Diolch i bawb ymunodd gyda ni dros y penwythnos i ddathlu G?yl Archeoleg Prydain yma yn y Pentref Celtaidd ac Eglwys Sant Teilo. Buodd pawb yn brysur yn creu murluniau yn y t? crwn. Mae’r t? yn edrych dipyn mwy lliwgar bellach. Buodd eraill ohonoch draw gyda Tracey a Nia yn yr Eglwys yn profi sut gafodd y murluniau yno eu creu. I’r rhai ohonoch gollodd y digwyddiadau, cofiwch bod yr ?yl yn parhau y penwythnos hwn, 1-2 Awst.
Festival of British Archaeology 2009
It’s been a busy two days at the Festival. Yesterday started badly with torrential rain, but by midday the clouds cleared and St Fagans filled up with visitors.
It was the first day of the Magic Flute event in which Gareth Riseborough began a project to make replicas of a medieval and a possible Neolithic flute, both found in Wales. The original medieval flute was made from the foreleg of a large deer, and Gareth has sourced the correct bone for the project. He set up shop in the smaller of the roundhouses in the Celtic Village, and much of the morning was spent trimming down the bone, and answering a near continuous stream of questions from interested visitors.
Sally Pointer, manager of the museum’s Glanely Gallery, worked alongside him demonstrating natural dyeing techniques and proving that people in the past wore clothes which were just as colourful as we have today. The grand finale of her demonstrations was the magical transformation that occurs when woad-dyed wool is removed from the dye pot, turning blue before your eyes. Fabulous.
In the roundhouse next door Ian Daniel, interpreter in the Celtic Village, ran wall painting workshops. Tired of the house’s plain white walls, Ian had decided to enlist the public’s help in transforming them with Celtic designs drawn from a portfolio compiled by museum conservator and Iron Age art specialist Mary Davis. By the end of the day dozens of children had covered every spare inch of white wall with an amazing array of designs – all painted with natural pigments.
There was so much going on in the village that I didn’t have a chance to get over to St Teilo’s Church where another team was running painting workshops of a different kind. But I made up for it with a few trips over there today to catch up on what was going on.
The painting activity proved extremely popular, with some children staying for over an hour while they created designs and learnt how these would have been transferred onto the walls of the church. Meanwhile for the adults there was the chance to hear museum conservator and pigment expert Penny Hill explain how medieval craftsmen had produced the original paintings at St Teilo's, and the lengths to which the museum has gone to ensure our reproductions are faithful to their work.
A highlight of the day for me was the chance to see Tillerman Beads at work producing Iron Age glass beads in their tent outside the Celtic Village. This was a real eye-opener and a good deal of time was spent in awe of Mike Poole as he created one amazing design after another. The crowds loved it too, with Su Poole providing expert commentary on the work, and explaining the history of glass beads using the incredible selection she had on display.
Tomorrow, Tillerman Beads continue their demonstrations, Gareth and Sally are back with their magic flute and dyeing events, Ian continues to enlist the support of budding artists to paint the inside of his roundhouse, and the team in the church will be back with more talks and painting workshops. Enough to ensure a good day out for all.
Festival of British Archaeology 2009
Sian, who ran yesterday's pottery sorting workshop at National Museum Cardiff, sent me a photograph of some of the joining sherds they found among the mass of material from the Llandaff Cathedral School excavations (see earlier post for background).
They may not look like much, but by reconstructing these broken pots it's possible to work out what type of vessel they were once part of, what that vessel might have been used for, and sometimes when the pot was made. So, important stuff.
And how did we find these joining pieces from among the many hundred sherd jigsaw puzzle that came from the excavation? We enlisted the help of dozens of sharp-eyed museum visitors who were willing to spend some time, sorting, grouping, and fitting pieces together.
For visitors it was an interesting way to pass some time, for us it was an opportunity to make sense of the finds from an important site.
Festival of British Archaeology 2009
On Tuesday, Andrew Murphy, blacksmith at St Fagans continued the challenge to make a replica of an early medieval bell, begun by Tim Young earlier in the week. While Tim, had worked on brazing the body of the bell, Andrew worked on the handle. This is a loop which passes into the bell so it can be held from the top, while the bell’s clapper hangs from a hook inside.
Andrew had several attempts at replicating the shape of the original bell’s handle over the course of the day, with each attempt getting closer to the form we were after, and the event was enjoyed by the public throughout the day.
Heidiodd ymwelwyr i’r Pentref Celtaidd dros y diwrnodau diwethaf i ymuno â ni wrth ddathlu G?yl Archeoleg Prydain. Yr uchafbwynt i mi heb os oedd dangos yr animeiddiad, Dadeni, gan Sean Harris, ar lawr y t? crwn. Am awyrgylch iasoer wrth i bawb rythu trwy’r tywyllwch at y delweddau symudol ar lawr. Gweld y pair, y twrch trwyth a’r milwyr yn dawnsio o gwmpas y llawr pridd. Roedd yr awyrgylch yn hudol ac yn gwneud i mi feddwl am ein hen gyndeidiau yn ymgasglu gyda’i gilydd o gwmpas y tân i hel straeon.
Trwy gydol y diwrnodau diwethaf bu Tim Young a’i griw yma hefyd yn ceisio ail-greu’r grefft goll o wneud clychau llaw y Cristnogion cynnar. Arbrawf difyr a’r tan naill ai’n rhy gynnes neu ddim yn ddigon cynnes. Mae tipyn gennym i’w ddysgu o hyd am grefft y gorffennol.
Mae’r gweithgareddau’n parhau tan yr 2ail o Awst. Dewch draw y penwythnos hwn, y 25ain a 26ain o Orffennaf, i weld y gleiniau gwydr hardd neu i ymuno yn fy ngweithdai peintio. Dewch a bach o liw i’r Oes Haearn!
