Buckspool on the Castlemartin tank firing range is one of many Iron Age promontory forts on the Pembrokeshire coast that is suffering from coastal erosion. Operation Nightingale is an initiative to assist the recovery of wounded, injured and sick serving military personnel and veterans by getting them involved in archaeological investigations. The initiative is organised by the Ministry of Defence and has been running since 2011 undertaking fieldwork in the UK and overseas, with hundreds of military personnel having worked on projects. It has, for several years, been seeking to expand its work into Wales and Buckspool presented an ideal opportunity—it is actively eroding, owned by the MoD, has great archaeological potential and is in a dramatic location.
In 2025, over two weeks 32 ex-military and serving military personnel under the supervision of Heneb staff and Richard Osgood, the MoD’s archaeologist, excavated two of the circular depressions within the fort that were thought to be the sites of round houses. However, on excavation the roughly 8m diameter circular depressions were found to be filled with deep soil deposits containing a large assemblage of Roman pottery, over 160 Roman coins, other Roman artefacts and a large quantity of animal bone. Both depressions had the appearance of natural hollows characteristic of the limestone bedrock in this area but augmented by a single course of stone wall defining the perimeter of each feature. The remains did not have the appearance of conventional roundhouses, however it was not possible to completely excavate them in the two weeks, and the site was backfilled before the lower, and potentially more interesting, deposits were reached. MoD-funded post-excavation analysis and reporting on the coins, pottery and animal bone which is currently underway. Preliminary findings on the coins shows that apart from 2 coins from Structure 2 the remaining coins all came from Structure 1 and comprise potentially 167 coins of late-3rd century date. These coins’ findspots inside the structure perhaps represent the remains of a dispersed hoard deposited in the 280s or 290s, though the presence of 2 small-change coins from the 330s shows that coins were still being used at the site closer to the middle of the 4th century too. The assemblage from Buckspool is unique to southwest Wales, with very good potential to contribute to a range of research questions related to understanding the site as well as wider themes.
The excavation was a great success with 32 military serving personnel and veterans taking part, from across Wales, England and even the Ukraine. Operation Nightingale records in detail the outcomes of the project on individuals and the MoD is clear that the initiative makes a positive difference to people’s mental health and lives. It is an opportunity to renew the comradeship of working together as a team with those of a shared background in a beautiful location, whilst making discoveries into our human past. What could be better? Operation Nightingale will return to the site in 2026, with funding from the MoD for two more weeks’ excavation and full post-excavation.
Learn more about the amazing work by Operation Nightingale and the excavation at Buckspool Iron Age Promontory Fort.
Operation Nightingale
Facebook
Leacture available from PCNPA
Buckspool Down Iron Age Promontory Fort – an Operation Nightingale project
Watch here…
Digging for Britain
Watch here…
