Twmbarlwm Dig 2022 – Day 3

Wednesday 9th August

I arrived to do my usual school teacher’s bit of taking the register of the volunteers and today another half dozen turned up – there was the welcome return of Martin from last year’s excavations and a couple more new faces too. Again I was unable to join the team at the top so once again Norman had to lead the way – and he even found the time to write the following diary.

Another warm day today but yesterday’s excavations have progressed well with much more exposed on both sites. A third site was started today near the Motte (Twmp) to establish what exactly is the ‘bump’ in the ground visible there – it’s been labelled as a bronze age cairn on maps for decades but we don’t as yet have positive proof of that. This trench is also to prove whether the ridge and furrow pattern continues underneath to run up to the Motte, this could indicate some type of cultivation.

More visitors again today. CTS had informed Gwent Police of our activity on the mountain and today two officers from Gwent Police Heritage Crime Team popped up to see our operation so that they can help keep an eye on the dig. I think the archaeologists and the volunteers were impressed by the visit from the ‘boys in blue’, especially when the Police drone was flown so that they could get images of the hill fort.

South Wales Fire Service’s Fire Crime Unit also popped by to check out the site and have a chat about how they can help us protect the hill fort from future wildfires. Because, if you recall, it was a result of the wildfires in 2018 that prompted us starting this archaeological investigation

Jack Rowe from CPAT joined the dig today. Jack is there to help with the dig but also to chat to visitors about the dig and what we are hoping to discover. Terry and Jack had some long discussions about activities we hope to run on the weekend as activities for children and guided tours of the site for those more able.

So with the three trenches open the volunteers are making good progress working down through the archaeology – and we are down to much trowel work and clearing away with soft brushes to reveal the colours of the layers as we work deeper.

Again it was an extremely hot day and an early end to the day’s work was called. I was there at the end of the day as the work party came down the hill and they looked like a gang of labourers coming off a shift at the pit.

You all know I like my little aside stories and today I spoke to a large family group who arrived to walk up the hill – turned out they were all from Surrey and Kent (I think) but originally from Crosskeys – and they were on a family pilgrimage because their mother had recently passed and they were visiting all her and their childhood haunts – a sort of bitter sweet moment, but it goes to show the pull this mountain has on the community. They all had stories of when they were younger of visiting  his grandparents in Crosskeys and they knew Twmbarlwm and Mynydd Machen very well.

Norman also spoke to the same group and he also discovered that one was an ex-police officer in South East England dealing with forensics and he was very interested to learn that the archaeologists use similar methods to the police to date soil samples according to when it was last exposed to the light.

 << CLICK HERE to see a gallery of today’s photos >>