Day 20 -Sod’s Law!

With the few survivors left to tackle what was left behind from Friday, we finished off backfilling and took down the fences. Trench 1 now looks like its former self and with the fences taken down it looks like no one was ever there…well apart from the fresh soil! The weather, being glorious for the past three weeks decided to see the group off by showering us in rain and giving a rather vocal display of thunder. This will be the last you will hear from us students this year…until next time (fingers crossed).
Callum Allsop – Student Volunteer

Day19 -Pubbage!!

Continuing our efforts from Thursday we again took on the task of backfilling Trench 1, given the hot weather it was stupidly hard work but everyone managed to struggle through to the end. Sven arrived slightly later than everyone else having picked up a gigantic van (big enough to carry at least one elephant!). When the tools were loaded into the back of the giant van and taken back to the office the end of the dig was almost in sight. Unfortunately we did not have the time to take down the fencing, which will have to be finished off on Monday, due to lack of manpower. Now though we are off to the pub for some hard-earned pints!

Carys Mills – Student Volunteer

Lord Mayor visits Oystermouth community excavation

The Lord Mayor of Swansea, Cllr Richard Lewis, and the Lady Mayoress visited the dig in the afternoon. I was there to greet them, along with Gerald Gregory, one of our Trustees, and members Pamela Lewis and Luke Toft. They also talked to various members of the team. I showed took them round the site, and Rob and Andy explained what had been found in the various trenches. Andy also showed them some of the nicest finds, from last year as well as this year. Mrs Lewis was particularly interested to see what we had discovered, since she was brought up in Oystermouth and used to play at the castle when she was a girl.

Edith Evans GGAT Heritage & Outreach Manager

Day 17 - I aint gettin’ in no trench fool!!

With the weather slowly changing across the day from looming clouds to glorious sunshine the efforts of backfilling Trench 1 are well under way. This morning the remains of the trench that we had all worked hard on were still visible, and by this afternoon the resulting trench looks more like its former self three weeks previously. All day we have been digging along side the mini-excavator, which happened to break down half way through the day, and to be honest we are all shattered. I don’t think any of us will have trouble getting to sleep tonight.

Callum Allsop – Student Volunteer

Day 16

The weather wasn’t quite as hot today and there was a light breeze, which made it easier to work. No extra excavation was carried out today in Trench one, as the maximum depth had been reached in both sondages. Today mostly consisted of the recording of Trench one by taking photographs and drawing the sections in the sondage with the elevation of the foundation wall for the suspected drum tower. We also began digging a sondage in Trench five in order to see whether there were any features further down, however, we reached the natural subsoil at quite a shallow depth here, suggesting that this area was a quarry rather than an early bailey. We also had a special visitor – Richard Lewis, the Lord Mayor of Swansea! Yes, the Mayor came to enquire about our work here at the castle on behalf of the community and enjoyed taking a look around to see what we had found and accomplished.
Emma Williams

Day 15-The Beginning of The End

Another glorious day with the warm sun on our backs and a cool breeze in the air here at Oystermouth Castle. We have been busy continuing the excavations in Trench 1 with varied results. At the south end of the trench we have extended the sondage through a sandy layer to a depth of about 2 metres. Towards the north end the base of the drum tower has been excavated further to 2 metres as well to reveal that the structure runs deeper than we first thought. Trenches 4+5 have revealed little since the first week, we finished off recording those trenches today, and the majority of our ‘task force’ have been allocated to Trench 1.
Callum Allsop – Student Volunteer

Day 14

On site today from GGAT were myself, Richard and Sven; we were joined by a handful of volunteers keen to get some digging done! The weather was lovely, if a little too hot for our intended activity, nevertheless the team moved massive amounts of material to continue the investigation of the proposed castle ditch feature. Richard worked with, John, Phil and Brian in the southern part of Trench 1, excavating deeper into the ditch section that Faye had been working on yesterday and starting on digging an additional section through the ditch adjacent to this. In the northern part of Trench 1 Sven worked with Mai to continue the work to find a construction cut for the tower base ….and that was all before lunch! I was working with Fran sieving some of the material that was coming out of the ditch, we didn’t find much so changed tasks to trowelling up an area in the east of Trench 1 to see if we could find any edge to the ditch or other features here. Fran found a number of pieces of pot, glass and clinker but no features I’m afraid! Later in the day a few more volunteers, Ellie and her brother Ruben and their dad William, who had come all the way from England, joined us. William joined Richard in the southern end of Trench 1 and Ellie and Ruben got going on some finds washing, I gather Ruben wants to be an archaeologist. Everyone worked really hard and came up with some interesting suggestions as to the origin of this sand that appears to be filling up our ditch. I’m convinced we are well into the ditch and that this sand is part of its final infilling…well maybe!

Thank you all for your hard work!

