A Tour of the Ancient Sites of Cwmbran

Question

It is a bit long so watch in small doses

Richard Davies is a founder and vice-chair of the Ancient Cwmbran Society. In an update on the group’s website in September 2021 he said: “For over a decade we have been trying to understand the enigma of the walls, mounds of stone, walled well, stone lined springs and other large blocks of stone dotted across the woodlands and housing estates of Thornhill, Greenmeadow, St Dials and Fairwater.”

The group have asked for some stones to be tested using a technique called optically stimulated luminescence.

Richard wrote: “This technique can date within a range when a stone was placed on the ground. I know outstanding! isn’t it. the possibilities are endless. Anyway us ACS committee types thought we’ll have some of that, so we have commissioned Dr Tim Kinnaird of TV fame to come and do a bit of testing. We have already come up with some preliminary results of one area of walling which of course need to be confirmed with further testing. But wait for it, it is showing a date between 100 to 300 AD, or about 1,800 years old. WOW! I mean WOW!”

The group are waiting for a final report to be produced.

I must look up and join this society.

I did and membership is closed.

Answer 1

A stone axe that dates back 6,000 years? Remarkable!

SFA, do you think the rest of the British Isles is as fascinating as Wales, or is there something special that has gone on there? 

...thinking for example of other places where a flourishing of culture has taken place -- Ancient Egypt, and Italy especially around Florence in the Renaissance...I just watched a video about China in the Tang Dynasty...

You clearly love Wales very much and are fascinated by it, conveying your interest to us...what do you think?

Comments

Well,i am Welsh and am fortunate to live in an area that has had activity since Prehistoric times,had a major Roman presence and figured prominently in the Industrial revolution,the attempts to eradicate the Welsh Language and the electoral reform attempts in the 19th Century( must post stuff about the Chartists.)

And i know what sparked my interest in History..it was seeing the level of the Great Flood that affected the Welsh and West Country levels after a major surge on the River Severn marked on the wall of a church that existed back then.Can’t remember the date as i write.Very annoying.

So all history fascinates me..the whole of Britain has a rich history and i have a a bit of an in depth knowledge of East European history too.

Which i enjoy chatting about with a Ukrainian friend on another forum.Tink knows her too.

Anyway i have a History Degree...and am a trained History teacher.

So i love anything historical.

I haven’t got too far into that video yet..but am sure i am going find out stuff i didn’t know.

And i can see an iron age hill fort atop the hill behind me...which i have been up to...so great.

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Well, I certainly do enjoy learning about Wales...and just maybe, if a person loves a place and searches back through its history, every place will prove fascinating, its own fascination. 

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@ SFA: I looked up Severn River floods, and it seems they happen quite often by geological standards, maybe once or twice a century, so I'm not sure which flood you mean.

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This one..

https://www.livinglevels.org.uk/stories/2018/12/10/the-great-flood-1607

This was not normal flooding.

Answer 2

Membership is closed?!   What a bummer! 

Comments

Yes...very annoying