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A fragment of iron plate

Part of an armour and weapon set buried in Ewenny and associated with the Civil War. The armour comprised of a Close Helmet and a pikeman’s corselet comprising of a front plate, back plate and tassets. There were also two pistol barrels, four coins minted between 1634-44 and traces of wood with leather attached that were interpreted as the remains of a powder flask.

The cuirass is typical of a Civil War pikeman however close helmets were almost obsolete by the Civil War and rarely be worn by pikeman although they were still sometimes worn by heavy cavalry ‘Cuirassiers’. This could suggest the was intended for an officer of pikemen, the presence of two pistol barrels supports this. Or the armour set’s mismatched nature could be due to a supply shortage of armour in the later years of the Civil War.

The owner of the set is unknown, but its proximity to Ewenny Priory may link it to Sir Edward Carne or his supporters. Carne was a Royalist who led an uprising and besieged Cardiff in 1646. He was defeated on the Heath north of Cardiff, imprisoned and heavily fined by Parliament. The presence of coins mixed in with the armour set and the absence of any protective packaging may indicate that it was buried in haste. The burial hole was capped with clay, perhaps to make it more difficult to find.