Archaeologia Cambrensis. SIXTH SERIES.-VOL. IV, PART I. JANUARY, 1904. AN EXPLORATION OF SOME OF THE BY REV. S. BARING-GOULD, M.A., AND ROBERT BURNARD, F.S.A. PRELIMINARY REPORT. On May 23rd of the present year the Ven. Archdeacon Thomas wrote, on behalf of the Cambrian Archæological Association, to request that we should "make some excavation at Tre'r Ceiri in order to ascertain its date," and that "Mr. R. H. Wood, the owner, will be very glad if you will make some very careful digging with that view; it would be well to select one or two small portions, and to avoid any interference with the walls." On June 3rd he further wrote to say that the Cambrian Archæological Association would be good for £15 towards the expenses of labour, etc. Accordingly, we wrote to Mr. R. H. Daniel, of Four Crosses, requesting him to find six labourers in the neighbourhood who would work under our directions. This Mr. Daniel was unable to do on account of the quarries being in full swing, and the time when we proposed to make the exploration being that when farm labourers would be engaged on the hay harvest. After some time, Mr. Daniel secured six men from Bethesda, on the understanding that we paid them 3s. 6d. per 6TH SER., VOL. IV. 1 diem each, and found them lodgings and travelling expenses. The men, to the number of five, arrived on Monday, June 30th, the sixth having fallen ill, but a substitute was found for the second week, also from Bethesda. The proposal that we made to Mr. Wood was to this effect: 1. That the work of exploration should be done under our own personal supervision. 2. That nothing structural should be interfered with. 3. That the earth and turf should be replaced on the floors of the huts after exploration. 4. That any objects found should be sent to a public museum, as determined by Mr. Wood and the Cambrian Archæological Association. 5. We further requested that some members of the Association should be commissioned to be present during the exploration. On Monday, June 29th, we visited the fortress along with the Rev. J. Fisher, Rector of Cefn St. Asaph, and Mr. Harold Hughes, of Bangor, both members of the Association. Mr. Hughes purposed being present during the first week, planning the area within the walls. A preliminary investigation was made, and a plan of procedure was sketched out. According to our commission, we confined our attention to the cytiau, and left the fortifications to be investigated as to their structure, etc., to a later occasion. The numbers of the cytiau referred to in this report correspond with those which will appear on the plan now in course of preparation by Mr. Hughes.1 The number of cytiau within the inner walls, an area of about five acres, can hardly be determined with certainty, owing to the ruinous condition of many, and the doubt whether some of the walls do not form cattlepens, but probably the huts number considerably over one hundred. 1 A portion of the general plan dealing with Huts 3 to 14 inclusive, appears on pp. 6 and 7 of this Report. The highest point of the site within this area is east, where the ground rises to 1,591 ft. above sea-level, and falls somewhat abruptly to a lower terrace, and then slopes gradually to the western limit of the inner wall. This highest point is of cairn-like appearance, but we believe it to be mainly natural. The extreme summit is evidently artificial. The cytiau are situated in groups on the terrace and on the slope, and also under the inner face of the walls. In the latter case each hut has a wall built against the rampart with, in some instances, a narrow intervening space. The forms and sizes of the huts are varied. Some are circular or pear-shaped, and others again oblong and rectangular. When in clusters the outer curve of the innermost hut influenced the form of that adjoining. In a few instances the doors of the cytiau appear to open out of a small space or hall, entered through a common doorway. The entrances face various points of the compass. Occasionally the huts are double, one chamber leading into another. In a few instances an outer curved wall protected the entrance. The entrances varied in width from a little over 2 ft. to 4 ft. The walls of the huts, which are very rudely built, are usually 4 ft. wide, and vary in height from 3 ft. to 6 ft. As an example of the rude building, both of the inner defending wall and of a hut contiguous to it, viz., No. 29, we found on sheltering in this during a northerly gale, that the wind penetrated the combined walls of some 15 ft. in an unpleasant manner, and compelled us to seek a less draughty retreat. The subsoil of the site is a mild clay, and resting on this is a crust of peaty earth of varying depth, carrying on its surface a luxuriant growth of heather and whinberry plants. This peaty earth carries a certain amount. of water, which it retains, and in this it is assisted by the clay subsoil. This renders the hut sites damp, for wherever a hole is sunk into the subsoil, water accumulates in small quantities. To minimise this dis advantage, the builders of the huts excavated the greater portion of the interior, down to and into the subsoil, and then filled the pit with rubble, and roughly paved with flat stones. Suitable paving-stones were plentiful, for the rock of Tre'r Ceiri breaks into flat slabs, which, though sometimes angular and sometimes curved, may be laid as a floor with tolerable effect. Another peculiarity of the stone is that, in breaking, shallow basins are often formed on one of the flat surfaces; but, as far as we could ascertain, this peculiarity was not taken advantage of by the occupants of Tre'r Ceiri. Sometimes the excavated portion of the hut was filled with flat stones placed vertically, and in one case (No. 9), regularly-built drain-like cavities acted as catch-pits under the paved floor. There was no drain to carry the accumulated water out of this hut. So long as the floor was raised sufficiently above the drainage water level, the occupants must have been satisfied. These roughly-paved floors were laid in level with the foundations of the walls of the huts, and were covered with a thin layer of peaty earth. On this was débris from the walls. The roofs of the huts were probably of thatch, made with rushes or heather; they were certainly not of stone, for the accumulations of this material in the interiors represented wall ruin only. The shape of the greater portion of the huts would have made a stone roof impossible. The paved floors, resting on rubble, were doubtless good for the people who occupied the huts, but they were uncommonly poor retainers of ill-considered or broken domestic objects. The finds were consequently few; but, if not numerous, they are of great interest and importance. Where practicable all the huts examined were explored right down to the subsoil, so as to make sure that domestic objects had not found their way between the rude paving-stones, down to and beyond the stone |