OUT OF LONDON MEETING OF FELLOWS LECTURE

Fonmon Castle Landscape Archaeology Project: Results From The First Two Years of Survey and Excavation IN CARDIFF

by Dr Andy Seaman FSA

Fonmon Castle (near Barry, South Wales) was constructed in the late 12th or early 13th century, since which time it has been continuously occupied. The Fonmon Landscape Archaeology Project was established in 2021 with the initial aim of transforming our understanding of the long-term historical context of the castle by identifying and characterising evidence for multi-period activity, settlement, and land-use within its environs. Research is focusing on the demesne of the castle as this area has strong potential for revealing evidence for pre-Norman activity and an antecedent settlement focus. Following a comprehensive desk-based assessment, an extensive geophysical survey was undertaken across a large part of the former castle demesne in July 2021. This was the first landscape-scale geophysical survey to be conducted in south Wales and it identified a considerable number of new features, including three previously unknow enclosure sites.

The survey was followed by a programme of targeted evaluation excavation undertaken in August-September 2022. The results of this were very promising, indicating prolonged and extensive activity from prehistory through to the early medieval period. Features investigated included two prehistoric enclosures, an early medieval cemetery, and a probable early medieval corn drying kiln. Early medieval sites and monuments are notoriously illusive in Wales and their presence within the former castle demesne adds greater significance. The cemetery in particular display features that are quite rare and could provide import new insights for this most poorly documented but crucial period of Welsh history

In the lecture the initial results of the project will be presented alongside a consideration of their interpretation and significance. Finally, the plans for the next 5 years of excavations and research will be outlined. This talk will be of particular interest to members of the Welsh Fellows Group as it is one of the largest research-led projects in Wales.

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This event will be both in person at Cardiff University and online. Please select the appropriate ticket below.

Attendance at Cardiff University:

• Open to anyone to join, Fellows, Affiliates and General Public.
• Places in person will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.
• The event will begin at 18.00 GMT. Please arrive in plenty of time.
• Tea/Coffee is served from 17.00 GMT in the Viriamu Jones Gallery of the Main Building.
• Registration is essential for non-Fellows but we encourage Fellows to register as well.
• Fellows must ensure they sign the guest book and sign their guests in.
• The lecture will be in the Wallace Lecture Theatre (Room 0.13) in the Main Building, Cardiff University, Park Place, Cardiff CF10 3AT. No Parking is available.

Attendance by Live Stream:

• Open to anyone to join, Fellows, Affiliates and General Public.
• The event will be live-streamed to YouTube here
• The event will begin at 18.00 GMT.
• You will receive an email reminder with the link to join the day before the lecture.

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