Welsh Journals

CEREDIGION CYLCHGRAWN CYMDEITHAS HYNAFIAETHWYR CEREDIGION JOURNAL OF THE CEREDIGION ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY CYFROL/VOLUME XI 1992 RHIFYN/NUMBER 4 TEST PITS AT ABERYSTWYTH CASTLE, DECEMBE 1989 RESULTS OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORDINQ. 41%, Introduction 7 19 ton** In December 1989 three test pits were dug to ascertain the r apparent movement in the outer north-east ('putting green') an east ('fishpond') curtain walls at Aberystwyth Castle (SN 579815). The work was undertaken by Gifford and Partners, Consulting Engineers, for Ceredigion District Council. In view of the status of the castle as a scheduled ancient monument and the potential for recovery of archae- ological information during this work, Gifford and Partners, through their principal archaeologist, T. Strickland, employed H. Burnham to supervise and record the work. The positions of the three test pits can be seen on Fig. 11. The pits were dug by machine, although the final straightening of sections was completed by hand. In each case, the section along the southern side was drawn. Test Pit I The first test pit was located behind the 'fishpond' wall, at a point where the uppermost masonry and part of the fill behind it had apparently collapsed some time previously. What remains of the infill had grassed over and the top of the remaining masonry had been rather roughly consolidated by capping with concrete. Eighteenth-century views, particularly that by Buck (Fig. 12), show a cart track crossing the wall at approximately this point and running into the interior of the castle, possibly for the removal of stone. At that time the outer face of the wall was