Archaeologist defies sceptics in pursuit of lost city of Trellech
A wonderful story of truly British eccentricity revealing urban bones beneath rural flesh….
The first clue was provided by moles. As the creatures burrowed beneath a farmer’s field close to the border between England and Wales, they threw up fragments of what appeared to be medieval pottery.
Stuart Wilson, an archaeology graduate who was working in a toll bridge booth, took a gamble and bought the field for £32,000 when he could have been investing in his first house.
Over the past 15 years he and a hardy band of volunteers have painstakingly unearthed what they believe are the remains of a sprawling medieval city.
Wilson, 37, is preparing for an exciting 2017. When the weather improves he and his colleagues will continue their work on the site, focusing particularly on what he says is the skeleton of a moated manor house.
He is applying for planning permission for an interpretation centre to tell visitors about the lost city of Trellech, and for a campsite for tourists and helpers.
After facing years of scepticism from some within the archaeology community, he is now being listened to seriously. Before Christmas he was invited by Cardiff Archaeological Society to speak at Cardiff University.
Wilson said his decision to buy the land had been vindicated. “People thought I was mad and really I should have bought a house rather than a field,” he said. “But it turned out to be the best decision of my life. I don’t regret it at all.”