Record

EV ID	EV-0293
Title	The 1994 excavation north of St Dochdwy’s: the HER records, the published report, the Museum Wales accession and Burial 631
Date of document	1994 (excavation); 28 Jul 1994 (donation); 2005 (published report); 2 May 2007 (museum article); HER record compiled 12 Mar 2004, updated 24 Aug 2024
Type	heritage record, journal abstract, museum catalogue and museum article
Evidence label	OFFICIAL RECORD (HER, museum catalogue, online) · PUBLISHED REPORT (abstract read; full text not read)
Repository / reference	Heneb HER GGAT02272s (event GGATE003875) · Heneb HER GGAT03583s · Holbrook & Thomas, Medieval Archaeology 49 (2005), 1–92 · Amgueddfa Cymru Collections Online, e.g. 95.56H/1.905, 95.56H/1.474 · Museum Wales blog, “The suffering of burial 631”
Status	HELD (public online records, read 21 Oct 2026). Cotswold Archaeological Trust Report 94213 and the 2005 full text: see the Archaeology and Heritage page.
Provenance	Read by Sion’s Tab agent on 21 Oct 2026 while checking a research summary received that day.
Related evidence	Archaeology and Heritage · Master Timeline (3 Dec 1993 BP → Ideal Homes, WA231076 file list)

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Quotation (verbatim): HER GGAT02272s, “Early Christian Cemetery, Great House Farm, Llandough”: “Excavation of an area of 0.22ha immediately to the north of the church of St Dochdwy was undertaken on behalf of Ideal Homes Wales following an earlier evaluation by Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust in 1990 (AW30 1990, 66).” Events: “GGATE003875 : Great House Farm, Llandough, Cardiff, South Glamorgan (year : 1994)”. HER GGAT03583s, “Great House Farm, Llandough”: “Postholes for a possible medieval timber building identified during excavations in 1994, found to cut earlier graves.” Medieval Archaeology 49 (2005), abstract: “In all 1,026 inhumation burials were examined, by far the largest Early-medieval burial population so far recovered from Wales.” Museum Wales, item 95.56H/1.905: “Site Name: Great House Farm, Llandough … Date: 1994 Acquisition donation, 28/7/1994 Should any artefacts be placed on display in any museum, then Ideal Homes Wales Ltd. should be acknowledged as the donor. … Location In store”. Museum Wales blog (2 May 2007): “Ideal Homes Wales Ltd had contracted archaeologists from Cotswold Archaeology to excavate land earmarked for a new housing development in Llandough”; “The skeleton was that of a young man, aged between 25 and 35 … Radiocarbon dating of the bone suggested that he died between AD340-660 … the two iron straps he wore around his waist”; the straps may have been worn “as an act of penitence” or “served as a hernia belt”.

Fits with: The HER and the museum both name the excavation site “Great House Farm, Llandough”. Ideal Homes Wales commissioned the 1994 excavation and is the recorded donor of the remains on 28 Jul 1994. The Master Timeline records a BP → Ideal Homes transfer of 3 Dec 1993 on the WA231076 file list (HM Land Registry).

Cuts against: GGAT carried out the 1990 evaluation; the 1994 excavation was by Cotswold Archaeology (Cotswold Archaeological Trust), not GGAT. GGAT03583s is the HER record for the medieval timber building, not an identifier of the cemetery. The HER and the 2007 article give “858 inhumations” and “over 800 burials”: the 1,026 figure is the 2005 published total. No source seen places Burial 631 on display; the catalogue records seen read “In store”. Which parcel of the farm the 0.22 ha was, and whether “Ideal Homes” on the 1993 title file and “Ideal Homes Wales Ltd” are one company, is not shown in these records.

Catalogued by Sion’s Tab agent, 21 Oct 2026, while checking a research summary received that day (free online sources only).

Page version & change log

Current version: 1.0.0

Version	Date (UTC)	Editor (human or agent name)	Change	Source / evidence
1.0.0	2026-10-21T11:04Z	Sion’s Tab agent	Page created (catalogue/press check of 21 Oct 2026).	Owner’s request, 21 Oct 2026 11:53 BST; sources linked above

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