Introduction
Starting this PhD in January 2021, and during one of the pandemic lockdowns I found myself unable to visit Amgueddfa Cymru for 9 months. This highlighted quite how important online access to collections and information is. My project would simply not be possible were it not for the work of countless unnamed individuals who over the years have been responsible for the creation of the various databases used, and for the digitisation and publishing of antiquarian books and journals online. I cannot state strongly enough how much this work is appreciated and how vitally important it is. A massive thank you to everyone who has worked on any of these projects!
Please be aware that although the interface to the majority of these databases is bilingual there is often only a record summary available in Cymraeg rather than the complete record. Conversely where a document has been submitted in Cymraeg it will not necessarily have been translated into Saesneg.
Heneb – The Archaeological Trusts
The Trusts are educational charities and limited companies established in the 1970’s in response to continued and increasing damage to the historic environment in Cymru. The Trusts provide specialist archaeological advice to local planning authorities and undertake a variety of outreach and research projects. They are comprised of two elements – one curatorial which undertakes planning works, provides specialist advice, educational and outreach works and maintains the Historic Environment Record (see below), and one commercial which undertakes archaeological and heritage works required as part of the planning process.
On 1st April 2024 the four Welsh Archaeological Trusts merged to form Heneb – the Trust for Welsh Archaeology. Each Trust maintains its own staff and archaeological records. The links to Clwyd Powys, Dyfed, Glamorgan Gwent and Gwynedd Archaeological Trusts can be found at:
Home
The Historic Environment Record (HER) – Archwilio
As mentioned above, the Trusts are responsible for the creation and updating of this database, a duty they undertake under The Historic Environment (Wales) Act 2016. The database is extensive and currently holds in excess of 300,000 records detailing around 200,000 assets (for example archaeological sites, standing buildings, historic place names or sites marked on historic maps), and the results of almost 100,000 excavations/investigations.
The site can be searched using a variety of criteria which can be combined if required – for example location and archaeological period. Although this site is absolutely fantastic if you are looking for specific information or running more complex queries (such as looking for all Prehistoric burials Cymru!) then it is worth contacting the relevant HER/HERs and requesting a search – this service is free for educational use, independent researchers, and non-commercial work. This data forms the basis of my PhD, with requests made to each of the trusts for all funerary and ritual sites of Prehistoric date (including the specific terms Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age and Romano British). Again, I have to say a massive thank you to each of the HER offices for all their help, including with providing access to additional site reports/information which have not yet been digitised. The service is amazing, it’s such an impressive resource to have available and I would say that if you are looking for anything specific it is worth getting in touch with them. The HER is also a fantastic place to deposit copies of your research if you have done any work on the history/archaeology/heritage of Cymru as the data you provide can be shared with and used by others.https://heneb.org.uk/historic-environment-records-her/
Cadw
Cadw – from the word ‘to keep’ or ‘to protect’ is the historic environment service for the Llywodraeth Cymru (Welsh Government). The organisation has many roles including stewardship of many of our historic buildings and archaeological sites and advising on heritage policies. It exists as a stewardship organisation and the following text is taken from their website as I think it is a rather beautiful description.
“The historic environment is the physical manifestation of Wales’ cultural heritage — a precious inheritance that we must care for and pass on to our children to love, cherish and enjoy.
The historic environment sits at the very centre of our cultural identity as a nation. It tells the story of Wales’ place in the world, from its early beginnings to its role at the heart of the making of the modern world.
However, the importance of our historic sites extends beyond their value to society and to our knowledge of the past. They are also assets that contribute to the economic vitality of Wales. They stimulate tourism and make Wales a unique place for inward investment and a very special place in which to live and work”
The links I have supplied take you to the data page, with a searchable map showing Listed Buildings, Scheduled Monuments, Conservation Areas, wrecks and more but it is also worth looking through the Visit tab for places to explore and events and the Advice and Support section has practical guides on heritage matters.
https://cadw.llyw.cymru/cyngor-a-chymorth/cof-cymru/chwilio-cofnodion-cadw
https://cadw.gov.wales/advice-support/cof-cymru/search-cadw-records
Comisiwn Brenhinol Henebion Cymru – The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales
The Royal Commission describes itself as “The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales has a leading national role in developing and promoting understanding of the archaeological, built and maritime heritage of Wales, as the originator, curator and supplier of authoritative information for individual, corporate and governmental decision makers, researchers, and the general public.
The landscape and built heritage of Wales result from people’s interaction with the natural world over thousands of years. Since it was established in 1908, the Royal Commission has led the way in researching and explaining the remains of that interaction – the archaeology and the historic buildings we see around us”.
The RCAHMW hosts the Coflein database which to a certain extent overlaps with that of Cadw and the Archwilio database, but it is always worth checking all three as there will often be different material used for the descriptions or additional sources to see. This data is the National Monuments Record and they hold hard copies of many original sources such as site drawing and photographs. Many of these are not online but can be viewed onsite in Aberystwyth.
As with the Trusts, the Commission carries out ongoing research and publication –my favourites are the Digital Dissent project on Non-Conformist Chapels, and the work on hillforts by Toby Driver (particularly the aerial photography). This is another brilliant website to just have a dig around in as there is so much information on so many different topics! A hidden gem for free information on the website is the Shop tab and look through the Downloads section there are lots of free downloads of the Commission’s publications or discounted paid for versions of out of print works. The free books includes the majority of the county Inventory series which are just beautiful pieces of work to look through.
Amgueddfa Cymru
The national museum holds a wealth of archaeological material and some of the collections have been digitised and are available to view online. There are also certain items and groups of items which have been chosen as featured pages – for example the Bronze Age gold from Cymru section. Blogs and article are also available together with details of upcoming talks and events.
