Heatwaves reveal 5,000-year old site

The prolonged dry spell across Wales has unearthed some fascinating archaeological sites, including one close to Welshpool that dates back 5,000 years.

Archaeologists from the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW) have taken to the skies to capture the ancient monuments emerging in fields and grasslands as distinctive cropmarks and parched land.

Parts of Mid Wales are enduring drought conditions, with just 2% of the normal rain falling during July, and whilst the challenges to the environment have been well-documented, the intense conditions exposed a fascinating glance into our past, including prehistoric long barrows, Iron Age forts, Roman buildings and even First World War practice trenches.

Some of the sites have not been recorded previously, but others have made a reappearance having not been viewed for three decades.

The Welshpool site, which hasn’t been disclosed, is described as “a spectacular Neolithic long barrow”, dating back around 5,000 years, displaying its clearest cropmarks in nearly 30 years.

According to Wikipedia, long barrows are a style of monument constructed across Western Europe in the fifth and fourth millennia BCE, during the early Neolithic period.

Typically constructed from earth and either timber or stone, those using the latter material represent the oldest widespread tradition of stone construction in the world. Around 40,000 long barrows survive today.

These monuments often contained human remains interred within their chambers, and as a result, are often interpreted as tombs, although there are some examples where this appears not to be the case.

Other Welsh discoveries include:

• Newly revealed details of buried Roman buildings within the Roman fort at Caerhun (Canovium), Conwy.
• A previously unknown Iron Age or Romano-British double-ditched farmstead near Llandysul in Ceredigion.
• First World War practice trenches uncovered beneath a golf course at Deganwy, Conwy.
• A vast Iron Age concentric enclosure near Lampeter, measuring approximately 170 metres across and believed to have been used as a cattle corral around 2,000 years ago.

Dr Toby Driver, the Royal Commission’s aerial archaeologist, said the finds are becoming more frequent as our summers become drier.

The Royal Commission was working with FlyWales, Haverfordwest, and Caernarfon Airport, to carry out its surveys with the oinfirmation to be shared with Cadw and regional archaeological teams to help protect and better understand Wales’ historic environment.

The aerial surveys have also supported National Park authorities by documenting areas affected by recent wildfires, providing valuable records of environmental damage alongside archaeological discoveries.

All photographs taken during the surveys will be preserved within the National Monuments Record of Wales, ensuring they remain available for researchers and the public for generations to come.

PICTURE: Courtesy of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales.