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Monmouthshire was on TV last night as the Digging for Britain team unearthed some mysterious burials at Tintern Abbey and mesolithic footprints and fish traps on the Severn Estuary.
You can watch the episode for yourself here on BBC iPlayer.
Tintern Abbey
900 years since its founding, and 500 since its dissolution, Tintern Abbey needs some TLC and conservation work. But to do so in such a sensitive historical area requires archaeological digs, which allows for some fascinating finds. These include medieval floor tiles, stained glass windows and (most intriguingly) some mysterious burials on the doorsteps of the Abbey itself! It points to the site remaining as a place of great symbolism and religosity long after the monks left.
It's offering some great insights into the post-dissolution history of the Abbey, and we look forward to seeing what else they find. Tintern Abbey remains open during the conservation work, so you can see the action for yourself.
Find out more about rhe archaeological work going on at Tintern Abbey
Severn Estuary
Back in the prehistoric mesolithic period the Severn Estuary was all a wooded valley, with ancient humans living on the banks of the much smaller river. This area now has the second highest tidal range in the world, so when the tide goes out a vast expanse of previously inhabited land is uncovered.
Digging for Britain showed the rich history hidden beneath these tides, and how archaeologists are wading into the mud of the estuary and finding traces of footprints, campsites and even prehistoric fishtraps.
Related
Cistercian abbey, founded in 1131 in the beautiful Wye valley village of Tintern. Remarkably complete abbey church rebuilt in the later thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries, with extensive remains of cloister and associated monastic buildings.
A 3 mile walk from Black Rock picnic area, using a section of the Wales Coast Path.
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