Land Off Culfor Road, Loughor, City and County of Swansea

LAND OFF CULFOR ROAD, LOUGHOR, CITY AND COUNTY OF SWANSEA

C.A.T JOB: 0893 C.A.T REPORT: 991053

JULY 1999

This report has been researched and compiled with all reasonable skill, care, and attention to detail within the terms of the project as specified by the Client and within the general terms and conditions of Cotswold Archaeological Trust Ltd. The Trust shall not be liable for any inaccuracy, error or omission in the report or other documents produced as part of the Consultancy and no liability is accepted for any claim, loss or damage howsoever arising from any opinion stated or conclusion or other material contained in this report or other documents supplied as part of the Consultancy.

This report is confidential to the Client. Cotswold Archaeological Trust Ltd accept no responsibility whatsoever to third parties to whom this report, or any part of it is made known. Any such party relies upon this report entirely at their own risk.

Land off Culfor Road, Loughor, City and County of Swansea: Archaeological Evaluation

CONTENTS

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ...... 2

GLOSSARY ...... 3

SUMMARY ...... 4

1. INTRODUCTION ...... 5

1.1 Introduction ...... 5 1.2 The Study Area ...... 5 1.3 Archaeological Background ...... 6 1.4 Archaeological Specification ...... 7

2. EVALUATION RESULTS ...... 9

2.1 General ...... 9 2.2 Trench 1 ...... 9 2.3 Trench 2 ...... 9 2.4 Trench 3 ...... 10 2.5 Trench 4 ...... 11 2.6 Trench 5 ...... 11 2.7 Trench 6 ...... 11

3. ASSESSMENT OF RESULTS...... 12

3.1 Date and Interpretation of Archaeological Deposits ...... 12 3.2 Conclusions ...... 13

4. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...... 14

5. BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 14

1 Land off Culfor Road, Loughor, City and County of Swansea: Archaeological Evaluation

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Fig. 1 Location plan ...... 15 Fig. 2 Study area showing location of trenches and locally higher ground ...... 16 Fig. 3 Study area showing trench locations and archaeological features ...... 17 Fig. 4 Trench 3; plan and sections ...... 18

2 Land off Culfor Road, Loughor, City and County of Swansea: Archaeological Evaluation

GLOSSARY

ARCHAEOLOGY For the purposes of this project, archaeology is taken to mean the study of past human societies through their material remains, from prehistoric times to the modern era. No rigid upper date limit has been set, but AD 1900 is used as a general cut-off point.

NATURAL Defined in archaeological terms this refers to the undisturbed natural geology of a site, e.g. Lower Lias clay, river terrace gravels etc.

NGR National Grid Reference given from the Ordnance Survey Grid.

OD Ordnance Datum; used to express a given height above mean sea level.

PRN Principal Record Number (used for entries on the County SMR)

ROMANO-BRITISH Term used to describe a fusion of indigenous late Iron Age traditions with Roman culture, often abbreviated as `R-B.'

SMR Sites and Monument Record.

3 Land off Culfor Road, Loughor, City and County of Swansea: Archaeological Evaluation

SUMMARY

In May 1999 Cotswold Archaeological Trust was commissioned by Westbury Homes (Holdings) Ltd, to undertake an archaeological evaluation of land off Culfor Road, Loughor, City and County of Swansea.

No datable archaeological features were identified within the development area, with the exception of nineteenth to early twentieth-century activity. Within trench 3, an undated gully may have functioned as a drainage channel.

4 Land off Culfor Road, Loughor, City and County of Swansea: Archaeological Evaluation

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction

1.1.1 In May 1999 Cotswold Archaeological Trust was commissioned by Westbury Homes (Holdings) Ltd, to undertake an archaeological evaluation of land off Culfor Road, Loughor, City and County of Swansea (Fig. 1).

1.1.2 The fieldwork was undertaken in compliance with the Standard and Guidance for Archaeological Field Evaluations issued by the Institute of Field Archaeologists (IFA 1994), and an evaluation brief prepared Mr N Maylan, Senior Development Control Officer, Curatorial Division, Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust.

1.2 The Study Area

1.2.1 An outline planning application (No. 98/1692) has been submitted to the City and County of Swansea for development of land to create housing. The proposed development area is located to the west of Culfor Road at NGR SS 5693 9792 and is some 3.25 ha in extent. Most of the site is set to grazing and rough pasture, and contains some mature trees and hedgerows. Some outbuildings of the adjacent Parkfield Farm extend into the site. The site is bound to the north by properties fronting Culfor Road, to the west by properties fronting Bwrw Road, to the east by open fields, and to the south by the recently constructed A 484 Loughor by-pass.

