Progress Report: November 4, 1999

November 4, 1999

Awakening to much cooler conditions, the team began the day by clearing the garrison floor perimeter of debris. This process revealed that the floor stones are largely intact. Once completed, Amanda Saum and Ben Hollyfield began measuring and drawing the floor plan of the garrison. Establishing a grid of one meter units, they plotted the locations of original walls, additions, and doorways.  Of particular interest was the consistency in the width of the eastern portion (70 cm) of the original structure, a standing testament to the exacting standards of Roman construction.  Saum and Hollyfield also noted water percolating from near the passageway from the existing shed to the Roman garrison.  While they uncovered the responsible conduit from beneath the floor's debris, the source of the flow has as yet to be identified.

In the field to the east of the garrison, Barr and Sutton established datums for the structural site survey.  Operating the survey transit, Barr recorded elevations for the pasture to the south and east, as well as the raised fence line surrounding the area to the east of the garrison.  The team intends to first record the structures on site, followed by featureless topographic gradients, if time permits. 

At 2PM, the property owners invited the grateful crew inside for a lunch of hot farmer's stew and homemade bread.  Our host shared his knowledge of the property's past, including the legend that the well had attracted pilgrims since at least medieval times.  Since Celts considered the heads of streams and rivers to be the source of life, such legend would likely arise with respect to Llgadwy, situated at the fork of a Y-shaped river valley.   To this day, the well attracts Irish Tinkers and others who hold the well in sacred esteem.  Our host also mentioned that his home was constructed atop the foundation of another structure.  Before building his home in 1990, he observed two inglenooks at either end of the pre-existing structure.  The structure may also have served as a barn at another time.

Note:  These investigations are ongoing, and updates will be posted as time permits.  Assessments made during the course of this survey are preliminary, and may change upon the recovery of further data.