Latest news with #AndySeaman
Wales Online
26-04-2025
- Science
- Wales Online
Dozens of women's skeletons found lying in Welsh beauty spot, as strange new discovery made
Dozens of women's skeletons found lying in Welsh beauty spot, as strange new discovery made Scientific testing is being carried out on a ritually buried skeleton discovered near to a popular tourist attraction in Wales Fonmon Castle (Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne ) A ritually buried skeleton and second prehistoric settlement have been found at a popular tourist site in Wales. Scientific testing is currently being undertaken on archaeological remains from Fonmon Castle in the Vale of Glamorgan. A previous dig had already uncovered an ancient cemetery which has been hailed as a major archaeological find shedding new light on life in Early Medieval Wales. There is evidence of ritual feasting, with around half of the 80 burials being recovered so far. Now the bones of a ritually buried animal has been discovered. The new dig by Cardiff University researchers has revealed part of an Iron Age settlement, located just to the west of the castle. So far, only the ditch at the entrance to the settlement has been uncovered. A key find was the skeleton of a dog deliberately placed in the entrance ditch, likely put there as part of a ritual to protect the settlement. The new trench was dug to investigate an area of the castle grounds where geophysical surveys indicated another possible archaeological site. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here Article continues below Cardiff University Msc archaeology student and project supervisor James Waite holding a fragment of the ancient dog skeleton that was found at Fonmon Castle. (Image: Andy Seaman Cardiff University ) Dr Andy Seaman, Reader in early mediaeval archaeology at Cardiff University's School of History, Archaeology and Religion, said: 'The dog was at the entranceway into the enclosure. The skeleton was complete, and it had been placed very deliberately at the bottom of the ditch. This is something we see in other Iron Age sites in Britain, and we believe it relates to the role of dogs as symbolic guardians. 'The skeleton has been radiocarbon dated to 700 to 500 BC, the early Iron Age, which is a period from which we have comparatively few sites in Wales, so it's an important discovery.' The cemetery, which has been found on the grounds of Fonmon Castle near Barry, contains burials dating to the sixth and seventh centuries AD (Image: Dr Andy Seaman ) The team will also analyse all the other finds from the preliminary trench, including a small amount of pottery and many animal bones, which suggest waste deposits from the settlement. These will tell the team about the economy, farming and environment at the time the settlement was in use. The dig at the original burial site last year, which dates to the 6th or 7th, revealed dozens of skeletons lying in unusual positions. Researchers found that nearly all of the people buried in the cemetery were women. There were signs of some carrying out heavy work, but also clues to riches and luxury. Some of the bones showed that some of the people buried there suffered osteoarthritis and one skeleton was of a person with "very short stature". The bones of one woman had apparently been hurled into a ditch, while all the other remains had been buried with care. Human bones found at the site in the lab at Cardiff University A total of 39 human skeletons have been found in graves carved out of the limestone bedrock at the site. Dr Seaman admitted it was a mystery why only the skeletons of women have been unearthed in the cemetery. It is possible men are buried in another part of it, he said. We've now established that the site has good research potential,' said Dr Seaman. 'It can tell us a lot about the early Iron Age, which is quite poorly understood in this region. Going forward, we will open further trenches to try to see if we can identify evidence for houses within the enclosure, and also to dig more of the enclosure ditch to recover more evidence relating to its use.' He said that the find at the new site reveals a fascinating new chapter of Fonmon's history. 'It adds a lot to our kind of understanding of the history of the site, pushing it back beyond the Roman period into prehistory. It shows that the castle was not the first community to exploit that particular part of the landscape.' Dr Andy Seaman, Reader in early mediaeval archaeology at Cardiff University School of History, Archaeology and Religion (Image: Cardiff University ) Speaking about the cemetery finds bioarchaeologist Katie Faillace, also based at Cardiff University's School of History, Archaeology and Religion, said: 'We're at a really exciting stage now, where we're starting to build up a fuller picture of the people buried at the cemetery. Our initial isotopic work suggests many of the people have local origins. 'We can see one of the individuals had degeneration in their joints, and therefore had a disease such as osteoarthritis and we have found an individual with extremely short stature. 'DNA tests have been taken so our lab work will reveal more details in the coming months.' Fonmon Castle dates in parts to Norman times. It was bought in 2019 by Nigel Ford, who has opened it to the public as a visitor attraction and events venue. Eager to discover more about the castle's past, he invited the Cardiff University team to investigate, with the first surveys taking place in 2021. 'We're very excited by how the archaeological investigations have panned out,' he said. 'When they began, nobody could have anticipated a find as important as the medieval cemetery - and now we have clear evidence of Iron Age occupation too. Article continues below 'This highlights just how long people have been drawn to settle in this area, making the castle seem a relatively recent addition. We're very much looking forward to welcoming the Cardiff University archaeological team back again in 2025 for the next stage of the dig, when we hope more will be revealed about both the medieval cemetery and the Iron Age enclosure.'
