Contractors working on the Denbigh Flood Management scheme have unearthed a rather unusual find.
A large wooden upright and planks of wood were unexpectedly uncovered during pipe tunnelling works in the Lenten Pool area. The wood was found in good condition and had clearly survived in a moist clay environment. An archaeology consultant was notified who recorded the timbers and arranged for radio carbon tests to be carried out to date the pieces of wood.
Archaeological consultant Anne Thompson, who was notified of the find, said: “The discovery of the earliest evidence of human activity in this part of Denbigh is important and not only confirms the existence of pre-medieval settlement /activity but provides firm dating for a feature, more of which lies below ground.
“Initially it was thought that the feature related to Lenton Pool, a former medieval pool. However, given its post Roman/Dark Age dating it appears that the feature relates to activity in the area associated with the early Christian fort that CADW have thought existed at Denbigh, for which no evidence has previously been found.”
Fiona Gale, Denbighshire County Council’s County Archaeologist , said: “This is really an intriguing and fascinating find as there has been very little archaeological evidence in Denbigh dating back this far.
“Initially it looked as if the wooden pieces were quite recent items as they were in such good condition, so it was a real surprise to have the wood date so far back in history. Unfortunately we can only guess what the wood was actually used for and we think the wooden pieces may have formed some kind of container or buttress, but we can only speculate on that”.
Wayne Hope, Denbighshire’s Senior Engineer working on the project said: “This was a very unexpected find and our contractors working on the project, Martin Wright Associates and McPhillips Limited, should be praised for their vigilance. We will now obviously be extremely vigilant as the work progresses, to see if we come across any other historical artefacts.”
