Monmouthshire Antiquarian Association Blog

 The Monmouthshire Antiquarian Association 2023 AGM The MAA 2023 AGM at Caerwent. Mark Lewis talked to us about the excavation taking place outside East of the Church. Mark has been leading the community excavation at and is currently working with NMW on archaeological projects designed to enhance the understanding of the Roman period in Wales. Then at 3pm the AGM took place in the Church and reports were given by the various officers of the Committee. It was followed by a talk by Jennifer Evans who is well known to us all and those of you who have visited the NMW library at Cardiff. She is currently at Gwent Archives and is leading a project entitled Welcome to #CrowdCymru   Mark Lewis talks to the group. Dr Mark Lewis : (Senior Curator: Roman) from the Amgueddfa Cymru, National Roman Legion Museum, Caerleon and a member of the MAA committee for many years.  The excavation area outside the East of the Church Entering the Church the MAA Journals are on display   J...

BOOK LAUNCH: THE COMMON PLACE BOOK OF JOHN GWIN  Published by the South Wales Record Society Members of the South Wales Record Society can also pick their own copies up at the launch at Llangwm Village Hall is on the B4235 Usk-Chepstow road and there is a car park a little further along the road to Chepstow, at postcode NP15 1HQ. The book is available in paperback or hardback, xii + 212 pages, illustrated. Copies can also be ordered through the Society’s web site at  http://www.southwalesrecordsociety.co.uk/  or by post: £18 paperback, £28 hardback for addresses in the UK, with reductions for members of the Society. Complete and return the form to the West Glamorgan Archive Service, Civic Centre, Oystermouth Road, Swansea SA1 3SN. J ohn Gwin lived at Llangwm near Usk in the middle years of the seventeenth century.  His commonplace book is a treasure trove of medical remedies, snippets of local and family history, notes on the management of the Worcester estates, ...

  GUIDELINES FOR CONTRIBUTORS TO  THE MONMOUTHSHIRE ANTIQUARY Introduction The following ‘Guidelines’ are intended to aid both potential authors and the honorary editor and editorial sub-committee of  The Monmouthshire Antiquary . Over the years, minor changes to the ‘Guidelines’ have been made, but developments in technology, as well as new ideas about editorial conventions, have prompted a major review which has resulted in the ‘Guidelines’ printed below. Although these ‘Guidelines’ are as comprehensive as possible, every issue cannot be covered, or in some cases anticipated, so necessarily other decisions will be made by the honorary editor and/or editorial team as need arises. Aims of the Association 1. The Association aims to publish articles of a high academic standard relating to the history, archaeology and architecture of Gwent/Monmouthshire, annually in  The Monmouthshire Antiquary . Timetable 2.  The Monmouthshire Antiquary  is usua...

      Plans for combined archaeological field work  Members of the MAA and members of Chepstow Archaeological Society have commenced an ongoing excavation of the Grove Wood House site near Chepstow Racecourse. Because of insurance issues, which have now been resolved, MAA involvement has been limited.  But the work has been successfully directed by Simon Maddison, a member of MAA.  Both he and Ray, our MAA  Chairman, have been fully involved from the outset. We are hopeful that  many more MAA  members will be participating   when work  resumes in the new year.  This will include the investigation of an associated tower ruin near Grove Wood House.  Related developments have also included an introduction to geophysics carried out in Ray's front field. This was led by Daryl and Sam Williams both accomplished geophysicists.  Gear including an EDM as well as resistivity and magnetometry equipment is now ava...

Jeremy Knight remembers being 'Out with the Cambrians' but we remember him being 'Out with the Monmouthshire Antiquarians' as well. Jeremy Knight has been an important figure in so many local historical societies and has given talks and led tours of many historical sites for numerous organisations including The Monmouthshire Antiquarian Association (MAA).  St Peter's Churchyard Blaenavon Blaenavon Ironworks One memorable visit was to Montgomery Castle which Jeremy had originally excavated. He also took us on visits to Blaenavon and many other sites and wrote articles for The Monmouthshire Antiquary. Above you  can see him looking at iron coffins in the Churchyard at Blaenavon. Below  you can see him on a visit to Gower with our members at Parc Cwm Long Barrow.    Parc Cwm Long Barrow If you look in the 2017 volume of The Monmouthshire Antiquary (Number 33) you will find that the first article is by Jeremy of the speech he gave on the occasion of...

  John Edward Lee, Charles Roach Smith and Aspects of Mid Victorian Archaeology Jeremy Knight Charles Roach Smith, c. 1865 From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository This image is on display at the British Museum.     In the summer of 1848, the founder of the Monmouthshire Antiquarian Association, John Edward Lee, received a visitor at his house, The Priory, at Caerleon. Charles Roach Smith (1807-1890) had been attending the Worcester conference of the British Archaeological Association, of which he was co-founder and Secretary and took the opportunity to visit Caerleon and Caerwent before returning to London. The two men were probably already known each other, since Lee was a member of the Association and they had a great deal in common. Pictu re of John Edward Lee copyright  Caerleon Antiquarian Association     The story of Lee’s foundation of our Association and of the Roman Legionary Museum at Caerleon has been told several t...