Prehistoric flint finds from Plas Gogerddan, near Aberystwyth, Ceredigion

Between late spring 1998 and spring 1999, several scatters of worked flint were identified in the lowlands surrounding Plas Gogerddan, near Aberystwyth, Ceredigion. Field walking was carried out as and when experimental crop trials run by the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research (IGER) allowed. Flint scatters are a relatively common find for field walkers in many parts of Wales. However, in mid-Wales and particularly the Aberystwyth area there has been a dearth of such evidence. The Cardiganshire County History (Briggs 1994; Houlder 1994) lists some of the known artefacts from the Neolithic and Bronze Ages for the county (recently illustrated in Hancox 1999). Most are larger finds such as axeheads with very little worked flint recorded, either from surface collection or from excavations of prehistoric sites in the locality (for example: Murphy 1992; Briggs et. al. 1999). Consequently, the recent finds described here, comprising fifty-four pieces of worked flint recovered from five areas including ten cores, two arrowheads, part of a pressure-flaked artefact, and a number of blades, are a valuable indicator of areas of likely prehistoric settlement in this part of lowland north Ceredigion. During 1999, further worked flints were deposited in the Ceredigion Museum, Aberystwyth, from the Clarach Bay and Clarach Valley areas, immediately west of Plas Gogerddan. These are briefly described in this article as they provide valuable contextual information.