Burnt relics represented years of digs

Echo Reporter

THE Glamorgan/Gwent Archaeological Trust are still counting the cost of the disastrous fire which swept through their Swansea warehouse last Sunday evening destroying thousands of relics of Welsh heritage.

The trust’s director Mr Gareth Dowdell said today it was still impossible to judge exactly what had been destroyed and what might be recovered.

“There were literally thousands of pieces collected over seven years stored at the warehouse,” he said. “In addition to the excavation material there were also casual finds there. We had not had the chance to properly study some of the finds stored there. All the materials from the excavations at Cae Castell, Rumney, Cardiff, have been destroyed and so have those from the Roman building at The Knap, Barry, from the Roman Villa site at Llandough and from Barry Village. Most of the material from the Cowbridge digs, which represented years of work, has also gone.”

“And the finds from the late Bronze Age hill slope fort at Coed-y-Cymdda, near Wenvoe, the materials from the 1977 excavations at Cosmeston, near Penarth, and the further trial excavations there last year all went. In all cases about 90 per cent of the material seems to be totally unrecoverable. We also lost two offices, a complete photographic studio and darkroom and an enormous wealth of photographic material. We have taken a giant step backwards and it is going to take us years not just months to get over this. Obviously we have got very comprehensive records of the excavations and, thankfully, a lot have been salvaged now. It is ironic that the weekend we launched our Crisis In Archaeology appeal to the Welsh Office for adequate funding we should receive this major blow. The devastation caused by the fire makes it even more vital now that we get adequate funds. The cost of the fire as far as archaeological loss is concerned cannot be measured in terms of pounds and pence. What we are dealing with here is a large part of the heritage of Wales that has survived for thousands of years being destroyed in a matter of minutes.”