Metal Detecting Survey at Plasdur Cardiff

The metal detecting survey was undertaken to identify and record metallic archaeological material within a defined study area, required as a condition of a planning development. A unique site code (DT/PDW/25) was allocated for all aspects of the project archive and on-site recording. The survey was undertaken by a team of three experienced detectorists, all using Nokta Simple + metal detectors, calibrated with standardised settings and set to all metal mode. The ground was found to have a high ferrous content, so all three detectors were set with automatic ground balance and recalibrated as required during the survey sessions. Site registration of finds was recorded by an APAC Ltd site assistant, and the stake-out and survey works were conducted by the project manager, Dr N Phillips. This document presents a report for an Archaeological Metal Detector Survey that was conducted in advance of a surface soil strip along a proposed pipe trench. The works were part of Permitted Development and undertaken for Dur Cymru Welsh Water. The pipeline route crosses agricultural fields with known archaeological potential, in particular their postulated association with an English Civil War battle of 1648, based on previous investigations in the area. A total of 230 small finds were recovered during the survey, as a whole, a significant proportion of which were diagnostic of a Post-Medieval, English Civil War date. These results successfully fulfilled the aims of identifying and characterising the archaeological resource and will contribute to the understanding of potential battlefield activity along the proposed development corridor