Hello there and welcome to the home of the Lost City Of Trellech.
Digging has almost finished for this year although some of us will be there through the winter months if the weather is suitable. The main season will begin next year at the start of April digging on weekends both Saturday and Sunday starting at 10am. During the main summer excavation we will be digging everyday which will commence on Saturday 18th July to Sunday 16th August 2009.
Students wishing to volunteer for the summer dig please e-mail me. It is free to attend the excavation but there is a charge of £15 per person or £2 per person per day (whichever is lower) for insurance. Camping is available on site at a cost of £3 per person per night. All payment to be made prior to attending the excavation.
Volunteers are always welcome. If you wish to volunteer, please contact me using the details on the "Contact Me" page which can be found here.
The site can be found at Ordinance Survey grid reference SO 5020 0500.
Thank you very much to everyone who kindly donated their time to come dig this year. We found quite a few nice things and got a better understanding of the development of the manor house even with the poor weather..
We have discovered a Manor House with two halls and a courtyard that is enclosed with curtain walls and a massive Round Tower six metres across. Within the manor house complex we have discovered several different rooms one with a fireplace and chimney stack and one with a central fireplace. At the centre of the courtyard lies a well in which many interesting finds have been uncovered including a nearly complete mediaeval pot, metal work, wooden objects and parts of leather shoes. Surrounding the manor house at parts of at least five other buildings have been discovered as well as a possible horse pond to the rear. In all, these buildings seem to date from 1300 A.D. when the town was reorganised and built in stone after the attacks by both English and Welsh forces in the previous decade. Evidence of the earlier town has been found below some of the buildings and occupation on the site may have started 100 years previously. By 1400 some of the buildings had fallen into ruin and by 1650 after the civil war the last of the buildings were abandoned.
Excavation on a nearby field started in 2002 with excavation on this site starting in 2005. The excavation site covers most of the east side of the High Street as well as 3/4 of on side of a minor side road/lane. It is the aim of this excavation to gain a better insight into the nature and workings of Trellech, once Wales's largest urban centre and provide an educational resource for all.
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Archaeological Experience Days
New to the Lost City of Trellech Excavation Project this is your chance to come and be an archaeologist for a day.