Lesser Garth Cave
Excavation
T.E. Lewis, 1912-14; R.E.M. Wheeler, 1922; M.S. Hussey, 1963-64.
Curation
National Museum of Wales, Cardiff (20.359, 64.135).
Burials
MNI: 2+ (1 adult, 1 juvenile).
Finds
Flint artefacts, Middle Bronze Age pottery, Romano-British pottery, Dark Age metalwork, bone artefacts, animal bones.
Dates
| Period | Reliability |
|---|---|
| Early Medieval | 14C date obtained directly on human remains |
| Late Medieval | 14C date obtained directly on human remains |
14C
264 bp (UBA-10642), 726bp (UBA-10639), 1109bp (UBA-25584), 1435bp (UBA-10641), 1572bp (UBA-10640) on human bone.
External References
| Royal Commission CARN Database | 307799 |
| Sites and Monument Record | 00593S |
| Cambrian Caving Council Record | 1196 |
Bibliography
Alcock, L. (1959) Dark Age objects of Irish origin from the Lesser Garth Cave, Glamorgan. Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies 18: 221-227.
Branigan, K. & Dearne, M.J. (1991) A Gazetteer of Romano-British Cave Sites and their Finds. Department of Archaeology and Prehistory, University of Sheffield..
Davis, P.R. (1983) The Lesser Garth Caves, near Cardiff, South Wales. Transactions of the British Cave Research Association 10: 40-45.
Hussey, M.S. (1963) Archaeology in Wales 3: 5-6.
Hussey, M.S. (1964) Final excavations at the Lesser Garth Cave, Pentyrch. Transactions of the Cardiff Natural History Society 93: 18-39.
Madgwick, R., Redknapp, M. & Davies, B. (2016) Illuminating Lesser Garth Cave, Cardiff: the human remains and post-Roman archaeology in context. Archaeologia Cambrensis 165: 201-229.
Oldham, A.D. (1985) The Caves of the Southern Outcrop. Privately printed.
Redknap, M., Madgwick, R., Davies, B., Gwilt, A. & Cox, M. 2008. The Lesser Garth Cave human remains: an interim statement. Archaeology in Wales. 48: 75-77.
Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales (1976) An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments in Glamorgan. Volume I: Pre-Norman Part I. The Stone and Bronze Ages. HMSO, Cardiff.
Savory, H.N. (1958) The late Bronze Age in Wales: some new discoveries and new interpretations. Archaeologia Cambrensis 107: 3-63.
Wilson, D.R. (1964) Roman Britain in 1963. Journal of Roman Studies 54: 152-153.
Wheeler, R.E.M. (1922) Excavations in South Wales. Antiquaries Journal 2: 62.
Wheeler, R.E.M. (1923) A cave on the Lesser Garth, near Radyr, Cardiff. Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies 1: 68.
Article Author Graham Mullan