Dehongli ac ymweld ag archaeoleg Ynys Sgomer

Louise Barker (yn pwyntio) yn gweithio gyda Swyddog Ymwelwyr Sgomer a gwirfoddolwyr o Ymddiriedolaeth Bywyd Gwyllt De a Gorllewin Cymru ar ymweliad diweddar ag Ynys Sgomer.

Mae archaeoleg Ynys Sgomer, Sir Benfro, wedi’i chadw’n arbennig o dda. Ar draws yr ynys gellir gweld olion ffiniau wedi’u creu â chlogfeini, waliau cerrig taclus, a sylfeini tai crwn. Dengys y rhain i lawer o’r ynys gael ei ffermio yn ystod yr Oes Haearn a’r cyfnod Brythonaidd-Rufeinig rhwng 2,000 a 2,500 o flynyddoedd yn ôl. Mae maen hir amlwg, Maen Harold, a megalithau eraill yn awgrymu bod pobl yn byw yma yn llawer cynharach na hyn, yn yr Oes Neolithig a’r Oes Efydd Gynnar.

Tŷ crwn o’r Oes Haearn neu’r cyfnod Brythonaidd-Rufeinig yn y Wick ar Ynys Sgomer. Golwg yn dangos y drws.

Yn sgil arolygon archaeolegol a chloddiadau newydd gan y Comisiwn Brenhinol, ar y cyd â chydweithwyr o Brifysgol Sheffield, Prifysgol Caerdydd a Cadw, mae Ymddiriedolaeth Bywyd Gwyllt De a Gorllewin Cymru, sy’n rheoli Sgomer, yn gobeithio gwella’r arwyddion ar yr ynys a’r wybodaeth am ei harchaeoleg yn ystod 2016.

Tua diwedd Mai, teithiodd Louise Barker a Toby Driver, archaeolegwyr y Comisiwn Brenhinol, i Sgomer i gyfarfod â Leighton Newman, Swyddog Ymwelwyr Sgomer, a Hannah, gwirfoddolwraig ers blynyddoedd, i siarad am archaeoleg yr henebion cynhanesyddol mwyaf gweladwy. Gobaith Leighton a Hannah yw adnewyddu rhannau o Lwybr Hanes Sgomer, a sefydlwyd gyntaf ar ôl gwaith a wnaed gan yr Athro John Evans yn y 1980au.

Mae un o’r tai crwn cynhanesyddol mwyaf hygyrch a thrawiadol yn Sir Benfro i’w weld yn y Wick, yn agos at un o’r prif wylfannau Palod. Gosodwyd arwydd newydd yno i ddangos safle’r tŷ. Gall ymwelwyr gerdded i mewn i sylfeini’r tŷ crwn, drwy ei borth amlwg, a dychmygu’r olygfa ddomestig o fewn ei furiau ddwy fil o flynyddoedd yn ôl.

Un o’r arwyddion newydd sy’n gwahodd ymwelwyr i archwilio’r tŷ crwn cynhanesyddol yn y Wick.

Mae’n bosibl bod gan y tŷ wal o blethwaith a choed a tho conig yn wreiddiol. Er bod coed ar gyfer adeiladu yn brin ar Ynys Sgomer yn yr Oes Haearn, gellid fod wedi cludo pyst, polion a defnyddiau adeiladu eraill i’r ynys ar gwch. Mae’r Comisiwn Brenhinol yn parhau i weithio gyda’r Ymddiriedolaeth Bywyd Gwyllt i godi ymwybyddiaeth o drysorau archaeolegol Sgomer. Os hoffech ymweld ag Ynys Sgomer, ewch i’r wefan: http://www.welshwildlife.org/skomer-skokholm/skomer/

Gan Toby Driver, RCAHMW


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Awyren ar y traeth! Ynys-las, Mehefin 1940

Yn ystod haf 2012, recordiodd staff CBHC gyfres o gyfweliadau â phobl yr oedd ganddynt gysylltiad uniongyrchol â’r hen safle datblygu rocedi yn Ynys-las, Ceredigion (NPRN 408393). Cofiodd un o’r rheiny a holwyd, Mr David Williams, fel y bu’n rhaid i awyren lanio ar y traeth un diwrnod.

