Rare Convent Found in Wales
Thanks to my friend Andrew for telling me about this one!
Archaeologists in Ceredigion in Wales have discovered a medieval convent, cemetary and Tudor mansion. The article doesn't give any more information on the mansion but I would assume it was either converted from the convent buildings or built on the site following the Reformation (when all monastic buildings passed into the hands of the Crown and were sold or granted to wealthy gentry and nobles).
Founded by Lord Rhys ap Gruffudd in 1180 AD, the precise location of Llanllyr nunnery in the tranquil Aeron Valley has remained a mystery, until now.
Dr Jemma Bezant of UWTSD’s School of Archaeology, History and Anthropology said: “It is still early days but we are aiming to locate the medieval chapel and learn more about the extent of the cemetery using 18th century estate maps and a 17th century depiction of the mansion to guide our excavations. The discovery of the grave features is very exciting but it is unlikely that skeletal material remains in the acidic west Wales soils. If we are able to recover such fragments, they could tell us about who was buried here, how many lived on the estate and what kind of lives they led.
“Medieval nunneries like this are incredibly rare with only one other known in Wales. This is an incredibly important site dating back to the late 8th century at least and gives us an unparalleled opportunity to gather more information about monastic life. We know the nuns farmed sheep and cattle successfully and they would have tended mills, orchards and fishponds. There are medieval fairs nearby at Talsarn and LLanerchaeron and they could have been trading far and wide, with coastal access only a couple of miles away at Aberaeron. We have already recovered fragments of sumptuous glazed floor tiles indicating that the nunnery was lavishly built and decorated. The site is on a wetland valley floor and waterlogged timbers are being analysed at Lampeter Dendrochronology laboratories.”
Can't wait to find out more!!
Source
Archaeologists in Ceredigion in Wales have discovered a medieval convent, cemetary and Tudor mansion. The article doesn't give any more information on the mansion but I would assume it was either converted from the convent buildings or built on the site following the Reformation (when all monastic buildings passed into the hands of the Crown and were sold or granted to wealthy gentry and nobles).
Founded by Lord Rhys ap Gruffudd in 1180 AD, the precise location of Llanllyr nunnery in the tranquil Aeron Valley has remained a mystery, until now.
Dr Jemma Bezant of UWTSD’s School of Archaeology, History and Anthropology said: “It is still early days but we are aiming to locate the medieval chapel and learn more about the extent of the cemetery using 18th century estate maps and a 17th century depiction of the mansion to guide our excavations. The discovery of the grave features is very exciting but it is unlikely that skeletal material remains in the acidic west Wales soils. If we are able to recover such fragments, they could tell us about who was buried here, how many lived on the estate and what kind of lives they led.
“Medieval nunneries like this are incredibly rare with only one other known in Wales. This is an incredibly important site dating back to the late 8th century at least and gives us an unparalleled opportunity to gather more information about monastic life. We know the nuns farmed sheep and cattle successfully and they would have tended mills, orchards and fishponds. There are medieval fairs nearby at Talsarn and LLanerchaeron and they could have been trading far and wide, with coastal access only a couple of miles away at Aberaeron. We have already recovered fragments of sumptuous glazed floor tiles indicating that the nunnery was lavishly built and decorated. The site is on a wetland valley floor and waterlogged timbers are being analysed at Lampeter Dendrochronology laboratories.”
Can't wait to find out more!!
Source