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

在英国的大部分地区，人们对公元400-1100年间的考古知之甚少。在Brecon附近的Llangors发现了一个奇兰格或人工岛定居点，这是我们对威尔士这一时期认识的一大进步。在爱尔兰和苏格兰已知的克朗诺斯有数百只，但在英格兰从来没有发现过一只，朗戈斯是威尔士唯一的遗址。朗格斯湖是威尔士南部的一个大型天然湖泊，克朗格湖就在其北岸附近，看起来就像一个树木繁茂的小岛。该建筑的直径约为40米乘30米，是通过将木桩和垂直橡木桩打进下面的泥炭矿床而建造的。然后铺设了一层层的灌木丛，并在上面放置了一堆石块。最初，建筑物会矗立在土堆上，但在接下来的几个世纪里，这些建筑已经倒塌，被冲走了。尽管这些建筑已经消失，但在水位以下，木材被完好地保存下来，并被打入湖泥中。这些保存下来的树木的年轮表明，主体结构的橡树是在公元889-893年被砍伐的，似乎是在那个时候建造的。1989年至2004年对该遗址的挖掘表明，克朗古堡只被使用了很短的时间，它被烧毁，然后被遗弃。值得注意的是，有历史证据支持这一解释。《盎格鲁-撒克逊编年史》记载，在公元916年，布雷肯南米尔(英文中的意思是该湖的名字)被梅西亚王后艾瑟法莱德摧毁，她俘虏了布雷肯国王的妻子。艾瑟莱德是这一时期最有权势的英国国王阿尔弗雷德国王的女儿，后来成为了邻近的英国王国麦西亚的统治者。这表明，克兰格被用作当地国王的定居点，甚至可能是他们的避难所。9世纪和10世纪初，不列颠群岛各地的维京人军队卷入了激烈的战争，在此过程中，英格兰的大部分地区落入斯堪的纳维亚国王的统治之下。默西亚人对克兰诺格人的攻击似乎是英国尺子击退维京人攻击的过程的一部分。很可能是布雷肯尺子与维京人结盟，或者试图利用目前的不稳定局势来袭击梅西亚。考古发掘包括加的夫大学和加的夫威尔士国家博物馆的一个联合小组在地面和水下进行的挖掘。从挖掘中发现的东西支持了这是皇家遗址的想法。动物骨骼显示，该地点的食物来自周围农场，尽管相当大比例的肉类来自被猎杀的物种，如鹿，这些物种通常只有贵族才能获得。金属发现包括一个宗教神殿的装饰精美的碎片，贵族服饰物品的装饰性金属制品，以及一件烧焦的刺绣紧身衣的大片，装饰来自亚洲。其中有几个标志着爱尔兰文化在该遗址的影响。在威尔士和英格兰没有发现其他的爱尔兰人，这个网站很可能代表了爱尔兰文化思想在9世纪后期引入威尔士。遗址的迅速破坏和女王的被捕可能解释了为什么克朗格的想法没有在该地区被采纳。兰戈尔克朗诺格的发现、调查和年代测定代表着我们对中世纪早期威尔士的认识取得了重大进展。它提供了对维京战争时期威尔士历史的非凡洞察，可以以即时可访问的形式与更广泛的公众交流。它将特别引起中世纪早期的历史学家和考古学家的兴趣。这项建议寻求资金，使申请者能够以专著和小册子的形式完成网站的出版。出版项目将由加的夫大学的艾伦·莱恩博士和威尔士国家博物馆的马克·雷德克纳普博士共同承担。

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.