Welsh Journals

Search over 450 titles and 1.2 million pages

EDITORIAL Anyone who has ever found some ancient object, be it on an organised archaeological dig or when building a sandcastle on the beach, will know the thrill of holding a piece of history in their hand, perhaps exposing it to the light of day for the first time in hundreds or even thousands of years. But do we know what to do with it? Bernice Cardy explains the current legislation and precise definitions of different categories of finds, illustrating her account with objects given or loaned to Swansea Museum. Bernice is well qualified to write on this, being the designated reporting officer for such finds, and also having built up an amicable relationship between local metal detectorists and the Museum, which has done much to enhance the record of local history. This is not the first time we have had a contribution from abroad. Although the Japanese process of smelting copper was mentioned by John Percy in his book Metallurgy (1861), Tadashi Uchida's very clear and well illustrated account intro- duces it to a wider and perhaps less technically-informed readership. Mr Uchida has used Swansea Museum's reference library during visits to the UK over several years and it is a privilege to publish the results of his research. We also thank his daughter Yuko Uchida for her very lucid translation. Swansea's range of immigrant communities is perhaps not sufficiently documented and so Janet Neilson's account of the Jewish community is a welcome addition, especially in the year that they celebrate the 275th anniversary of its official founding. Bryan Taylor has written extensively on the many mills in Swansea and the Lordship of Gower (Gower, vols. 42:1991, 47:1996, 50:1999). Here he concentrates on the industrial mills of the northern Lordship, explaining the impressive power which was harnessed from streams and rivers by engineers as early as the seven- teenth century. For the past two years a project has been underway in the West Glamorgan Archive Service, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, to re-catalogue Swansea Museum's (formerly the RISW's) archive collection and improve its accessibility to researchers. Following his article in last year's Minerva (vol. 13), Andrew Dulley provides a history of the collection up to the present. It is a fascinating story, and the two articles together give an understanding of the work of professional archivists as it has developed over the past century and a half. The RISW is very grateful to the West Glamorgan Archive Service for obtaining the Lottery grant and for providing match-funding for this project, and also to Andrew Dulley and his colleague Katie Millien for their hard work. In particular we wish Katie success in her future career.