This month included a significant focus on external engagement and partnership‑building. Heneb spent time in London as part of Wales Week in London, including meetings linked to heritage, culture and future collaboration opportunities.
For a second year running we utilised our partnership with the Society of Antiquaries to offer an archaeology lecture as part of the Wales Week celebrations. The presentation focussed on the excavations of the medieval quayside at Laugharne and was given by Ken Murphy, introduced by Carol, alongside Ben Lake (Member of Parliament and member of the Cross Parliamentary Archaeology Group). Also in attendance was Ann Davies, MP for Carmarthenshire, Denise Lewis Poulton who until recently was chair of the National Lottery Heritage Fund in Wales, Carole Souter, Chair of the Heritage Alliance, and a range of other guests.
During the event we thanked two supporters who have given generously to fund the excavations noted above, and we took the chance to launch a new Patrons scheme for Heneb, and we are pleased to say we already have a small group of Patrons beginning to form, so we look forward to organising some special opportunities for them to engage with our archaeological work in the coming months. https://heneb.org.uk/patrons/
Whilst in London, we also formally progressed our relationship with University College London Institute of Archaeology where we held a signing event for our new Memorandum of Understanding. We chose to sign the documents under the portrait of Peter Grimes, former Provost of UCL who was a Welsh archaeologist and the first ever Chair of the Dyfed Archaeological Trust in 1975. The new MoU will be overseen by Heneb’s National Lead for Heritage Management and it will see UCL offer a new MA in Managing the Historic Environment in partnership with Heneb. The target is to recruit 15 x students onto the course in Sept 2027 who will all be placed with Heneb, but there will be a pilot this year with 2 x students coming to work with us.
These engagements reflect Heneb’s growing network of partnerships and our commitment to strengthening the study, management and public appreciation of the historic environment in Wales and beyond.
