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The Tregaron Elephant Project

14.03.2011

An exciting new project by the School of Archaeology, History and Anthropology at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David will celebrate the story of the Tregaron Elephant.

Back in 1848 a travelling circus visited Tregaron. An elephant was taken ill and died and was reputedly buried in the back garden of the Talbot, (the historic coaching inn fronting the main square within the town). Whether or not this story is true, the Tregaron elephant has become the stuff of local lore and the elephant has acquired mythical, almost mascot-like, status.

Dr Jemma Bezant from the School of Archaeology, History and Anthropology explains:

“We have a long-running research project looking at the medieval history of the Cistercian Abbey of Strata Florida in particular, but we also want to place the wider region of Central-Wales within a National and International context looking at later histories, agriculture and land-use, community, and so on. The Elephant Project will look at the stories surrounding this event and draw together some of the evidence.

“This story belongs to the community of Tregaron and the project will involve local people in gathering local evidence and histories as well as providing the opportunity to engage in some pilot archaeological excavation. The project aims to collect the histories and stories relating to this event, engage the community in archaeological activities and generate content for the community web-site

“This project is about celebrating the story of the Tregaron Elephant and less about ‘finding out the truth’. It is likely that we will generate more questions than answers and this project will contribute to the rich history of the area in its own right. The main aim is to engage the local community in the construction and telling of their own stories and histories,” concludes Dr Bezant.

A small-scale evaluation excavation will take place in the vicinity of the ‘elephant stone’ during early April from Saturday 9 April for approx 5 to 7 days. This time-frame will allow working local people the opportunity to visit the site during the weekend but also allow primary school visits before the Easter holidays. Further information will be available at a later date on www.trinitysaintdavid.ac.uk and on twitter.com/trinitystdavid

Ends:

Note to Editor

The University of Wales Trinity Saint David is working with Swansea Metropolitan University, Coleg Sir Gâr, Pembrokeshire College and Coleg Ceredigion to create a dual sector university. This means that the institutions will work as a group to provide progression routes and choices for students as well as programmes of study that respond to the needs of employers in the region.
The University of Wales Trinity Saint David offers a range of innovative and exciting Archaeology, History and Anthropology programmes in both English and Welsh. Please see School of Archaeology, History and Anthropology
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Further Information

Dr Jemma Bezant, 01570424737, j.bezant@tsd.ac.uk

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