Land on Either Side of the Afon Llwyd River Between the River Usk, the Usk Road and Caerleon, Newport Archaeological Desk Based Assessment March 2006 GGAT Report No
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Land on either side of the Afon Llwyd River between the River Usk, the Usk Road and Caerleon, Newport Archaeological desk based assessment March 2006 GGAT report no. 2006/010 Project no. P1057 A report for The Celtic Manor Resort National Grid Reference: by Martin Tuck ST 3458 9090 STE GI RE E D R O I A R N G IO A N ISAT The Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust Ltd Heathfield House Heathfield Swansea SA1 6EL Land either side of the Afon Llwyd River between the River Usk, the Usk Road and Caerleon, Newport: archaeological assessment Contents Page Summary.........................................................................................................................2 Acknowledgements......................................................................................................... 2 Copyright notice ............................................................................................................. 2 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................ 3 1.1 Assessment area proposal............................................................................ 3 1.2 Specification and methodology for study.................................................... 3 1.3 Assessment criteria...................................................................................... 3 2. Background......................................................................................................... 6 2.1 Location and topography............................................................................. 6 2.2 Geology ....................................................................................................... 6 2.3 General archaeological background............................................................ 7 3. Site specific archaeology and zonation............................................................. 8 3.1 Archaeological interests.............................................................................. 8 3.2 Site zoning................................................................................................... 8 3.3 Walkover survey....................................................................................... 14 3.4 Cartographic sources................................................................................. 14 4. National and local planning constraints and policies.................................... 16 5. Summary of archaeological potential............................................................. 19 Bibliography ................................................................................................................. 20 Appendix I..................................................................................................................... 22 Summary of data from the Tithe maps of Caerleon and Christchurch parishes including tithe plan extract Appendix II ................................................................................................................... 24 St.Aarons. Extract from Early Medieval ecclesiastical sites in southeast Wales Appendix III ................................................................................................................. 27 Aerial photographs with coverage of the evaluation area Appendix IV.................................................................................................................. 29 Gazetteer of archaeological interests Figures Page Figure 1: Location of the study area (green)................................................................... 6 Figure 2: Map showing zones and known archaeological interests.............................. 37 Figure 3: Archaeological potential plan........................................................................ 38 Tables Page Table 1: Identified archaeological interests..................................................................... 6 Plates Page Plate 1: Zone A, view to the south shows the railway embankment in middle distance and the slopes on which the Roman cemetery is located. ................................. 9 Plate 2: Zone B, view to the northeast shows dense tree coverage, River Afon Llwyd in foreground....................................................................................................... 10 Plate 3: Zone C, general view to the north of floodplain .............................................. 11 Plate 4: Zone D, general view to the southwest across the floodplain.......................... 13 1 Land either side of the Afon Llwyd River between the River Usk, the Usk Road and Caerleon, Newport: archaeological assessment Summary The Celtic Manor Resort has commissioned the Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust Contracts Division to undertake an archaeological desk-based assessment of the potential archaeological resource in the parcels of land within their ownership that border the River Afon Llwyd. Twenty-two sites of archaeological interests, including two Scheduled Ancient Monuments (SAM), were identified in the assessment area. One SAM (Mm 244) is located within the landholding. The greater part of the site, to the east of Caerleon, is located on the floodplain of the Rivers Usk and Afon Llwyd. The Afon Llwyd has changed course on numerous occasions and it is unlikely that archaeological remains will be discovered on the floodplain due to the cutting action of both rivers. However, archaeological remains of national and regional importance are located on the western and northern boundaries of the landholding including a probable bathhouse scheduled as an ancient monument (SAM MM 244). The remains, of Roman date, are associated with the Roman fortress of Caerleon and include the roads, civilian settlement and burial grounds outside the fortress walls. Newport City Council as the Unitary Authority recognises the importance of Roman Caerleon and designated the area as an Archaeologically Sensitive Area; part of the western boundary falls within its curtilage. The Newport Unitary Development Plan contains a number of specific policies that are applicable to the site and the floodplain in particular; excepting proposals that will enhance tourism in Caerleon, these policies generally discourage other forms of development. Whilst the landholding benefits from some previous geophysical survey and trial investigations this has not been on a scale to pin-point all archaeological interests. However, this assessment has allowed areas of high, medium and low potential to be determined and should proposals be advanced for development in these areas then further evaluation followed, if necessary, by implementation of appropriate mitigation measures, is likely to be required. In line with current guidance it would be preferable to avoid or minimize development in those areas with the highest potential. Acknowledgements Information to assist this project was provided by the following records holders, GGAT SMR, Cadw, CRAPW, RCAHMW, National Library of Wales, Gwent Record Office, and Newport Library Reference Department. The project was managed by Andrew Marvell BA MIFA and the report researched and prepared by Martin Tuck of GGAT. Copyright notice The copyright of this report is held by the Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust Ltd, which has granted an exclusive licence to Celtic Manor Resort and their agents to use and reproduce material it contains. Ordnance Survey maps are reproduced under licence (AL 10005976), detailed mapping copyright of Celtic Manor Resort; annotations are GGAT copyright. 2 Land either side of the Afon Llwyd River between the River Usk, the Usk Road and Caerleon, Newport: archaeological assessment 1. Introduction 1.1 Assessment area proposal The Celtic Manor Resort is considering options for maximising the potential of the parcels of land within their ownership that border the River Afon Llwyd. The northern and western boundaries of the assessment area are known to contain Scheduled Ancient Monuments and other remains of Roman date associated with the fortress of Caerleon. The Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust was commissioned by the Celtic Manor Resort to undertake an archaeological desk-based assessment in order to determine the effect of possible future development undertakings on the archaeological resource. 1.2 Specification and methodology for study The study comprised a review of existing information about the archaeological resource within the assessment area centred at NGR ST 345 910, and included sites bordering the specific area. The assessment conformed to the Institute of Field Archaeologists Standards and Guidance for Archaeological desk-based assessments with the addition that the landholding was microzoned into areas of differing archaeological potential with confidence ratings; these zones are presented graphically and with a written description. Some of the confidence ratings benefit from recent field evaluation works. Information recorded on the regional Sites and Monuments Record (SMR) and National Monuments Record (NMR) was assessed. Cartographic and documentary sources were studied, along with relevant published information. Current Listed Building data and information on Scheduled Ancient Monuments and registered landscapes was obtained from Cadw. Collections of aerial photographs held by the Central Register of Air Photography for Wales were examined and additional information requested from the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW). In addition, the relevant unitary development