: The Middle Ages

The conquest of Wales

Kidwelly Castle is perched on a prominent ridge above the River Gwendraeth. The south gatehouse (left of image) dates to between 1390 and 1402, with major modifications undertaken between 1408 and 1422. Much of the curtain wall seen here dates from between 1270 and about 1300.

Castles are perhaps the most striking legacy of the Anglo-Norman conquest of Wales, with Kidwelly Castle ranking as one of the finest.

Kidwelly was built soon after King Henry I granted the Welsh lands of Cydweli to Bishop Roger of Salisbury in 1106. At first it consisted of an earthen bank and a timber palisade, with one or more gates. Inside, there would have been wooden domestic buildings and perhaps a stone-built hall.

The castle was one of several established by the Normans to assert control over the kingship of Deheubarth in south-west Wales. It was situated both to control coastal traffic, and also to protect the important River Gwendraeth.

Welsh princes and Norman lords

Kidwelly town and castle under attack during the Glyndŵr rebellion of 1403.

During the 12th century, Kidwelly was contested by Welsh princes and Norman lords, most notably in 1136 when the Welsh princess Gwenllian was killed in battle near it.

Gwenllian's son, the Lord Rhys, enjoyed more success at Kidwelly, capturing and holding the castle until his death in 1197 - one of two occasions on which Kidwelly was held by the Welsh. However, for much of its history the castle remained firmly Anglo-Norman.

By the early 13th century, a stone wall had replaced the outer timber defences, but it was the work of the Chaworth family towards the end of the 13th century that transformed the castle, giving it much of the form we see today.

Modern castle design

Early 14th-century wine jug, 25cm (9.8 inches) tall, found at Kidwelly - possibly imported directly from south-west France.

Kidwelly benefited from the latest thinking in castle design. It has a concentric design with one circuit of defensive walls set within another to allow the castle to be held even if the outer wall should fall. The inner wall was also taller, allowing archers on both sets of walls to fire simultaneously - increasing their effect.

In 1403 the defences of the castle were put to the test during the rebellion of Owain Glyn Dŵr. The town of Kidwelly fell to the attackers with the loss of several lives, but the castle held out through a siege that lasted until the winter. The old town, set up against the side of the castle, never recovered from the attack and, in 1444, was described as 'waste and desolate'. In its place a new town grew up on the far side of the river.

In the centuries that followed, the castle's fortunes also declined and, in 1609, it was described as 'greately decayed and rynated'.

From the 18th century, Kidwelly has been a popular tourist attraction, first as a picturesque ruin, and then, through the work of Cadw, as an important reminder of Wales's often turbulent history.

Background Reading

Kidwelly Castle by J. R. Kenyon. Published by Cadw (2002).

Saintonge jug from Kidwelly Castle, Carmarthenshire.

Elaborately decorated vessel found in Cardiff. 23.8cm (9.5 inches) tall.

Jug found in the well at Castell-y-Bere, Gwynedd. 20.5cm (8.1 inches) tall.

During the Middle Ages, several regions of France exported pottery to Britain - notably northern France, Normandy and the Ardennes. Most of the French pottery found in Wales came from the Saintonge area of south-west France.

The trade in pottery from the Saintonge area to Britain began early in the 13th-century and lasted for about 500 years. At the start of this period the English ruled neighbouring Gascony, and many of the vessels that have been found in Wales probably made their way to Britain from the ports of La Rochelle and Bordeaux as part of mixed cargoes (wine being the most important commodity).

Pottery from the Saintonge area was made from a fine clay that was well suited to the throwing of light, thin-walled shapes such as those seen here. The clay also had a low iron content, which meant that, when fired, it produced a vessel with a white or buff fabric.

The first example illustrated here was found in a midden at Kidwelly Castle (Carmarthenshire) during excavations in the 1930s. It appeared to have been thrown away along with several plainer vessels and is decorated with a vine scroll motif typical of Saintonge jugs. It was probably produced between 1275 and 1320. This elegantly decorated vessel illustrates the great skill of the Saintonge potters. It is 25cm (9.8 inches) tall and in places its walls are only 2.4mm (0.1 inches) thick.

In these years Kidwelly Castle passed from the ownership of the de Chaworth family, who greatly improved its defences, to William de Valence and then to the House of Lancaster. These later owners set about improving the castle's accommodation. This jug may have been used to pour wine in the Great Hall for one of these English owners or their guests, though such jugs may also have held water.

Saintonge pottery is known from many other sites in Wales, including Cardiff and Castell-y-Bere in Gwynedd. For the most part the ware has been found at coastal sites - locations more easily controlled by the English, or more accessible to their traders - though occasionally it has been found in remote upland sites.

