The Heritage Hiker’s Guide to… Excavations at Five Mile Lane (A4226) in the Vale of Glamorgan.

Background

Exciting news for all archaeology and history enthusiasts has come to light. During archaeological excavations at Five Mile Lane (A4226) between 2017-2019 a series of features and finds that range in date from over 3500 years ago were uncovered. This will undoubtedly add more to the history of the landscape in the Vale of Glamorgan. The preliminary report has been published of work carried out (click here).

The area for investigation ran across a long stretch alongside the A4226 (Five Mile Lane) and was carried out during works alongside upgrading the road. To manage the recording work in such a large area it was broken down into smaller zones, each having its’ own record and recording carried out.

Neolithic and Bronze Age

The earliest appearance of land use and settlement is a set of 3 large pits or post holes that had been cut through by a Bronze Age ditch, making it likely that they date to the Neolithic. The alignment of these are said to form part of the wider ceremonial and funerary landscape in the Vale of Glamorgan, linking in with Tinkinswood and St Lythans tombs found just over 2km away.  Further evidence of more ditches were found and associated to Bronze Age burial mounds. A Late Bronze Age crouched burial was found in one. Other Bronze Age human remains include cremations also found during the excavations, along with an Early Bronze Age Beaker Burial found nearby.

Iron Age

A Late Iron Age to Romano British settlement was uncovered, 5 or 6 structures were identified as roundhouses. These had been remodelled which shows they would have likely been reused over time. Here archaeologists found pottery material from both the Iron Age and Romano-British period. Another area excavated showed an enclosure linked to a small Iron Age settlement. These sites are likely to bridge the time between the Late Iron Age and the coming of the Romans to rule.

Roman

The archaeological investigations also reinvestigated the site of Whitton Lodge Roman Villa previously excavated at different times between 1956-70. The excavation exposed the building structures and walls of the Roman villa. Burials were found to the south of the site, one estimated to date to the 4^th – 5^th century.

Medieval

During the excavations of one of the Bronze Age burial mounds features later Medieval remodelling were found. This included a burial cut into the earlier monument and hundreds of inhumations dating to the 10th and 11th century at the latest.

The latest features found by archaeologists were a Post Medieval lime kiln and a concrete structure most likely to form part of a WWII defensive structure.  Unusual things discovered during investigations and excavations included WWII binoculars.

Further explanation of the features and structures are expected at a later date. For more information on the background of the excavations at Five Mile Lane click here.