Dyma adysgrif o’r sgwrs:

DW: …. un o’n rhai ni diolch byth! Dim byd cyffrous iawn, dim ond awyren fyddai’n cael ei defnyddio i dynnu targedau yn yr awyr. Fe wnaeth yr awyren hedfan o Dywyn lle roedd safle milwrol a maes awyr. Daeth o’r safle hyfforddi gwrthawyrennol yn Nhonfannau ger Tywyn. Fe fydden nhw’n hedfan o hyd yn baralel â thraeth y Borth, ryw ddwy neu dair milltir allan, ychydig bach mwy efallai. A bydden nhw’n saethu’n dragywydd at y targedau. Felly dyna ni, fe fyddai’n mynd i fyny ac i lawr. Yn y fanno oedd y safle, wyddoch chi, ac yn y man roedd yn rhan o’r olygfa eto.

MP: Wyddoch chi pam glaniodd yr awyren ar y traeth?

DW: Gwn, doedd yr awyren laniodd ar y traeth ddim o Dywyn fel mae’n digwydd. Roedd hi’r un math o awyren, Hawker Henley. Hawker Henley oedd ar fenthyg gan gwmni Rolls Royce. Roedd yn cael ei defnyddio i brofi injan ‘vulture’ Rolls Royce oedd yn cael ei datblygu ar y pryd. Y gobaith oedd rhoi’r injan yn yr Avro Manchester - rhagflaenydd y Lancaster - a chafodd ei rhoi mewn Hawker Henley i hedfan o gwmpas y wlad i’w phrofi. Torrodd yr injan i lawr ac fe laniodd yn y Borth ac roedden nhw’n gorfod rhoi injan newydd i mewn iddi. A thorrodd honno hefyd. Mae’r holl ddogfennau gen i - daeth dyn yma i wneud ymchwil i’r cyfan ac yn garedig iawn fe roddodd gopïau o gofnodion Rolls Royce am y digwyddiad. Yn fuan wedi hynny cafodd cledrau rheilffordd eu gosod ar hyd y traeth. Dwn i ddim a oedd hynny’n gyd-ddigwyddiad neu beidio - neu oedden nhw’n meddwl os gallen ni lanio yno, gallai’r Almaenwyr wneud hefyd. Faint o bobl fyddai’n gwybod am hynny mewn gwirionedd? Byddai pobl yn meddwl dyna awyren ar y traeth a dim byd mwy na hynny, wyddoch chi.

Ar ôl i’r recordio ddod i ben dywedodd Mr Williams ei fod yn teimlo nad oedd pobl yn credu ei stori pan fyddai’n trafod y digwyddiad.

Wrth chwilio drwy gasgliad awyrluniau RAF Medmenham rywdro arall, daethom ar draws ffotograff a dynnwyd ar 14 Mehefin 1940. Roedd awyren hyfforddi a oedd yn dysgu technegau tynnu awyrluniau (Cyf. MWO7) wedi digwydd cofnodi llun o’r awyren ar y traeth (Ffrâm D 21), gan gadarnhau stori Mr Williams.

Gan Medwyn Parry

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Latest News from the Skomer Island Project - The 2016 Fieldwork Season

Last week, the Skomer Island Project team returned to Skomer to undertake the latest phase of archaeological research on the Island. This year archaeologists Louise Barker and Toby Driver (RCAHMW), Bob Johnston (University of Sheffield) and Oliver Davis (Cardiff University) were delighted to be joined by geographer and environmental scientist Sarah Davies of Aberystwyth University.

Skomer Island, Pembrokeshire is famed for its wildlife and for the survival of its ancient field systems which are amongst the best preserved anywhere in Britain. (© Crown Copyright: RCAHMW, AP_2010_3294)

The aims of this year’s work were twofold; to excavate one of the Island’s main archaeological features, a prehistoric field boundary and the continuation of geophysical survey within the improved fields surrounding the old farm in the centre of the Island.

Despite Storm Katie cutting short our planned four days of fieldwork, we managed to achieve our goals in the two sunny and still days we had and were also lucky enough to witness the return of the puffins.

Archaeological fieldwork involves lots of kit. Getting onto Skomer is always an energetic start to the field season. (© Crown Copyright: RCAHMW)

The site of the excavation. (© Crown Copyright: RCAHMW)

The focus of our small evaluation trench was a substantial lynchet, part of the Northern Field Systems on the Island. A lynchet is a bank of earth that builds up on the downslope of a field ploughed over a period of time and the resulting earth or plough soil is important for helping us reconstruct the environmental history of the Island, identify what was being cultivated and possibly at what date. Therefore, the principal focus of the excavation was to recover samples of the soils within the lynchet which will now be carefully analysed over the coming months.

