This summer (2025), between July and September, we returned to Basingwerk Abbey and the Greenfield Valley Heritage Park to continue our investigations into this fascinating site. Since 2023, we have made significant discoveries, unearthing an additional 2,000 years of previously undocumented activity.
This year, we conducted two separate investigations. The first was a continuation of the successful community-led excavations in the Greenfield Valley Heritage Park that began three years ago. Funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, this project aimed to explore the potential extent of monastic archaeology within the park’s open areas surrounding the scheduled remains of Basingwerk Abbey. Although we did uncover some medieval artefacts associated with the abbey’s demolition, most of our findings were unexpectedly centred on Roman archaeology and artefacts.
Our efforts this year concentrated on understanding the remains of timber structures found in the paddocks south of the abbey, as well as a surface and ditch discovered next to the visitor centre of the heritage park. While we are still analysing the results, we can confidently state that we have confirmed the presence of a late Iron Age to early Romano-British settlement. This settlement includes the remains of a timber cookhouse (or roundhouse) with a large central hearth, along with evidence of earlier and later structures, indicating long-term occupation.
The ditch and surface near the visitor centre have also been identified as remnants of a Roman road, possibly even the main route from Chester to St Asaph (Deva to Varis) listed in the Antonine itinerary. It seems that this road was partially reused during the medieval period, likely serving as the main access into the abbey, while the public road was diverted to the north, later becoming the turnpike road.
One striking aspect of this site is its rich material culture, which is relatively uncommon in North Wales. In addition to the late Iron Age Triskele mount uncovered last year, our finds included large fragments of Roman wine vessels, hairpins, decorative Roman objects and brooches. These artefacts indicate a significant Roman presence in the late first and early second century AD. The fact that they were found within the context of roundhouses suggests a prosperous trading relationship between the native population and the Romans, as well as a degree of cooperation during the early conquest period. Basingwerk, located roughly halfway between Chester and St Asaph, may have served as an ideal rest stop and junction along the main road, a theory we intend to explore further in the near future.
Our second investigation, conducted in September, was part of a Cadw-funded project in partnership with Liverpool John Moore University. This project aimed to test the results of several geophysical surveys carried out within the scheduled area of Basingwerk Abbey. This was in part to enhance our ability to interpret the geophysical datasets, but also an opportunity to examine an open area adjacent to the abbey, for which there are no known records of previous investigations or documented activity.
The investigation involved five hand-dug test trenches targeting geophysical anomalies, some of which had the potential to represent structural remains. The work was conducted by students of forensic anthropology at Liverpool John Moore University who were supervised by archaeologists from Northwest Heritage under the overall leadership of Heneb Archaeologists.
As a result of the trial trenching, we have confidently gained a better understanding of the soil formation of the raised land directly to the west of the abbey and have recovered some exciting medieval materials left behind by the Ministry of Works’ clearance of the abbey in the 1930s.
One of the most prominent features we uncovered was an intact section of a medieval stone culvert, which is associated with a section discovered during the Ministry of Works excavation terminating within the Lay Brothers’ quarters (western range of the cloister). Our excavation of this feature revealed that the culvert, used for the supply of fresh water, was added in the later medieval period, possibly in the 15th century, although this still needs to be confirmed. This suggests that the Lay Brothers’ quarters were improved or refurbished during the late medieval period, potentially coinciding with the temporary accommodation given to King Henry V, who stayed at the abbey while on pilgrimage to St Winefride’s Well.
During the excavation of this feature, we recovered a lead weight from a mason’s plumb level, an essential tool for ensuring the angle of a construction, particularly for a water supply system. Additionally, we discovered a fragment of finely dressed masonry within later redeposited material. The visible tooling marks indicated that this piece never made it onto the abbey itself but was likely discarded by the master masons after it suffered an accidental break. This is some of the best evidence we have so far for the construction phases of the abbey.
While there is still more work needed to better understand Basingwerk and Greenfield Valley, it is clear that the new remains identified so far represent an important archaeological discovery, greatly contributing to our overall understanding of the site and the early relations between the Romans and the Iron Age populations of Northeast Wales.