Mint
25-04-2025
- General
- Mint
Broken bones, eating in cemetery: Researchers discover ancient human skeletons, revealing mysteries of Medieval women
In the United Kingdom, archaeologists have found 41 human skeletons, mostly of women, from around 500 to 600 AD. These remains, found in south Wales, give a rare look into the Early Medieval period, which is not well recorded in history. Experts say the women likely had hard lives working in farming. Each person was buried in a separate grave at the site. 'Their daily life appears to have been quite hard. They weren't a very healthy bunch of individuals, but they were caring for each other,' Andy Seaman of Cardiff University told CNN. According to Seaman, researchers have found evidence of degenerative joint diseases like arthritis. They have also found healed fractures and broken bones. Female skeletons showed signs of past injuries like broken legs and even a neck, likely from farming accidents, per Seaman. Though the site was near the sea, there's no proof they ate fish. People likely lived nearby and even ate in the cemetery. Some buried there were high-status and had links with people from mainland Europe. Archaeologists found fine glass cups from France, suggesting high-status items at the site. However, Seaman said the people buried there were in poor health. He explained that, during that time, the gap between rich and poor was small, and most people worked in farming. Just because luxury items were found doesn't mean all buried individuals were wealthy. 'It's high status activity happening within the cemetery, that doesn't need to mean that every individual is necessarily a high status person,' CNN quoted Seaman as saying. 'The contrast between the high-status material and the poor health of the individuals is not too surprising. This was a period in which the difference between the rich and the poor wasn't very great, and it seems like everybody was involved to a greater or lesser extent in agriculture,' he added. The team now plans to study if people and goods moved between Wales and southwestern France. They also want to dig up the rest of the site. First Published: 25 Apr 2025, 05:36 PM IST
CNN
24-04-2025
- Health
- CNN
Unearthed skeletons reveal tough lives of Early Medieval women
Archaeologists working at a site in south Wales have uncovered dozens of skeletons – mostly women – which offer a 'window into a really poorly understood period of history.' Dating from the Early Medieval era, which ran from 400 to 1100 AD, the skeletons are from 'a period which is very poorly documented in historical sources, and for which we have comparatively few archaeological sites,' project leader Andy Seaman, a reader in early mediaeval archaeology at Cardiff University, told CNN on Wednesday. A total of 41 skeletons have been excavated so far, the majority of which belong to women who appear to have had a tough existence working in agriculture, he said. They were buried in individual graves and lived around 500 to 600 AD. 'Their daily life appears to have been quite hard,' said Seaman, adding that researchers have uncovered evidence of arthritis and degenerative joint diseases, as well as broken bones and healed fractures. 'They weren't a very healthy bunch of individuals, but they were caring for each other,' he said, citing evidence of healed leg fractures and one instance of a broken neck, believed to have resulted from agricultural accidents. Other findings include the fact that these people don't appear to have eaten fish, despite the site's close proximity to the sea, and also that people would have lived close to the site, perhaps even eating and drinking within the cemetery, Seaman said. Despite the injuries and disease detected on the remains, researchers also uncovered evidence that some of the people within the graves were high-status individuals who would have had contact with mainland Europe. For example, there were fragments of very fine glass drinking vessels that would have been imported from southwestern France, Seaman said. 'The contrast between the high status material and the poor health of the individuals is not too surprising,' he explained. 'This was a period in which the difference between the rich and the poor wasn't very great, and it seems like everybody was involved to a greater or lesser extent in agriculture,' said Seaman. 'It's high status activity happening within the cemetery, that doesn't need to mean that every individual is necessarily a high status person,' he added. Next, the team plans to research whether people, as well as goods, would have traveled between Wales and southwestern France, as well as excavating the rest of the site, which is estimated to be home to the remains of around 80 people in total. Bioarchaeologist Katie Faillace, also based at Cardiff University, said work at the cemetery is progressing well. 'We're at a really exciting stage now, where we're starting to build up a fuller picture of the people buried at the cemetery. Our initial isotopic work suggests many of the people have local origins,' she said in a statement published by the university on Wednesday. 'DNA tests have been taken so our lab work will reveal more details in the coming months.' Once all of the remains have been excavated and analyzed, they will be reinterred at the cemetery as they would have been when they were first buried, and the site will be opened to visitors, Seaman said.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Unearthed skeletons reveal tough lives of Early Medieval women