1.2.2 The underlying geology comprises glacial moraine, including sands and gravels, deposited during the final stages of the last Ice Age (Marvell and Owen-John 1997, 7). A survey of the development area and of the salt marsh immediately to the south, revealed the central area of the study area to be low-lying, and may have previously formed part of the salt marsh prior to the

5 Land off Culfor Road, Loughor, City and County of Swansea: Archaeological Evaluation

construction of the railway line (and embankment) during the mid-nineteenth century. The locally high ground along the eastern extent of the site extended into the salt marsh beyond the current A 484 and the railway line. This high ground represents the southern and eastern extent of Loughor Hill on which the settlement of Upper Loughor is founded. Immediately to the west of the study area a small, broadly sub-circular area of high ground was also noted, again extending to the south of the modern railway line. Relict hedge banks were observed on the estuary side of both areas of high ground, suggesting this presumably drier ground was utilised for agriculture prior to being truncated by the construction of the railway (Fig. 2).

1.3 Archaeological Background

1.3.1 The West Glamorgan Sites and Monuments Record (SMR), held by Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust, was consulted for the site and its immediate vicinity. The only data held was for two Romano-British cremation burials discovered 250m south-west of the proposed development area during the 1960s (centred on SS 5655 9777). It remains undetermined whether the burials are representative of a cemetery attached to the nearby Roman fort (see 1.3.2), or are isolated cremations, perhaps associated with a farmstead.

1.3.2 Within the general vicinity, Romano-British and medieval occupation is attested at Loughor. A Roman auxilliary fort, positioned at the lowest crossing point of the River Loughor, was revealed in 1852 during construction of the South Wales branch of the Great Western Railway. Subsequent excavations, notably during the 1980’s, suggest the fort was founded c 73-4 AD, with occupation continuing until the early fourth century (Marvell and Owen-John 1997). Little is known of the immediate hinterland to the fort. The only known road exiting the fort follows the line of the modern B 4620 (formerly the A 4070), linking the fort with a similar establishment at Neath. Three practice camps have been identified in close proximity to this route on Garn Goch Common (SS 6080 9718) and at

6 Land off Culfor Road, Loughor, City and County of Swansea: Archaeological Evaluation

Stafford Common (SS 5914 9713) (ibid). It has been speculated that a road may also exit the fort from the south, running along the edge of the salt marshes in the general direction of the cremations noted above.

1.3.3 Although a vicus may have developed at the fort, its location remains undetermined. However, chance finds centred on SS 5658 9815, including quernstones, a Roman coin and a possible late first/early second century pottery kiln, may suggest that any such extra-mural settlement lies to the north-east of the fort along the contemporary road to Neath.

1.3.4 Medieval occupation is attested by the construction in c 1106 of a ringwork castle in the south-eastern corner of the Roman fort. A church dedicated to St Michael is recorded in 1230, and the medieval town, which was also established within the Roman fort, was granted a market by 1247. The town appears to have been a small settlement at the ferry crossing of the River Loughor.

1.3.5 Late post-medieval developments include the construction of port facilities to the south-west of the town, and a bridge across the river Lougher. Modern colleries were established at Cae Cwm and Beli Glas, 250 north and 400m east of the development area respectively. Modern housing has encroached to the north, east, and west of the development area, and the recently constructed A 484 Lougher by-pass forms the southern boundary to the development area.

1.4 Archaeological Specification

1.4.1 A project design was issued by CAT in accordance with the archaeological specification issued by N. Maylan, GGAT Curatorial (GGAT 1999).

1.4.2 The objective of the archaeological evaluation was to provide data upon the character, quality, survival and extent of any archaeological deposits within the proposed development area in order that an informed decision on their importance could be made.

7 Land off Culfor Road, Loughor, City and County of Swansea: Archaeological Evaluation

1.4.3 The archaeological project design proposed the excavation of 6 trenches, each measuring 50m by 1.8m. These were excavated by mechanical excavator equipped with a toothless grading bucket. All machining was carried out under archaeological supervision to the top of the first significant archaeological deposit or the natural substrate, whichever was encountered first.

1.4.4 Where archaeological deposits were encountered they were sampled by hand in accordance with CAT Technical Manual 1 Field Recording Manual (1996).

1.4.5 All artefacts recovered were catalogued and analysed in accordance with CAT Technical Manual 3 Treatment of Finds Immediately after Excavation (1995). Particular emphasis was given to potentially datable artefacts such as pottery. A full written, drawn and photographic record was kept during the programme of works.

1.4.6 The finds and site archive will, subject to agreement with the legal landowner, be deposited with Swansea Museum under accession number SM 1999.21.