• Cardiff jug: This jug was discovered during work in Cardiff High Street in 1893. Its decoration includes birds, masks, and heraldic shields - all are common features on jugs from the Saintonge potteries.
• Castell-y-Bere jug: Castell-y-Bere was only occupied by the English from 1284-1294. Given the frequency with which Saintonge pottery is found at other castles occupied by the English in Wales, it seems likely that the jug dates from this period.

While such pots may not even have been greatly valued by their owners, when viewed alongside vessels of silver, bronze or brass they survive as examples of great craftsmanship and illustrate links between Wales and the wider European world during the Middle Ages.

Background Reading

'Kidwelly Castle, Carmarthenshire; including a survey of the polychrome pottery found there and elsewhere in Britain', by C. Fox and C. A. R. Radford. In Archaeologia vol. 83, p93-138 (1933).

'Medieval finds from Castell-y-Bere, Merioneth' by L. A. S. Butler. In Archaeologia Cambrensis vol. 123, p78-112 (1974).

Medieval pottery and metal-ware in Wales by J. M. Lewis. Published by the National Museum of Wales (1978).

Part of the Cwm Nant Col Hoard, including the major copper-alloy pieces.

Late 13th or early 14th-century aquamanile in the shape of a stag. 26cm (10.2 inches) tall.

15th-century copper alloy ewer. 17.5cm (6.9 inches) tall.

Copper-alloy tray or dish. 39.5cm (15.5 inches) in diameter.

Woodman's iron axe with a maker's mark in the form of a cross. 27cm (10.6 inches) long.

In 1918, a remarkable hoard of treasure was discovered by a workman mining for manganeese near Llanbedr in Gwynedd.

The hoard had been concealed in a cavity beneath a large stone on rough ground on the south side of Cwm Nant Col.

What makes the hoard so interesting is not just the wide range of objects - from a fine vessel (known as an aquamanile, used for pouring water) in the shape of a stag, to bronze skillets, a smaller water jug (known as a ewer) - but also their date. Most metalwork hoards found in Wales tend to be prehistoric, but this one was late medieval.

Extraordinary craftsmanship

One of the earliest items in the hoard is the aquamanile, dating from the late 13th to early 14th-century. Made of copper-alloy, it has a hinged lid on top of the stag's head to allow the hollow vessel to be filled with water. A short pouring spout extends from its mouth. It has been cast in a single piece, exhibiting extraordinary skill by its maker. It would have been used for ceremonial hand-washing either in a church or monastery, or at the feast table. Although the stag has lost his antlers he remains a fine example of this type of vessel.

The copper-alloy ewer is identical to one found at Strata Florida Abbey. The form and alloy composition of both of these vessels suggest parallels with 15th-century examples produced in pewter.

One copper-alloy cauldron, two skillets and tray from the hoard had a more mundane purpose, being typical items from a 15th-century kitchen - albeit a relatively wealthy one. The other items in the hoard were made of iron and included an axe and fragments from firedogs.

Scientific analysis

While we have learnt much from the style of these objects, we know much more about them as a result of scientific analysis.

The alloy composition of the aquamanile is higher in lead than zinc and tin, suggesting that it was made in Germany. The ewer may have been produced in France or England. The cauldron and skillets were made of a leaded bronze whose proportions of tin, zinc and antimony pointed to manufacture during the 14th- or 15th-century.

The diverse range of objects in the hoard, and their worn state, suggests that they had been gathered as scrap metal by a travelling tinker, probably in the early 16th-century. Why did he bury his goods on a remote hillside?

The answer may relate to the poor supply of copper to Britain in the last half of the 16th-century, and the laws that controlled the trade in bronze and brass. These laws were also intended to prevent the export of scrap metal that could be used to make cannon.

The tinker may therefore have been concealing a hoard that he had collected illegally and which might have been subject to confiscation. Alternatively, had he bought the hoard legally at a market, he may have concealed it temporarily while he tried to find more items to go with it.

As for where he might have hoped to sell his scrap, it is possible that he was heading towards Chester, or via Welshpool to the West Midlands, one of the most active areas of metal manufacturing at this time.

Background Reading

'The Nant Col Hoard of medieval metalware' by J. M. Lewis, R. Brownsword, E. E. H. Pitt and T. Ciuffini. In Archaeologia Cambrensis vol. 136, p156-70 (1987).

Cleaning the south wall of the medieval church

Recording and cleaning in progress (nave and porch in foreground)

Following the dismantling of St Teilos Church at Pontardulais, west Glamorgan, and its removal to St Fagans, excavations on the foundations uncovered further clues to the history of this medieval church.