Sign up for CNN's Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. Archaeologists working at a site in south Wales have uncovered dozens of skeletons – mostly women – which offer a 'window into a really poorly understood period of history.' Dating from the Early Medieval era, which ran from 400 to 1100 AD, the skeletons are from 'a period which is very poorly documented in historical sources, and for which we have comparatively few archaeological sites,' project leader Andy Seaman, a reader in early mediaeval archaeology at Cardiff University, told CNN on Wednesday. A total of 41 skeletons have been excavated so far, the majority of which belong to women who appear to have had a tough existence working in agriculture, he said. They were buried in individual graves and lived around 500 to 600 AD. 'Their daily life appears to have been quite hard,' said Seaman, adding that researchers have uncovered evidence of arthritis and degenerative joint diseases, as well as broken bones and healed fractures. 'They weren't a very healthy bunch of individuals, but they were caring for each other,' he said, citing evidence of healed leg fractures and one instance of a broken neck, believed to have resulted from agricultural accidents. Other findings include the fact that these people don't appear to have eaten fish, despite the site's close proximity to the sea, and also that people would have lived close to the site, perhaps even eating and drinking within the cemetery, Seaman said. Despite the injuries and disease detected on the remains, researchers also uncovered evidence that some of the people within the graves were high-status individuals who would have had contact with mainland Europe. For example, there were fragments of very fine glass drinking vessels that would have been imported from southwestern France, Seaman said. 'The contrast between the high status material and the poor health of the individuals is not too surprising,' he explained. 'This was a period in which the difference between the rich and the poor wasn't very great, and it seems like everybody was involved to a greater or lesser extent in agriculture,' said Seaman. 'It's high status activity happening within the cemetery, that doesn't need to mean that every individual is necessarily a high status person,' he added. Next, the team plans to research whether people, as well as goods, would have traveled between Wales and southwestern France, as well as excavating the rest of the site, which is estimated to be home to the remains of around 80 people in total. Bioarchaeologist Katie Faillace, also based at Cardiff University, said work at the cemetery is progressing well. 'We're at a really exciting stage now, where we're starting to build up a fuller picture of the people buried at the cemetery. Our initial isotopic work suggests many of the people have local origins,' she said in a statement published by the university on Wednesday. 'DNA tests have been taken so our lab work will reveal more details in the coming months.' Once all of the remains have been excavated and analyzed, they will be reinterred at the cemetery as they would have been when they were first buried, and the site will be opened to visitors, Seaman said.
CNN
24-04-2025
- Health
- CNN
Unearthed skeletons reveal tough lives of Early Medieval women
Archaeologists working at a site in south Wales have uncovered dozens of skeletons – mostly women – which offer a 'window into a really poorly understood period of history.' Dating from the Early Medieval era, which ran from 400 to 1100 AD, the skeletons are from 'a period which is very poorly documented in historical sources, and for which we have comparatively few archaeological sites,' project leader Andy Seaman, a reader in early mediaeval archaeology at Cardiff University, told CNN on Wednesday. A total of 41 skeletons have been excavated so far, the majority of which belong to women who appear to have had a tough existence working in agriculture, he said. They were buried in individual graves and lived around 500 to 600 AD. 'Their daily life appears to have been quite hard,' said Seaman, adding that researchers have uncovered evidence of arthritis and degenerative joint diseases, as well as broken bones and healed fractures. 'They weren't a very healthy bunch of individuals, but they were caring for each other,' he said, citing evidence of healed leg fractures and one instance of a broken neck, believed to have resulted from agricultural accidents. Other findings include the fact that these people don't appear to have eaten fish, despite the site's close proximity to the sea, and also that people would have lived close to the site, perhaps even eating and drinking within the cemetery, Seaman said. Despite the injuries and disease detected on the remains, researchers also uncovered evidence that some of the people within the graves were high-status individuals who would have had contact with mainland Europe. For example, there were fragments of very fine glass drinking vessels that would have been imported from southwestern France, Seaman said. 'The contrast between the high status material and the poor health of the individuals is not too surprising,' he explained. 'This was a period in which the difference between the rich and the poor wasn't very great, and it seems like everybody was involved to a greater or lesser extent in agriculture,' said Seaman. 'It's high status activity happening within the cemetery, that doesn't need to mean that every individual is necessarily a high status person,' he added. Next, the team plans to research whether people, as well as goods, would have traveled between Wales and southwestern France, as well as excavating the rest of the site, which is estimated to be home to the remains of around 80 people in total. Bioarchaeologist Katie Faillace, also based at Cardiff University, said work at the cemetery is progressing well. 'We're at a really exciting stage now, where we're starting to build up a fuller picture of the people buried at the cemetery. Our initial isotopic work suggests many of the people have local origins,' she said in a statement published by the university on Wednesday. 'DNA tests have been taken so our lab work will reveal more details in the coming months.' Once all of the remains have been excavated and analyzed, they will be reinterred at the cemetery as they would have been when they were first buried, and the site will be opened to visitors, Seaman said.
