blue and white, redwares
Post-medieval
10
0.064
607
Iron
large iron object
Post-medieval
1
1.442
612
Iron
U/D
1
0.003
Brown/green glazed, Blue/white/one black
30
Post-medieval
18
0.152
Cyfarthfa Park, Merthyr Tydfil: community archaeological field evaluation
612
Pottery
701
Coal
701
Flint/Chert
701
Blue/white glazed and unglazed teracotta type, red fabric and black glaze, yellow glaze, unglazed.
Post-medieval
11
0.092
U/D
58
0.162
Prehistoric
1
0.007
Coin
Roman
1
0.001
701
Clay pipe
Post-medieval
1
0.001
701
Lead
U/D
6
0.060
701
Iron
U/D
1
0.015
701
Mortar/Plaster
U/D
10
0.022
701
Slag/Other industrial
U/D
8
0.046
701
Glass
Clear/green bottle glass
Modern
17
0.090
701
Modern synthetics
Battery core
Modern
1
0.002
701
Pottery
Dark brown glazed and unglazed, redware, blue/white glaze
Post-medieval
12
0.025
701
Pottery
Roman
2
0.008
701
Brick/Tile
Post-medieval
1
0.018
702
Pottery
Post-medieval
1
0.001
703
Slag/Other industrial
U/D
1
0.005
1001
Iron
25
0.595
1001
Coal
U/D
143
0.364
1001
Slag/Other industrial
U/D
7
0.142
1001
Mortar/Plaster
U/D
2
0.019
1001
Clay pipe
19
0.046
1001
Flint/Chert
Prehistoric
4
0.005
1001
Lead
U/D
1
0.020
1001
Glass
Waste or blown fragment
Modern
30
0.055
1001
Pottery
Blue/white/brown glaze, red fabic with brown green glaze
Post-medieval
139
0.262
1001
Pottery
green glaze, Black glaze red fabric
Medieval
2
0.015
U/S
Glass
Clear
Modern
2
0.003
U/S
Animal bone
Pigs tooth 3rd Molar
U/D
1
0.002
U/S
Stone object
Broken whet stone
U/D
1
0.314
U/S
Iron
U/D
1
0.009
U/S
Clay pipe
Bowl fragment
Post-medieval
1
0.003
U/S
Pottery
White glazed, redware, brown glazed, cream fabric
Post-medieval
13
0.067
U/S
Mortar/Plaster
4
0.186
Scraper
Includes toy gun
Post-medieval
Includes 'WC' stamped heel
Post-medieval
U/D
31
Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust Ltd
QUALITY CONTROL Report Title: Cyfartha Park, Merthyr Tydfil: Community archaeological field evaluation Report Date: April 2017 Report Number: 2017/031 Report prepared by:
Charlotte James-Martin
Position:
Project Officer
Date:
18/04/2017
Illustrations prepared by:
Charlotte James-Martin
Position:
Project Officer
Date:
18/04/2017
Illustrations checked and authorised by:
Martin Tuck
Position:
Senior Project Manager
Date:
18/04/2017
Report checked and authorised by:
Martin Tuck
Position:
Senior Project Manager
Date:
18/04/2017
As part of our desire to provide a quality service we would welcome any comments you may wish to make on the content or presentation of this report.
Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust Ltd. Heathfield House, Heathfield, Swansea, SA1 6LE Tel. 01792 655208; Fax. 01792 474469 Registered Charity no. 505609 Web: www.ggat.org.uk e-mail: projects@ggat.org.uk