Claudine Gerrard GGAT Archaeological Planning Officer

Day 13

A group of us continued the excavation of Trench 1 or the ‘sand pit’, as we decided to call it, on account of the masses of sand we shifted! We were aiming to find any hints of the castle ditch, but all we found was pure sand! We debated whether the sand was natural or wind blown because it was so clean with no shells or finds. But everyone endured and worked very hard and we laughed and joked all day as we dug. At the back of the trench we uncovered more of a natural outcrop of limestone, which was suspiciously round, but whether it is natural or shaped by human hand is also up for debate. It was suggested that such an outcrop it might be a good base for a barbican, but no suggestions are set in stone! A group continued the investigation of the tower base and revealed a nice section abutting the tower, which will hopefully yield more information about its construction, and I am looking forward to the results as the sand was also present in this trench. It will be interesting to establish whether the sand was cut through to build the tower. The cheerful pot washers continued merrily with their task not even complaining about their crinkly ‘mermaid fingers’, as they called them (which I really liked). All in all some interesting archaeology and lots of laughter.

Fay Bowen GGAT Project Archaeologist

Day 12

It seemed like there was not much digging to be done in the morning, with only part of the ramp out of trench to be taken out while everyone else was sieving for small finds and drawing. But by the afternoon with a new ramp we muscled out a deeper trench by the drum tower and in the south of the trench 1. In the south we were helped by some easy sandy soil to dig but I can’t say the same for anyone digging by the tower.
There were a number of good finds today, including rare pieces of medieval glass, fragments of medieval pottery and a medieval knife blade. Paul was happy to find out that the piece of metal he found yesterday was in fact an arrowhead. Overall it was another great day on the dig we made lots of progress and are all in high spirits!

Lewis St Ledger

Day 11

Today everyone was working at the front of the castle – In the morning we tidied the sections of the south end of trench one and in this there were a few small metal finds which included part of an Ox shoe and a bolt from a roof which had to recorded and of course there were the usual pieces of glass and Oyster Shells. Others were working on drawing the drum tower foundations and the rest of us were excavating what is thought to be the moat. It was so hot today, which made it much harder to work and many of us got burnt so we are all hoping for some cooler weather. A large portion of our day was dedicated to finding bedrock on the side of the ‘moat’, which was hard to follow to the bottom, and the soil seemed to be endless. I don’t think we had ever been as glad to see rock when we finally found the bottom.

Sarah jayne Drake

Day 10

After having a mini-excavator do most of the work for us yesterday, today it was our turn…both trenches four and five were untouched as everyone was allocated to trench one. We spent most of the day digging down to a ginger coloured sandy layer and straightening up the sides of the trench itself. Although most of the finds were simply thrilling e.g. glass (never seen that before), and of course dirt, rocks, and more dirt, a decent sized fragment of a cooking pot was also found which dated back to the eleventh century, therefore predating the stone castle. All in all the weather was pleasant and the finds are beginning to be washed and the real archaeology can begin!

Kayleigh Evans

Day 9

We all arrived this morning to find the view of the trench much improved; a mini-excavator had arrived! This has meant that instead of shifting all of the Victorian rubble out of the trench by hand it would clear out the stones for us (with Cadw’s permission of course) and save a lot of time and even more effort. A couple of interesting pieces came out of the rubble, not least a complete glass bottle (along with a glass ball which may have served as a sort of stopper), a large piece of brick and some pot. I spent today round the back of the castle neatening up some of trench 4 before moving down to trench 5. Trench 4 hasn’t yielded very many finds before arriving at bedrock and so the volunteers began recording- no mean feat considering how many stones needed to be drawn! Trench 5, on the other hand, looks like it’s going to go down much deeper before we actually hit any bedrock at all, which could suggest that the theory that there used to be a quarry there is right; hopefully the supervisors won’t expect us to get all the way to the bottom of that!

Jenny Wells

Day 8

The weather has been pretty good which has made it easier to work today, also most of the heavy work is done and everybody has gotten to trowel, etc so the day has gone by really quickly. In the north half of trench one we have mainly been continuing to excavate where we think the drum tower wall was, which the volunteers finished clearing at the weekend, no major finds but lots of oyster shells and mortar. At the south end of the trench however, they’ve found 13th cent medieval pottery, a metal hook and the pin from a Second World grenade!. There hasn’t been much discovered in trench four, but trench five is proving interesting. As well as charcoal deposits they’ve found a metal pipe, which seems to run for a few metres before ending in the trench and which drips water.
Dorinda Wilsdon

Day 6

Today everyone was working at the front of the castle – some on the drum tower foundations and the rest of us further down excavating the Victorian rubble. We managed to expose a lot more of the foundations for the tower and they look pretty impressive now, making it easier to picture the towers actually standing. Working on the rubble was a lot less exciting as it was just backfill from some Victorian alterations from the castle. The sun beating down made the job that much harder too. What was clear in both trenches though was that the Victorians liked a drink and a picnic! We had lots of broken bottles, bones and china fragments coming out of the trench, possibly from the workers who filled the rubble in. In all it was a productive day, with the tower foundations really starting to take shape.
Sarah Goodwin - Volunteer

