Nevern Castle: searching for the first masonry castle in Wales

Abstract

256. Nevern Castle (SN 082 401). An initial survey of Nevern Castle — Castell Nanhyfer — together with observations on the history and visible archaeological features on the site was published by King and Perks in Archaeologia Cambrensis in 1950–51. The site has subsequently been protected through scheduled ancient monument status and through purchase by the Nevern Community Council in the early 1980s. The desire to research and develop the site led to the recent establishment of a partnership between the Nevern Community Council, the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and Durham University Department of Archaeology. This partnership, led by Phil Bennett and Chris Caple, secured SCIF funding from the Welsh Assembly, administered through Cadw, in 2009, which has helped fund, conserve and develop the site for visitors. Following an initial geophysical survey, there have been four seasons of excavation. Information on the initial excavations has been published and is available from the websites.35 While a substantial report on the initial four seasons of excavation is currently in preparation for Archaeologia Cambrensis, this paper flags the key results from the 2009–10 seasons.