We have been given a detailed elevation map of the castle, created from a LIDAR survey taken in 2023. LIDAR is effective at finding the height of the ground (despite tree cover) in high resolution. The contours are derived from the LIDAR data. In this view, they are superposed on a section of the OpenStreetMap. The vertical pitch of the contours is 0.2m and the pitch of the blue grid is 10m. The motte and the Square Tower are clearly visible. The banks and ditches are not as high or deep as they would have been in Norman times, and the modern accessible entrance path breaches the old northern banks at their eastern ends. We can see the shallow ditch that is all that remains of a defensive separation between keep and bailey in the castle’s early history. The wall jutting into the south west side of the bailey is relatively modern.
Category: blog
Mugs!
There are now Nevern Castle mugs for sale! Buy one at our online shop, where you can also buy copies of the Nevern Castle guidebook. All proceeds go to Friends of Nevern Castle for improving the castle’s educational and interpretation resources.
AGM
The first Annual General Meeting of the Friends of Nevern Castle was held at the Trewern Arms on 12th July. During the past year, we have: In the coming year, we plan to: Find the minutes here.
Talk by Chris Caple
Dr Chris Caple, the archaeologist who led the digs at Nevern Castle for ten years, gave a popular and fascinating talk at the Trewern Arms on Wednesday 12/7/2023. Since its destruction in 1196, ploughing and weathering have obscured what remains of the castle. Only fragments remain – and the task of the archaeologist is to piece them together, to reveal the dramatic events of the time, and the life that people led. 52 archaeological trenches were dug between 2008 and 2018, revealing buildings and roads, as well as thousands of fragments that are still being analysed today at the University of Durham. Finds include fragments of weapons, tools, shoes, horseshoes, harnesses, locks, lamps, gravestones, building stones, stones for throwing at people, stones for games, grains, seeds, beads, and lots more. Ultimately, the research will be published and the pieces returned to Nevern. The plan is that delicate items will be loaned to a museum, which can preserve them safely in a dry atmosphere. More robust fragments will be displayed in the Village Hall, and in the Trewern Arms. Thanks to James and Angie, proprietors of the Trewern Arms, who provided facilities for the talk. See Chris’s slideshow here