Professional Documents
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Contents Page
Summary.............................................................................................................................. 2
Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................. 2
Copyright notice.................................................................................................................. 2
1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 3
1.1 Project background and commission............................................................................ 3
1.2 Location and geology ................................................................................................... 3
1.3 Archaeological background.......................................................................................... 3
2. Methodology ....................................................................................................................... 6
3. Results ................................................................................................................................. 8
4. Conclusions ....................................................................................................................... 12
Bibliography ..................................................................................................................... 13
Appendix I: Inventory of contexts ............................................................................... 14
Figures
Figure 1. Development area (shown in red)................................................................................. 5
Figure 2: Trench location ............................................................................................................. 7
Plates
Plate 1: View to the north over blocked surface 003. Cobbled surface 001 to each side of
the excavation............................................................................................................................ 9
Plate 2: View of the south facing section showing cobbles 001, sub-base 002 and block
surface 003 ................................................................................................................................ 9
Plate 3: View to the north showing service trench 004 and concrete fill 005............................ 10
Plate 4: View to the south over mid-section of trench. Showing blocked surface 003 and
cobbles 001 to the sides........................................................................................................... 10
Plate 5: View to the north over the southern section of the trench. Blocked surface 003 and
cobbles 001 visible. New stone surface visible in the top half of the photograph. ................. 11
Front cover: Showing the early 20th century blocked paving underlying modern cobbled surface. The new
disabled access path is visible behind the ranging rods. View to north with the North Gate in the top centre of the
photograph. GGAT
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Disabled Access Cardiff Castle, Cardiff: archaeological watching brief
Summary
Cadw have granted conditional Scheduled Monument Consent (A-CAM001-02-0938-47) for
disabled access works at Cardiff Castle, Cardiff (Gm 171). One of the conditions stated that a
suitably qualified archaeologist must be present for all intrusive ground works. All of the
works are located within the confines of the castle and therefore in areas where it is possible
that archaeological remains relating to the post-medieval, medieval and Roman settlement of
the area may survive. Therefore, the City and County of Cardiff have commissioned an
archaeological watching brief during the ground works, the findings of which form the subject
of this report.
The development works revealed a block surface laid in c1920. The depth of the excavation
was sufficiently shallow to ensure that the stratigraphy encountered was of early twentieth
century date. No archaeological finds were encountered.
Acknowledgements
The project was managed by Richard Lewis BA MIfA and the fieldwork was undertaken by
Rowena Hart BSc MA of GGAT Projects. The report was written by Rowena Hart and the
illustrations prepared by Paul Jones (Senior Illustrator).
Copyright notice
The copyright of this report is held by the Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust Ltd, which
has granted an exclusive licence to the City and County of Cardiff and their agents to use and
reproduce material it contains. Ordnance Survey maps are reproduced under licence (AL
10005976). Annotations are GGAT copyright.
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Disabled Access Cardiff Castle, Cardiff: archaeological watching brief
1. Introduction
1.1 Project background and commission
Cadw have granted conditional Scheduled Monument Consent (A-CAM001-02-0938-47) for
disabled access works at Cardiff Castle, Cardiff (Gm 171) comprising the partial removal of
the existing cobbles and replacement with a level sandstone path. One of the conditions stated
that a suitably qualified archaeologist will be present during all intrusive groundworks. The
works are located within the confines of the castle and therefore in areas where it is possible
that archaeological remains relating to the post-medieval, medieval and Roman settlement of
the area may survive.
The City and County of Cardiff have commissioned Glamorgan Gwent Archaeological Trust
(GGAT Projects) to undertake the archaeological watching brief, the findings of which form
the subject of this report. The watching brief was undertaken during January and February
2009.