Excavation in progress. A large number of stones, the result of field clearance, were encountered. (© Crown Copyright: RCAHMW)

Preliminary results from the geophysical survey also look positive. Within the improved fields surrounding the farm in the centre of the Island, there is little evidence for surviving archaeology; however geophysics undertaken in 2012 did reveal sub-surface archaeological features and we wanted to see if this was the case elsewhere. This was indeed the case, and in the area surveyed directly to the west of the farm, the gradiometer detected a linear feature, perhaps a ditch cut by later cultivation ridges.

Geophysical survey in progress with some promising preliminary results (© Crown Copyright: RCAHMW)

As ever the Skomer Island Project team would like to thank the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales and the Skomer Wardens for their continued support and help with our work on the Island.

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Excavations on Skomer Island, Pembrokeshire

On Friday, 4 March 2016, Dr Toby Driver FSA of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales will give a talk to the Pembrokeshire Historical Society on the recent excavations on Skomer Island.

Skomer is a highly protected landscape famous for its puffins and other breeding seabirds, but it is also home to some of the best preserved prehistoric field systems and hut settlements anywhere in Britain. In April 2014 a small team of archaeologists was permitted to open the very first modern excavation trench in the island’s history, to retrieve dating and environmental samples to better understand the long and complex history of prehistoric settlement and farming on Skomer. This followed three years of collaborative, non-invasive research between staff of the Royal Commission, The University of Sheffield and Cardiff University, working closely with the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales and CADW.

Excavations in 2014 at a prehistoric mound of burnt and fire-cracked stones on north Skomer, once used to boil water for cooking, have produced the first calibrated radiocarbon dates for farming settlement. The mound sealed a land surface dated by charcoal to between 751-408 BC, the early Iron Age. A cattle tooth deposited in the cooking mound was dated to around 85 BC, the late Iron Age.

The talk will look at the special landscape and archaeology of Skomer, and touch upon the other Pembrokeshire Islands. It will take the audience through the challenges and excitement of opening an excavation trench on a windswept island, and what new information this long running project has told us about the history and people of ancient Skomer.

Venue: The Picton Rooms, The County Hall car park, Haverfordwest.
Date: Friday 4 March 2016 at 7.30 p.m.
For further information : ann.sayer@btinternet.com
Members free, Non-members welcome £3 at the door.

Note to editor: The photographs show prehistoric field systems and settlements on Skomer Island. If they are used, please use the following credit: ‘Crown Copyright RCAHNW’


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Visitor to Ynyslas provides New Information about the former “Top Secret” Rocket Establishment

Seventy years ago today, on 17 February 1946, the wartime adventures of an 8 year-old girl whose father served at the Ministry of Supply Experimental Establishment Anti-Aircraft Ynyslas (MOS EE AA Ynyslas) came to a happy end.

According to his ‘Soldier’s Release Book’, on 17 February 1946 Sidney L. Arthur was demobilised by the Experimental Establishment Admin Office, Ynyslas.

Before the outbreak of WWII, he was employed in the Paint Shop of the Ford Motor Company in Dagenham, Essex. The factory was then converted to the manufacture of munitions, and Sidney continued to work there. In 1940 Mr Arthur moved his family to the relative safety of Fulbourn, Cambridgeshire. Then, in October the same year, he enlisted and joined the Royal Artillery, No1 Motorised Machine Gun Brigade, based in Brighton, serving as a dispatch rider.

Although the battalion went on to serve overseas, due to health issues, Sidney remained in the UK, and was posted to Borth, in all probability, assisting with the early experimental research into guided rocket technology. He was fortunate enough to be able to move his family to the area in November 1943.

His daughter, Colleen Stear (nee Arthur), was 6 years old at the time, and recently wrote to the Royal Commission after she had visited the site of the former MOS EE AA Ynyslas Research Establishment (NPRN 408392), and was delighted to hear that the Royal Commission had researched and surveyed the area.

The family did not know what was going on at the military camp at the time, but they understood it was vital to the war effort. It was noted by the local population that during the Borth village VE day celebrations, there were some very loud bangs coming from the rocket research facility just up the road at Ynyslas!

Later in February 1946, the family returned to Cambridgeshire, but they always looked back on their time in Borth with great fondness.

Mrs Stear’s wartime memories have been added to the collection of material placed on the People’s Collection Wales by the Royal Commission.

• Gunner Sidney Leopold’s Soldier’s Release Book
  http://www.peoplescollection.wales/items/495878

• Voice of Ynyslas Collection – more memories and oral testimonies from local people
  http://www.peoplescollection.wales/collections/377950

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