The Druids’ Sacrifice: Discovering Iron Age Wales on Military Land
By Richard Osgood (Senior Archaeologist, Defence Infrastructure Organisation)
Online via Zoom: Thursday 4th December at 7.00 pm
This is a members-only event. Joining details will be emailed to members closer to the time.
In the Second World War military training needs saw Castlemartin in Pembrokeshire used heavily by the Army. Almost 90 years later and a team of archaeologists and veterans looked at a promontory fort deemed to be ‘At Risk’ to uncover as much evidence as possible before the sea claims the site. As the Second World War progressed, workmen dredging peat during the construction of RAF Valley airfield on Anglesey disturbed one of the richest votive deposits in Iron Age Europe. The breathtaking remains of chariots, weapons, tools and ornaments had been cast into the deep lake waters over 2000 years ago, as offerings to the gods. While nearly 200 objects were collected by airfield staff in the 1940s, much lay undiscovered.
Now an interdisciplinary team of service personnel and recovering veterans from Operation Nightingale, the Defence Infrastructure Organisation and archaeologists have returned to both sites. This lecture shows the features they have uncovered and the extraordinary treasures they have found…