The dismantling and re-erection of the church made it possible to investigate the foundations of the church in a way that would be impossible otherwise. A detailed understanding of the building is essential in any investigation of a church's development. For churches still in use, only fleeting glimpses of the hidden fabric may be provided as opportunities arise. In the case of the dismantled St Teilo's church, it was possible to produce an accurate, stone-by-stone plan.

Before excavation began, a geophysical survey of the area, using ground- penetrating radar, revealed evidence of numerous burials, and within the church itself a number of areas were identified that could have been related to structural activity.

After excavating and surveying was done, details of the construction from the 12th or 13th century onwards were revealed. The present church probably dates from the 15th century. Before excavation, it was thought that the last addition was a small chapel on the north side of the chancel.

The earliest recognisable phase of the building appears to be a small rectangular nave and chancel. To this was added a north and south transept, probably during the 14th or early 15th century (though not necessarily at the same time).

Important churches in Wales during the later Middle Ages often had a cruciform plan. A south aisle was probably added in the late 15th century to provide for an expanding congregation, and finally a porch was added to the south side of the aisle. A buried grave-slab was found, at the junction of the chancel and north transept, to Mary Bevans of Killa, who died in 1717 aged 64. A section of rubble on the south side of the church, which appears to have been out-of-use by the time the porch was constructed, may have been the base for a churchyard cross.

The excavation has significantly altered the understanding of the development of the church.

The 12th century witnessed an explosion in church building, and much of what remains of the early stone phase of St Teilo's probably dates from about this period.

Although the church can be matched with 'Lan Teliav Talypont', one of four places in Glamorgan called after St Teilo that are mentioned in the 12^th century Liber Landavensis (The Book of Llandaff), no carved stones or evidence for a earlier timber construction have been discovered.

The remains of the boat in the mud

Raising the boat from the mud 4.00am August 27th 1995

A reconstructed model of the Boat

In 1994, the remains of a boat were discovered in the thick mud on the Gwent Levels, south Wales. Tests on the timber revealed that the boat dated from around 1194. Further excavation revealed that an intact portion of the vessel, 7.2m long and 3.9m wide, survived, making it the most important boat find of the Middle Ages in Britain for 25 years.

Lifting the Wreck

Recovery of the wreck was essential, but it could either be dismantled on site, or recovered intact. Dismantling could only be done in controlled conditions. However, the wreck was only accessible at low tide for a few hours at a time. The only reasonable course of action therefore was to retrieve the vessel intact.

Outside assistance in lifting the wreck was provided from the company building the nearby Second Severn Crossing, and over a period of seven tidal windows, day and night, a team of people worked tirelessly to dig tunnels underneath the vessel to build a cradle of aluminium beams. Extreme care had to be taken as the poor condition of the wreck made it vulnerable to disintegration.

The cradle was then attached to a lifting crane, the cables tightened, and the remaining sediment dug out. The vessel was successfully lifted at 4.00 in the morning before being transported to Cardiff, where it was placed in water to prevent the wood rotting further.

The remains were recorded and dismantled with each timber being drawn individually. The vessel was carrying iron ore at the time of sinking so had to be thoroughly cleaned using water and soft brushes to remove the iron salts from the ancient remains.

Since it was hoped that the boat could be displayed in its original form at the Museum, the timbers had to be conserved either in a way that would allow reshaping after conservation, or be moulded to shape before conservation. Both these methods have advantages and disadvantages:

Conserving the ancient wood

Waterlogged wood is conserved using a water-soluble wax, this means either immersing the timbers for five to ten years in a concentrated solution before being slowly dried in air; or immersed in a more dilute solution followed by freeze-drying to remove the water, producing a 'dry' product within one to two years.

The first method results in an object that is more wax than timber, with a non-wood like appearance, but the large amount of wax allows reshaping of the timbers. Freeze drying, on the other hand, produces a material which still has the appearance of wood as the amount of wax is much lower. However, the timbers are much more brittle than those treated by the first method and it is not possible to reshape the timbers.

Creating a Model of the boat

It was decided to reshape the timbers into their original form before conserving the wood and so a full-size model of the surviving structure had to be built to work out what the final shape of the timbers should be.

The model had to accurately replicate in three dimensions the lay-out and shapes of all the surviving timbers. The model could then provide a set of moulds to be constructed to shape and hold the planking during conservation.

After the remains were successfully reshaped, the timbers were conserved using the wax and freeze-drying treatment. The dried and stabilised timbers are now safely in the collections of Amgueddfa Cymru and research on the vessel continues, helping to place this important find within its historical context.