The structure of a longhouse from the early medieval period has been discovered to the surprise of archaeologists searching for Roman ruins at a site in Holt, a village near Wrexham in north-east Wales.
Excavations reveal clues into Roman and medieval life near Wrexham
Excavations have uncovered Roman items including stamped legionary tile and a fragment of a brooch, as well as medieval remains including building materials and ceramics, providing clues to life in the Wrexham area dating back up to two millennia.
This is the second major archaeological discovery after traces of a Roman Villa were found near the village Rossett in 2020 in Wrexham with the help of local metal detectorists, the first discovery of Roman settlements in the area.
As far back as 2013, the Holt Local History Society had uncovered a large number of Roman ceramics and other objects from a nearby ground, many of which are now kept in Wrexham Museum.
As a team of volunteers, students and professional archaeologists gathered to excavate the site, no-one expected they would uncover an early Medieval longhouse at the same site.
An early medieval longhouse is a rare find in north-east Wales
Dr Caroline Pudney, a senior lecturer in archaeology at the University of Chester, said: “Although early Medieval longhouses have been found in other parts of Wales, to unearth evidence of such a building in north-east Wales is extremely rare.”
Earlier geological surveys and excavation had revealed a settlement laid out in a grid along with a road system guiding researchers to rectangular structures, one of which has proven to have been a longhouse well into the Medieval period.
A longhouse is distinctive for its layout designed to host animals and people under one roof, occupied all year round rather than seasonally by nomadic herders, and examples have been found across Wales, Devon and Cornwall.
The research team, comprised of experts from the University of Chester, Heneb (the trust for Welsh archaeology), and the Portable Antiquities scheme, do not yet know much about the residents of these dwellings but anticipate that lab analysis of the artefacts will be revealing.
Chris Matthews, an archaeologist at Heneb, said: “While we are yet to begin the post-excavation investigations, this is potentially a very exciting new find for the region.
“It could help us to fill in current gaps in understanding about the construction and use of Medieval longhouses.”