Day 7

I started pot washing; there was no medieval material but a lot of Victorian and modern picnic left overs including coke and beer bottles, china plate’s oyster shells and chicken bones, which must have made a nice meal. We also recovered an intact belt buckle from Parish, which came from the rubble moved out of the Castle by Grant Francis and might have belonged to one of his work men! By lunch time it had started to rain and was too wet to do any more finds processing so I went and helped Andy, Cloe and the other volunteers excavating around the base of the medieval drum tower, it’s really exciting that we’ve managed to uncover the whole base, it really looks like it was built for Edward the first visit, a castle fit for a King! Hopefully we’ll find some really nice medieval finds now.

Charley James GGAT Project Archaeologist

Day 5

Today was nice and sunny and more productive. We made more headway on trench 1 again today, and by the end of the day the tarpaulin covering last year’s trench was pulled up ready to remove the rocks underneath. The trench directly underneath the castle uncovered a wall which is believed to be the foundations of the tower. Trenches 4 and 5 were also worked on, nothing was found in trench 4 but trench 5 proved more promising with two areas of stone on the western and southern sides of the trench, both associated with burnt material and coal, possibly indicating some sort of hearth. Now we’re all off to the pub.
Carys Mills

Day 4

The slave labour, i.e. us volunteers, have been working tirelessly to finish the de-turfing in Trench 1. Although there is still a lot to go, the topsoil has been removed and the remains of last year's dig are now on show under the tarpaulin which we laid when we finished on site at the end of last year's dig. At the south end of the trench, this consisted of the large rubble deposit which covers most of the site, and the sondage (a smaller exploratory trench within the main trench) which we dug last year and then backfilled with more rubble! The digging of both Trenches 4 and 5 around the back of the castle is underway and my sources indicate that they are already proving fruitful as a 19th Century penny and bits of animal bone have been found! Fascinating stuff…
Callum Allsop – Student Volunteer

Day 3

After a delay of two days, owing to the fact that vital fencing equipment was late arriving, the Oystermouth Castle 2010 excavation is finally underway. During the two-day wait however, the volunteers, who consist of students and members of the public, were introduced to a variety of archaeological techniques and practices, so the waiting time was well spent. Work has now begun on trench one, which is located at the font end of the castle outside the gatehouse, and trenches four and five, which are located at the back of the castle. De-turfing is well underway, and everyone is now eager to get on with some real archaeology! Will we uncover any traces of a Norman motte and bailey or an earlier fortification? Watch this space!!
Mark Lambert, Cardiff Student

Day 2-Where, o where have my fence panels gone..?

The weather is picking up. Time to crack out the sunglasses and put away the umbrellas, after all, only in the United Kingdom do you need to carry both! The fencing STILL hasn’t arrived (as of 3:30pm), and it is looking like we wont get the chance to set up site before the day is over, let alone start to dig anything. Instead the only thing to do is dither around in the heat and attempt to look like we are doing something productive, while the students and volunteers are shown the ropes and ‘tricks’ of the ‘trade’. Keeping fingers crossed that we can all get our teeth into some digging tomorrow!
Stuart Thomas - Archaeologist.

Day 1-Don't fence me in!

It's great to be back! As one of the volunteers from last year's dig, I had been quietly hoping that GGAT would get the funding for another few weeks' worth of digging. Although the weather wasn't promising on the first day (it hardly ever seems to be) it was good to meet up with old friends from last year's dig, but not to realise that I am getting so much older than the increasingly young-looking students. As the fencing failed to materialise on the first day, we didn't exactly get much done, but the spirit was willing though the flesh was weak.

John Andrew - Public volunteer

Excavations at Oystermouth Castle 2010

Following the success of last year’s excavation at Oystermouth Castle, the Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust will be carrying out more work this summer with the support of Cadw, the Friends of Oystermouth Castle, the Gower Society, Swansea City Council and Swansea University. We will be opening up more of the ditch in front of the west gate tower, and digging two small trenches behind the castle to see whether this was the site of the outer bailey, an enclosure that would have housed buildings like stores and stables.

The excavation will start on 7th June and run for three weeks until 25th June. This will enable the contactors who will be carrying out repairs to the castle and constructing the new visitor centre to move in on 1st July.

We are looking for volunteers to come and work on the project. You could learn how to excavate, how to record what we discover, or how to deal with the objects that we find.

Just download and fill in the application forms and we will fit you into the programme. Volunteers will need to be 18+ to work on the site, but under-18s are welcome to join in the finds work.

If that sounds too strenuous, you are welcome to come and see what we find. Guided tours will be arranged throughout the dig so you can keep abreast of the discoveries.

Booking for places will start on 17th May and close on 31st May. You can download application forms from our website or ring the Trust office for a copy (01792 655208). Booking is essential if you would like to volunteer