Strata Florida Project
The Strata Florida Research Project:
Environmental Context
Topography: the lands occupied by the Abbey precinct and its demesne lie at the top end of the broad glaciated Teifi Valley. The ancient farms and sites identified from documents and archaeology lie on the best agricultural land between the bog and flood lands of the valley floor and the steeper slopes of the mountain (mynydd) edge. The precinct itself lies on the flat glaciated valley floor between two rivers, the Teifi and the Glasffrwd (its tributary), and is enfolded to north and south by high ridges each of which has an Iron Age hill-fort on it (Pen y Bannau to the north and Gilfach y Dwn Fawr to the south). To the east, immediately beyond the Presbytery of the Abbey church are the Cambrian Mountains of which the northern and southern ridge form a part. In effect the Abbey lies in a horseshoe of hills, opening to the west and the flat approach from the village of Pontrhydfendigaid.
Rivers and streams: Afon Teifi flows eastwards past the Abbey along the northern edge of its precinct. At this point it is not far from its source, Teifi Pools. There is some slight evidence to suggest that this river was managed in the Middle Ages, but this is not as clear as the Afon Glasffrwd which forms the southern boundary of the precinct and which appears to be bedded into an artificial channel. The Afon Glasffrwd stops being a fast-moving mountain river just at the point where it meets the south-eastern angle of the precinct and then becomes more slow moving along the glacial valley floor. This stretch is retained by a substantial wall which may also be the south wall of the precinct. It is from the valley of the Glasffrwd that the water supply for the Abbey was drawn and a sophisticated leat and pond system controlled the water east of the precinct.
Photo: View of the Abbey leat system and Afon Glasffrwd in Dyffryn Tawel (David Austin).
Soils: Soils represent a fundamental resource in their own right, affecting the ease with which land can be cultivated and its likely productivity. In addition, and particularly for earlier societies, the soils and their associated subsoils would have had a marked influence on the range of exploitable natural resources that would be available (e.g. clays for tiles and pottery, peat for fuel, wild fruits and other foodstuffs such as wild animals and fungi, culinary and medicinal herbs, and lichen on rock for dyes). Accordingly a detailed survey of soils within the Abbey Precinct and its environs has been undertaken by Richard Hartnup (funded by KEF grant: HE-08-FSP-1001). The soils are developed on a combination of bedrock (Silurian mudstones, siltstones and sandstones), glacial till (‘boulder clay’) and riverine alluvium/terrace deposits.
The survey has revealed very marked variability in the soils present, these ranging from: well-drained brown earths on the drier alluvium/terraces (mostly within the Precinct) and alluvial gley soils in areas of wetter alluvium (mostly along the floodplain of the Teifi), through brown podzols on relatively well-drained slopes, to stagnogley and, locally peat, soils on extensive areas of less well-drained slopes and interfluves. On the basis of soil type and altitude-related climate data, the land has been classified using the current Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) scheme for England & Wales. The land below c. 200 m on the better-drained alluvial soils within the Precinct is grade 3b (i.e. moderate quality agricultural land). Otherwise the land falls in grades 4 (i.e. poor quality agricultural land) and 5 (i.e. very poor quality agricultural land). Clearly, modern-day ALC cannot be applied uncritically to earlier periods, for several reasons: changes in climate (e.g. warmer and drier conditions in the Medieval period), a greater dependence in the past on the natural fertility and ease of cultivation of soils, and a much greater need in the past to balance land use for agriculture against the range of other natural resources that the land provided. These issues will be addressed more fully in the next phase of the research.
Photo: Soils survey of the Precinct and surrounding area (Dr Richard Hartnup and Dr Jemma Bezant)