8 Land off Culfor Road, Loughor, City and County of Swansea: Archaeological Evaluation

2. EVALUATION RESULTS

2.1 General

2.1.1 Although the location of a number of trenches was revised in the field, the basic layout of the trenching remained within the spirit of the CAT project design which had previously approved by GGAT Curatorial. The modified trench positions were located according to the plan shown as Fig. 3.

2.1.1 Descriptions of all features recorded within the evaluation trenches are presented in the following account.

2.2 Trench 1

2.2.1 Trench 1 was located at the south-western limit of the site, 250m north-east of the two previously recorded Romano-British cremations. Natural orange- brown silty clays (103) were revealed throughout the trench at a depth of 0.37m. Post-medieval/modern field drain [104], revealed 10m from the eastern limit of the trench, remained unexcavated.

2.3 Trench 2

2.3.1 Trench 2 was again positioned as close as possible to the known Romano- British burials, and also across the undated curvilinear field boundary. Consequently the trench was excavated in two separate parts, trench 2(a) to the south-west of the curvilinear field boundary, and trench 2(b) within the curvi-linear field itself.

2.3.2 Natural orange-brown silty clays (204) were revealed throughout trench 2(a) at a depth of 0.42m. Brick-lined drain [204], infilled with Victorian and

9 Land off Culfor Road, Loughor, City and County of Swansea: Archaeological Evaluation

modern household refuse was revealed 1.5m from the south-western limit of the trench.

2.3.2 Natural orange-brown silty clays (208) were revealed at the south-western extent of trench 2(b) at a depth of 0.74m. Natural gravels within a yellow brown sandy clay matrix, (209), where revealed 13m from the south-western limit of trench 2(b), and extended to the end of the trench. Undated ditch [210], was identified at the south-western limit of the trench.

2.4 Trench 3 (Fig. 4)

2.4.1 Trench 3 was located at the eastern limit of the site, on moderately sloping ground. Natural gravels/pebbles within a yellow brown sandy clay matrix, (303), were revealed throughout the trench at a depth of 0.19m.

2.4.2 Undated linear gully [306] was revealed at the western limit of the trench. It was orientated north-east to south-west, measured 0.59m in width and was fully excavated to a depth of 0.37m. No datable artefactual material was retrieved from dark grey silty clay fill (307), although large flat stones were encountered within the upper limits of the feature.

2.4.3 Sub-square pit/posthole [304] was revealed 12m from the western limit of the trench. It measured 0.6m in width and was fully excavated to a depth of 0.3m. No artefactual material was retrieved from mid grey-brown sandy clay fill (305).

2.4.4 Modern service trench [308], containing an electricity earthing cable, was revealed 19m from the western limit of the trench.

10 Land off Culfor Road, Loughor, City and County of Swansea: Archaeological Evaluation

2.5 Trench 4

2.5.1 Trench 4 was located centrally within the study area. Natural orange-brown silty clays (403) were revealed throughout the trench at a depth of 0.31m. Post-medieval/modern field drain [404], revealed 10m from the eastern limit of the trench, remained unexcavated.

2.6 Trench 5

2.6.1 Trench 5 was aligned across the undated curvilinear field boundary. Consequently the trench was excavated in two separate parts, trench 5(a) to the east of the curvilinear field boundary, and trench 5(b) within the curvilinear field itself.

2.6.2 Natural orange-brown silty clays (503) were revealed throughout trench 5(a) at a depth of 0.41m. Ditch [513] was revealed at the western limit of the trench, adjacent to the extant hedge bank.

2.6.3 Natural light brown sandy clays (512) were revealed throughout trench 5(b) excepting 4m at the western extent of the trench where natural gravels within a yellow brown sandy clay matrix, (509), were identified. Ditch [504] was revealed 0.8m from the eastern limit of the trench. It measured 2m in width and was fully excavated to a depth of 0.2m. No artefactual material was retrieved from mid-brown silty clay fill (505).

2.7 Trench 6

2.7.1 Trench 6 was excavated at the northern most limit of the site, 150m south of the projected alignment of the Romano-British road linking the forts at Loughor and Neath. Due to the presence of live overhead services the trench was divided into two. Natural orange-brown silty clays (603) were revealed throughout the trench at an average depth of 0.41m.

11 Land off Culfor Road, Loughor, City and County of Swansea: Archaeological Evaluation

2.7.2 Feature [604] was revealed at the north-western limit of trench 6(a). It measured 4m in length, at least 0.8m in width and was fully excavated to a depth of 0.27m. No artefactual material was retrieved from dark grey-black silty clay fill (605).