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Disabled Access Cardiff Castle, Cardiff: archaeological watching brief
4
Disabled Access, Cardiff Castle: archaeological watching brief
North Gate
Motte
Moat
Line of Inner
Bailey
Castle Green
Castle Lawn
Western
Apartments
Area shown in Figure 2
South Gate
GRID
0 50 100metres
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Disabled Access Cardiff Castle, Cardiff: archaeological watching brief
2. Methodology
A single trench was excavated through the cobbled surface having a length of 27m and a width
of 1.6m, except at two junction areas where the width was 3.15m (Figure 2). The average
depth excavated was 0.18m and the maximum being 0.2m. The excavation took place in three
stages. The first excavation was undertaken at the north of the area, this was recorded and then
the path laid, followed by the mid-section and lastly the southern section.
A written and photographic record was made of all archaeological features and deposits in
accordance with the GGAT Manual of Excavation Recording Techniques. Contexts were
recorded using a continuous numbering system, and are summarised in Appendix I. All
significant contexts were photographed using a digital camera (with a minimum resolution of
8mp). The excavated area was located in relation to standing buildings and/or published
boundaries. All context depths were measured from the present ground surface.
The project archive will be deposited with an appropriate receiving organisation, in accordance
with the UKIC and IFA Guidelines (Archaeological Archives: a guide to best practice in
creation, compilation, transfer and curation (2007). A copy of the report and archive index
will be deposited with the regional Historic Environment Record, curated by the Glamorgan-
Gwent Archaeological Trust, Swansea and a further copy of the archive index will be deposited
with the National Monuments Record, Royal Commission on the Archaeological and Historical
Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW), Aberystwyth.
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Cardiff Castle Disabled Access: archaeological watching brief
Castle GRID
003
Green N
Service
Trench
005
004
003
Area of new
disabled access
Black Barbican
Tower Tower
South Gate
0 5 10metres
3. Results
The basal context encountered was a concrete block laid surface (003) (Plates 1-5). These
blocks were cube in shape with equal dimensions of 0.23m. They were made of a dark grey
concrete, which contained fragments of broken brick within the fabric. Cut through this
surface was a service trench (004) with a width of 1.34m, which runs at right angles to the line
of the trench. The upper fill of 004 was a concrete deposit (005) (Plate 3). This was not
excavated. Overlying 005 was the concrete sub-base (002) (Plate 2) for the overlying cobbles
(001) (Plate 1-5). The sub-base varied in depth between 0.1 – 0.14m in depth with the cobbled
surface having a depth of between 0.09m and 0.15m.
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Disabled Access Cardiff Castle, Cardiff: archaeological watching brief
Plate 1: View to the north over blocked surface 003. Cobbled surface 001 and
sub-base 002 to each side of the excavation
Plate 2: View of the south facing section showing cobbles 001, sub-base 002
and block surface 003
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Disabled Access Cardiff Castle, Cardiff: archaeological watching brief
Plate 3: View to the north showing service trench 004 and concrete fill 005
10
Disabled Access Cardiff Castle, Cardiff: archaeological watching brief
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Disabled Access Cardiff Castle, Cardiff: archaeological watching brief
4. Conclusions
The results of the watching brief were conclusive in showing that no archaeologically
significant remains were found beneath the cobbled surface. The concrete moulded blocks
were laid in c1920 and the overlying cobbles laid in c1927 (Matthew Williams – Cardiff Castle
Curator pers.comm.).
This work revealed no archaeological remains or finds. The shallow depth to which the
excavation reached ensured that the archaeology was not disturbed
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Disabled Access Cardiff Castle, Cardiff: archaeological watching brief
Bibliography
Dunning, R, 2008, External Signs and Viewing Platform, Cardiff Castle, Cardiff:
archaeological excavation and watching brief. GGAT Unpublished Report 2008/040
RCAHMW, 1991, Inventory of Ancient Monuments in Glamorgan Volume III Part 1a: The
Early Castles From the Norman Conquest to 1217, HMSO
SSEW, 1983, 1:250,000 Soil Map of England and Wales and Legend, Soil Survey of England
and Wales, Harpenden
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Disabled Access Cardiff Castle, Cardiff: archaeological watching brief
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