Llygadwy
Encyclopedia
Llygadwy is a site in SE Wales where one (or more) people appear to have been "salting" the environs of a natural spring with archaeological relics for reasons that can only be a matter of speculation. In the 2001 series of the popular Time Team
series for UK television, the site is examined in some detail, and after some debate and the discovery of a number of artefacts, the fake nature of the site was soon demonstrated.
The site contains a spring to which artefacts of a range of ages - Bronze Age
to Georgian
- have been added to give it the semblance of being an important ritual centre. However one artefact in particular showed two important points of data : that the person (or persons) doing the "salting" did not appreciate stratigraphy
, and that the "salting" took place after the mid-1980s. (For the details, it would be best to view the Time Team programme.)
What the purpose of the "salting" was remains obscure, but it may have been inspired by the construction of outbuildings "in the style of
" ancient religious centres by a mid-19th century owner of the site. Again, the programme shows how this builder made errors in his construction which show that the building could not have been intended to be used for its apparent purpose. Whether this was a deliberate attempt to deceive, or a sort of homage by a person of antiquarian interests is obscure, and unlikely to be answered. However, the scale of the construction would have been difficult to conceal, so an innocent explanation is most plausible.
Many of the artefacts used for this were genuine, which means that they were removed from their original context (at sites as far afield as Switzerland), thus losing most of their archaeological information. Further, since the artefacts had not been recorded into the archaeological record previously, their presence on this site attests to significant plundering of unknown sites to feed a market for illicit archaeological artefacts. This aspect of the events at this site is treated with considerable contempt by the presenters of the programme.
Time Team
Time Team is a British television series which has been aired on Channel 4 since 1994. Created by television producer Tim Taylor and presented by actor Tony Robinson, each episode features a team of specialists carrying out an archaeological dig over a period of three days, with Robinson explaining...
series for UK television, the site is examined in some detail, and after some debate and the discovery of a number of artefacts, the fake nature of the site was soon demonstrated.
The site contains a spring to which artefacts of a range of ages - Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
to Georgian
Georgian era
The Georgian era is a period of British history which takes its name from, and is normally defined as spanning the reigns of, the first four Hanoverian kings of Great Britain : George I, George II, George III and George IV...
- have been added to give it the semblance of being an important ritual centre. However one artefact in particular showed two important points of data : that the person (or persons) doing the "salting" did not appreciate stratigraphy
Stratigraphy
Stratigraphy, a branch of geology, studies rock layers and layering . It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks....
, and that the "salting" took place after the mid-1980s. (For the details, it would be best to view the Time Team programme.)
What the purpose of the "salting" was remains obscure, but it may have been inspired by the construction of outbuildings "in the style of
Folly
In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but either suggesting by its appearance some other purpose, or merely so extravagant that it transcends the normal range of garden ornaments or other class of building to which it belongs...
" ancient religious centres by a mid-19th century owner of the site. Again, the programme shows how this builder made errors in his construction which show that the building could not have been intended to be used for its apparent purpose. Whether this was a deliberate attempt to deceive, or a sort of homage by a person of antiquarian interests is obscure, and unlikely to be answered. However, the scale of the construction would have been difficult to conceal, so an innocent explanation is most plausible.
Many of the artefacts used for this were genuine, which means that they were removed from their original context (at sites as far afield as Switzerland), thus losing most of their archaeological information. Further, since the artefacts had not been recorded into the archaeological record previously, their presence on this site attests to significant plundering of unknown sites to feed a market for illicit archaeological artefacts. This aspect of the events at this site is treated with considerable contempt by the presenters of the programme.
External links
- Site map: Google Maps
- Programme website: Channel 4 TV