2.7.3 Linear feature [608] was revealed 8m from the north-eastern limit of the trench. It was orientated north to south, measured 1.8m in width, and was fully excavated to a depth of 0.1m. One sherd of late post-medieval/modern ceramic was retrieved from dark grey-black silty clay fill (609).

2.7.4 Within trench 6(b), nineteenth and early twentieth century domestic rubbish (613) sealed mottled grey-brown silty clay deposit (614).

3. ASSESSMENT OF RESULTS

3.1 Date and Interpretation of Archaeological Deposits

3.1.1 No datable archaeological features were identified within the development area, with the exception of nineteenth to early twentieth-century drainage channels (trenches 1, 2(a), 4, and 6(a)) and evidence of domestic refuse disposal (trench 6b).

3.1.2 Within trench 3, the absence of artefactual material within gully [306] and posthole/pit [304] prohibits detailed interpretation of their date and function. However, the alignment of the gully, gently cutting across the natural slope of the land, and the quantity of flat stones retrieved from its fill, may suggest that it functioned as a drainage channel.

3.1.3 Two undated ditches identified in close proximity to the extant hedge bank within the ovoid field at the western extent of the site (one within trench 2(b), the other in trench 5(b)) are interpreted as internal ditches to this boundary.

12 Land off Culfor Road, Loughor, City and County of Swansea: Archaeological Evaluation

3.1.4 No further evidence of activity was identified within this field, save to note the change in geology and height differential of the natural substrate recorded within the trenches which crossed this field boundary. Within the field itself, the natural geology consisted of gravels and pebbles within a sandy clay matrix, by contrast the natural substrate immediately outside of the field consisted of orange-brown silty clays. The natural sands and gravels within the field were also noted to be on average 0.35m higher than the natural substrate outside of the field. The ovoid shape of the field boundary is also noteworthy, and it may be suggested that the present boundary has been created to reflect this area of slightly higher and presumably freer draining land. The combination of the ovoid plan and the nature of the drift geology suggests the filed is created on a small ‘island’ of glacial moraine (an oval shape being typical of many glacial features, ie drumlins). It is also worth noting that the higher ground immediately to the south-west of the site is of a similar, if slighlty rounder, shape.

3.2 Conclusions

3.2.1 The evaluation results indicate that few archaeological deposits predating the nineteenth century drainage channels and domestic refuse disposal, exist within the proposed development area. Indeed, it may be argued that prior to the construction of the railway embankment in the mid nineteenth century, the central, low-lying portion of the site formed part of the river Lliw/Loughor salt marsh.

3.2.2 The two features identified within trench 3, on the higher ground to the east of the site, remain undated. Consequently interpretation of the archaeological significance of such deposits remains difficult to determine, but may be considered to be of moderate to low potential.

13 Land off Culfor Road, Loughor, City and County of Swansea: Archaeological Evaluation

4. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Cotswold Archaeological Trust would like to thank Christine Sullivan (Westbury Homes) and Neil Maylan (GGAT Curatorial) for their assistance during the course of this project.

The fieldwork was carried out by Cliff Bateman, Phil Davies and Doug Jobling. The report was written by Cliff Bateman and the illustrations drawn by Rick Morton.

5. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cotswold Archaeological Trust 1999 Land off Culfor Road, Loughor; Project Design

Curatorial Division, Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust 1999 Land off Culfor Road, Loughor; Brief for Archaeological Evaluation

Marvell, A.G. and Owen-John, H.S., 1997 Leucarum: Excavations at the Roman Auxiliary Fort at Loughour, West Glamorgan 1982-84 and 1987-99 Britannia Monograph 12

14 Land off Culfor Road, Loughor, City and County of Swansea: Archaeological Evaluation

Fig. 1 Location plan

15 Land off Culfor Road, Loughor, City and County of Swansea: Archaeological Evaluation

Fig. 2 Study area showing location of trenches and locally higher ground

16 Land off Culfor Road, Loughor, City and County of Swansea: Archaeological Evaluation

Fig. 3 Study area showing trench locations and archaeological features

17 Land off Culfor Road, Loughor, City and County of Swansea: Archaeological Evaluation

Fig. 4 Trench 3; plan and sections

18 T6

T5 T4

T2 T1 T3

LINE OF NEW A484

Study area Evaluation trench Locally higher ground

0 100m

Fig. 2 Study area showing location of trenches and locally higher ground 500E 550E 600E 650E 700E 750E 800E

[604] N

[608]

750N 750N T6

700N 700N Culf

or Road

Parkfield

[404] 650N Farm T5 650N

[513] [504]

[210]

600N 600N [204] T1 [104]

[306] T3 [304]

550N 550N

0 100m 500E 550E 600E 650E 700E 750E 800E

Fig. 3 Study area showing trench locations and archaeological features