Cymraeg – https://amgueddfa.cymru/
Saesneg – https://museum.wales/
PAS Cymru – Portable Antiquities Scheme in Wales
The Portable Antiquities Scheme has been set up to encourage the reporting of archaeological artefacts made by metal detectorists and other members of the public which do not fall under the Treasure Act of 1996. It does not only record metal artefacts so if you have other items such as stone or flint objects they are very interested in these too. Items will be identified, recorded and returned to the finder with the information being fed into the project database. This data is accessible by all and has been utilised to examine patterns in artefact distribution and to identify concentrations which may indicate that a specific type of archaeological site is in the vicinity – with perhaps the most famous example being the Pembrokeshire Chariot Burial.
The PAS Cymru scheme has coverage across the whole of Cymru with Amgueddfa Cymru, local museums and some of the Trusts acting as hubs. If you have an item which you would like to share information about – or that you would like to be identified for you then get in touch with them and they will be able to direct you to a local drop off organisation.
Both the PAS Cymru and the overall PAS website (hosted by the British Museum) contain additional material such as blogs, with the guides section on the British Museum website being particularly useful for artefact identification (https://finds.org.uk/counties/findsrecordingguides/ )
The PAS Cymru homepage can be found here –
Cymraeg – https://amgueddfa.cymru/cynllun-henebion-cludadwy-yng-nghymru/
Saesneg – https://museum.wales/portable-antiquities-scheme-in-wales/
With the searchable project database accessed here – https://finds.org.uk/
Leabharlann Nàiseanta na h-Alba – National Library of Scotland
The National Library of Scotland holds the digitised Ordnance Survey data, and this includes the map data for Cymru. The maps are viewable by sheet and all fully georeferenced. The earliest Frist Editions for parts of Cymru are for the 1870’s, although certain counties we not published until the late 1880’s. When you select a map square to view all available maps for that square are shown in chronological order with the latest map available generally dating from the 1940’s – 50’s.
Although obviously the Ordnance Survey and Tithe Maps (see above) are far outside of the chronological range of my project they are really useful for a number of reasons. They allow me to track obvious landscape changes such as quarrying, draining of wetlands/marshes, flooding of areas for reservoirs along with more subtle information such as land use. It can be crucial to have a rough idea of whether the land is likely to have been in use as grazing or has been ploughed, or if it has been planted with trees in the past. There are often features which were of interest to the surveyors compiling the data noted such as standing stones or monuments which may have since been destroyed marked, and in the case of the Tithe data field names offer clues to locations of lost monuments or historic place names.
Link Maps General – https://maps.nls.uk/
Link to Ordnance Survey – https://maps.nls.uk/geo/find/#zoom=9&lat=53.08999&lon=-4.18677&layers=102&b=1&z=0&point=53.03635,-3.69458&i=102341189
British Geological Survey
The British Geological Survey is a fascinating resource for archaeologists to explore. This site has a wide range of free resources (see the Research and Discovering Geology tabs) including explanations of landscape formation, fossils and of particular use to me the BGS Viewer which allows you to examine the bedrock and superficial geology of an area. This helps to predict what preservation conditions will be like and to determine whether items such as Standing Stones, building material or lithic artefacts are of local origin or whether they have been brought in from further afield.
British Geological Survey (Home) – https://www.bgs.ac.uk/
British Geological Survey (Viewer) – https://www.bgs.ac.uk/map-viewers/bgs-geology-viewer/
Archifau Cymru – Archives Wales
Most areas of Cymru are covered by a local archive which contains documentary material about the area’s history. It will generally be original sources mostly dating from the 1500 onwards with a general increase in the amount of material available the later the date. Most of the archives are searchable online via the Archifau Cymru – Archives Wales portal.
There is a note of caution in that the level of description can vary massively between collections, with some being so detailed that they include a picture/transcription of individual items whilst others will only have a broad outline at collection level, and you will need to visit the archive to know what is actually within a specific set of documents. This can often be the case for large Estate records. Nevertheless, it is still a great starting point towards finding material and knowing where to go. It’s particularly important as the location of information is not necessarily as straightforward as one would hope. The material will be held where it is deposited but this is not necessarily where the information is about – so for example if a landowner had estates in several counties that information would be held centrally rather than there being copies in each archive. There is also an issue with some of the historic counties, for example Conwy now has its own archive but material was historically split between the Caernarfonshire and Denbighshire Archives and so there is still some material which was never transferred! So be prepared for a lot of detective work – but it must also be stressed that the staff in the archives are incredible and they offer a limited free check of the records so if you are looking for something specific they will be able to confirm (or not) that they hold the material you wish to see and for a small fee can usually copy it for you if it is not possible for you to travel.
Cymraeg – https://archifau.cymru/
Saesneg – https://archives.wales/
Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru/ National Library of Wales
A site to get lost in. Amazing variety of resources including digitised primary sources such as Wills, court records, legal documents, correspondence, photographs and maps. Material relates to both individuals and organisations.
Holds the Tithe Maps and schedule recording mid nineteenth century landowners and occupants. Particularly interesting when looking at field names for traces of archaeological sites.
The newspaper online archive has an extensive range of local and national papers, and the Journals contain local and national journals recording excavations and sites. This includes Archaeologia Cambrensis – all are open access with images available to download.
Helo Blod
Although not strictly an archaeological/heritage resource Helo Blod provides a free translation service for businesses and groups who wish to provide bilingual material. This is fantastic for posters and social media posts with a fast turn around of a few days. They will also check your text for you so great for learners who aren’t quite confident enough to go it alone. The service is great and always so impressed that the service is available. The website also has a list of translators should you need to produce longer translations such as for books or pamphlets. Highly recommended.
Annwn BC 