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Subject:

The first royal corgi?

From:

Jacqui Mulville <[log in to unmask]>

Reply-To:

Jacqui Mulville <[log in to unmask]>

Date:

Wed, 21 Apr 2004 15:33:23 +0100

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or not.....a light hearted moment about a bandy legged specimen.

All corgi contributions welcome, particuarly anyone who can shed light on the claim (made by the Corgi Society) that corgis were introduced to Wales in 1200BC?

jacqui


Ninth century bones unearthed by Cardiff archaeologists may provide evidence of the first royal Welsh corgi.
The archaeologists have been analysing excavated animal bones from the crannog on Llangorse Lake near Brecon. Normally associated with Scotland and Ireland, a crannog is a dwelling built in a lake or bog, either on stilts or on a man-made island.  The Llangorse Crannog - on a man-made island in the Brecon Beacons National Park * is a unique site, the first crannog to be discovered in Wales and the only one south of the Scottish border and east of the Irish Sea. 
Tree ring dating of oak planks from the crannog indicates that it was built in stages between 889 and 893 and supports the historical evidence that it was a royal residence for the Welsh kingdom of Brycheiniog. The site is thought to be referred to in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as being destroyed by a Mercian Army in AD916.  King Alfred's daughter Aethelflaed, ruler of the English kingdom of Mercia, attacked the Welsh kingdom of Brycheiniog and 'destroyed Brecenanmere' and captured the king's wife and 33 other persons.  The archaeological team are convinced that the crannog, which shows signs of burning, was the site attacked by the Mercians.  During excavation of the crannog a team of Cardiff archaeologists led by Dr Alan Lane of the School of History and Archaeology, in conjunction with a diving team from the National Museum in Cardiff led by Dr Mark Redknap, found dramatic evidence of the life and death of this unique site.  
Now research by Dr Jacqui Mulville and her Research Associate, Adrienne Powell, has given intriguing new evidence of the importance of the site for our understanding of Welsh Dark Age History.  Dr Mulville and Ms Powell have been studying the animal bones recovered in the excavation.  This debris from food and manufacturing activities allows us to see something of life in 9th and 10th century Wales.
 "Our analysis of the types of animals eaten, the parts which were eaten and how old they were when they were eaten suggests high status * even a kingly diet -  which helps to confirm the identification of the crannog one of Wales' earliest royal residences," Dr Mulville. "We also have the foreleg of a corgi-sized dog, which, dare we suggest, might be a much favoured ancestral royal companion."  In the nineteenth century the corgi was used to drive cattle and various dates have been suggested for the introduction of the two distinct corgi breeds to Wales.   Corgi enthusiasts have always claimed that the corgi is an ancient Welsh species -  the Cardigan breed being thought to date back to the Iron Age and the better known Pembroke breed claimed to be a Medieval introduction.  The Llangorse evidence may the first conclusive evidence that similar dogs were in use in Wales in AD 900; indeed they may have been used to drive cattle to the crannog for royal feasts.  
The archaeologists are in touch with the Corgi Society, as they need to examine their specimen  against the skeleton of a  modern corgi.    "Not surprisingly," said Jacqui, "the Society is rather excited at the prospect of twelve hundred year-old evidence of the breed's royal association." However the discovery of one foreleg might hint that Mr Beynon, the butcher of Llareggub in 'Under Milk Wood' was not the first to 'go out after corgis with his little cleaver.'
Other finds from the site confirm the historical evidence that the crannog was a royal site.  A unique fragment of embroidered cloth from an elaborate tunic has been reconstructed by a joint  University/National Museum team.  The embroidery,  the finest ever discovered in Wales includes images of lions and birds and shows evidence of Byzantine or Asiatic designs. The embroidered cloth, probably part of tunic, had been burnt in the conflagration that destroyed the site but had been preserved in the lake's silt.  A metal fragment suggests the presence of religious relics on the site while other objects include dress pins and combs.
Rare artefacts from the Crannog site are now on display for the first time at the Brecknock Museum and Art Gallery in Brecon.  The majority of objects were found between 1989 and 1993 by archaeologists from Cardiff University and the National Museums and Galleries of Wales. It is only now, however, that they are being put on display as part of a scheme to loan items from national collections to museums where they have local significance. The exhibition will continue until mid September.

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