Exploration of the unique royal crannog at Llangors, Powys, Wales

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The archaeology of the period 400-1100 AD is poorly understood in large parts of Britain. The discovery of a crannog or artificial island settlement site at Llangors, near Brecon is a major advance in our knowledge of this period in Wales. Hundreds of crannogs are known in Ireland and Scotland but none have ever been discovered in England, and Llangors is the only site from Wales. Llangors is a large natural lake in south Wales and the crannog appears as a small wooded island just off its north shore. The structure, roughly 40m by 30m across, was constructed by driving wooden stakes and vertical oak staves into the underlying peat deposits. Layers of brushwood were then laid down and a mound of stone placed on top. Originally buildings would have stood on the mound but these have collapsed and been washed away in the succeeding centuries. Although the buildings have disappeared timbers are perfectly preserved below the water level and where they have been driven into the lake muds. The tree rings from such preserved wood indicate that the oak trees for the main structure were cut down in 889-893 AD and the crannog seems to have been built at that time. Excavation of the site, between 1989 and 2004, showed that the crannog was only used for a short time, that it was burned down and then abandoned. Remarkably there is historical evidence to support this interpretation. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that in 916 AD Brecenanmere (the English name for the lake), was destroyed by the Mercian queen Aethelflaed and that she captured the wife of the king of Brecon. Aethelflaed the daughter of King Alfred, the most powerful English king of this period, had become ruler of the neighbouring English kingdom Mercia. This indicates that the crannog was being used as a settlement and perhaps refuge of the local kings. The 9th century and early 10th century was a period of intense warfare involving Viking armies all over the British Isles, in the course of which large parts of England fell under the rule of Scandinavian kings. The Mercian attack on the crannog seems to be part of the process whereby English rulers drove back Viking attack. It is likely that the Brecon rulers had allied themselves with Vikings or had tried to capitalise on current instability to raid Mercia. The archaeological excavation involved both surface and underwater excavation by a joint team from Cardiff University and from the National Museums of Wales, Cardiff. Finds from the excavation support the idea that this was a royal site. Animal bones show that the site was being supplied with food from surrounding farms though a sizable percentage of meat was coming from hunted species such as deer which were often only available to the aristocracy. Metal finds include a highly decorated fragment from a religious shrine, decorative metalwork from aristocratic dress items and large pieces of a burnt embroidered tunic with decoration of Asiatic origin. Several of these are indicative of Irish cultural influences at the site. No other crannogs are known in Wales or England and it seems likely that this site represents the introduction of an Irish cultural idea into late 9th century Wales. The speedy destruction of the site and capture of the queen may explain why the idea of the crannog was not adopted in the area. The discovery, investigation and dating of the Llangors crannog represents a major advance in our knowledge of early medieval Wales. It provides a remarkable insight into Welsh history in the period of the Viking wars which can be communicated to the wider public in an immediately accessible form. It will be of particular interest to historians and archaeologists of the early medieval period. This proposal seeks funding to enable the applicant to complete publication of the site as a monograph and in pamphlet form. The publication project will be jointly undertaken by Dr Alan Lane of Cardiff university and Dr Mark Redknap of the National Museums of Wales.