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As excavations continue on the Fonmon Castle estate, north-west of Cardiff Airport, more intriguing details have been revealed, including the remains of an Iron Age settlement.
Over the past couple of digging seasons, the team from Cardiff University has been working to uncover an unusual early medieval cemetery on the estate, which has evidence of both settlement and feasting activity nearby (see CA 409). Work is continuing on this part of the site, but last year they also dug a new trial trench to investigate an area of the grounds that had yielded some interesting readings during the geophysical survey.
There, just to the west of the castle, they quickly found part of an Iron Age settlement. Only the ditch to the entrance of the settlement’s enclosure has been uncovered so far, but the remains of a dog were found buried within it. The skeleton has been radiocarbon dated to 700-500 BC: during the early Iron Age in Wales. Additionally, a few small finds were discovered, including a small amount of pottery and animal bone, which may be waste deposits from the settlement.
Commenting on the discovery, Dr Andy Seaman, who is leading the dig, said: ‘The dog was at the entranceway into the enclosure. The skeleton was complete, and it had been placed very deliberately at the bottom of the ditch. This is something we see in other Iron Age sites in Britain, and we believe it relates to the role of dogs as symbolic guardians.’
These preliminary results have shown that there is possibly much more of this site to uncover, and the team are now expanding their work in this area going forward. There are few early Iron Age enclosures in Wales, so it is hoped that Fonmon will provide vital new evidence of what life was like in this region during that period. As digging continues at this site, watch this space for more updates!
Text: Rebecca Preedy / Image: Cardiff University
