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CAYA has done very well since 22nd of September 2007. We have 14 children on the register and there are more who would like to start this September. The activities have ranged from helping on Trench 14 to learning about the Ancient Egyptians, to visiting Moel Fenlli with Fiona Gale to hosting an Archaeology day for Denbigh and District YAC branch.

Today on 26th May 2007 at the Young Archaeologists Club Click here to download fileThe Advent of Man.ppt Thanks to Helen for putting together an excellent presentation

It is only from the late eighteenth century that we have any specific evidence for the use and development of the Bryn Alyn site. The earliest cartographic sources we have are two estate maps from the Trevor family archives, 1Footnote 1: The map dated 1784 (Flintshire Record Office -NT/M/100 ) is simply a larger-scale version of a portion of the 1790 map (Flintshire Record Office – D/BC/4368), and it would appear that the two maps are copies of yet another, earlier map, in that Peter Shakerley is named as a land-owner on both maps, although he is known to have died in 1781.

The early medieval period was a crucial time in the political and cultural development of Wales; it was in these centuries that the nation’s major kingdoms were formed. Sadly, the period is also a very real ‘Dark Age’ in terms of archaeological evidence for the way of life of ordinary people.

The fort is situated on the western side of that tongue of land formed by the sharp bend in the deeply incised and well-wooded valley of the River Alyn. It has approximately the same elevation as the land which lies both to the north, and to the east 1Footnote 1: There is a slag-heap to the east of the fort, the remains from the Llay Colliery, which is far higher than the fort and the surrounding countryside, but this is of course a modern feature of the landscape.

In comparison to earlier periods, there is an exponential increase in the amount of archaeological sites and artefacts dating from the Bronze Age in north-east Wales. The sites of settlements and houses continue to be extremely rare, but there is plentiful evidence of other kinds to suggest that there was large-scale occupation of the area at this time.

We know that human beings were living in north-east Wales as long ago as the Lower Paleolithic (c. 225,000 BP); there are several caves in Denbighshire, such as Pontnewydd, Ffynnon Beuno and Lynx Cave which attest to their presence. 1Footnote 1: Lynch, F.