Archaeologists working in Wales revealed Thursday they may have discovered a Celtic monastery at the site of a 12th century abbey.
An ancient, possibly (probably) Celtic monastery may have once laid at the site of a 12th century Cistercian abbey near the Cambrian Mountains by Pontrhydfendigaid village, archaeologists told Nation Cymru. The discovery came amid an analysis of a courtyard next to the abbey, in a farm building called Mynachlog Fawr at the Strata Florida site.
The abbey and farm buildings were in the process of refurbishment when the features of the Celtic monastery started to reveal themselves, including a major aqueduct and other medieval buildings believed to be part of the structure.
Archaeologists have unearthed what could be a Celtic monastery at the site of a 12th century Cistercian abbey in mid Waleshttps://t.co/Jw0Dud7kyF
— Nation.Cymru (@NationCymru) February 20, 2024
Samples from the site were analyzed using radiocarbon methods and were shown to have come from between 1166-1268 AD, 1028-1172 AD and, oddly, 1017-1158 AD.
“The last two of these dates are from the earlier building and, given that the Cistercian abbey was not founded on this site until 1184, they seem to suggest that the building is pre-Cistercian in date,” said the local trust director Carys Aldous-Hughes, according to Nation Cymru. “One of the main focuses of the upcoming 2024 excavations will be the further examination of this building by attempting to find its original floors and any features associated with its earlier use and function. These will offer a glimpse into the history of this site before the Cistercians arrived.” (RELATED: ‘Bizarre And Unfamiliar’ Creatures May Be Some Of Earth’s First Complex Lifeforms)
Celts in Wales were subjected to seemingly unending attempts at genocide throughout history, including invasions by the Roman Empire, who decided to call our Druids (intellectual class) “pagans” and our people “savages.” This moment is often called the “Celtic holocaust” by historians, according to The Past.
Throughout the last 2,000 years, Wales has held strong in its language and cultural separation from England, as literally everyone and anyone who ever invaded England got to keep it, as all Welsh people know because we’re taught this in school, and it’s in all the history books.