Leisure & Tourism

Heritage Data

In the late Summer of 2003, a Heritage Lottery Fund Project Planning Grant was awarded to Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council to assist the commissioning of the specialist investigation and survey within Margam Park, namely of Margam Castle and the Chapter House and Infirmary Ruins within the formal Orangery Gardens. This will enable the Authority to collate data to contribute to the understanding of the built and natural heritage, and which will be fed into the design processes for the development and maintenance of the historic environment which is Margam Park; it is intended also that the resulting data be made widely available for information and research.

During the months of November and December 2003, the surveyors and photographers of Simmons Aerofilms were on site and resulting from their work are detailed plans and elevations of the Castle and Historic Ruins. These have been produced in digital format to be published on the Authority's IT database, be available in-house and also for public perusal.

The refurbishment of the Castle will feature in the earliest phase of the redevelopment strategy for Margam Park currently being developed and the close proximity to the Iron Age hillfort at Mynydd y Castell and the 19th Century Margam Castle suggested that the site may indeed contain the complex remains of past human activity. During January 2004 geoarchaeological experts Terra Nova Ltd were asked to carry out a geophysical survey of the lawned area to the north of Margam Castle to find out if any archaeological features remained beneath the surface before any proposals could be established. Two geophysical techniques were used - electrical resistance and magnetometry. The magnetometer can detect a wide range of archaeological remains such as ancient pits, ditches, kilns, ovens and metallic features such as water pipes.

The resistivity survey was also expected to find features such as ditches, trenches and pits and the remains of paths, tracks and walls.

The results proved exciting confirming buried remains and illustrating the considerable amount of human activity which has taken place at the site. Whilst it seems more likely that most of the features relate to life at the castle during the 18th & 19th century, some may be earlier and demonstrates the potential for survey in the rest of the park.

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Geophysical Survey
Geophysical Survey	Adobe PDF - 99 KB
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