Portskewett - Page 1 of 2

PORTSKEWETT, MONMOUTHSHIRE

Portskewett lies 7km from Chepstow close to the Welsh bank of the Severn Estuary, but its present appearance is deceptive as a now totally silted-up tidal inlet of the Severn was still navigable into the medieval period. Portskewett is often referred to as a port in medieval documents, but its history can be traced back to before the Norman Conquest as there is a documentary reference that this was a royal court of the kings of Gwent.

The most famous mention of Portskewett, is in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle which records that Earl Harold Godwinson (later King Harold II of England) started to build a hunting lodge here but it was destroyed by Caradog ap Gruffydd on the 24 August 1065. Although the importance of Portskewett declined during the medieval period, it remained the site of a medieval manor first recorded in 1270. There are prominent earthworks next to the church in the centre of the village, and as this field is known locally as Harold’s House this was presumed to be the site of the medieval manor and earlier hunting lodge. Work here by the Time Team in 2007 confirmed the medieval date of the earthworks, but frustratingly found no evidence for Harold’s lodge.

When a site on the opposite side of a lane from Harold’s House was proposed for housing development the potential archaeological interest was obvious, and following earlier evaluation CA excavated the site for Barratt Homes in October 2009. The initial discoveries seemed to concentrate on the Roman period, with a substantial banked and ditched enclosure sat on the crest of the slope leading down to the former creek. This was no small undertaking as the ditches were up to 4m wide, but surprisingly no evidence of any structures was found inside the banks. Roman finds have been recovered previously from Portskewett, and it is conceivable that there may have been a villa here, but some doubt attaches to the date of the enclosure. It could be either late Roman or early medieval (pre-Norman). Radiocarbon dating of the plentiful animal bone recovered from the ditches may help to sort this out. Activity certainly continued on the site after the Norman Conquest as further banks and ditches which produced 12th or 13th-century pottery testify to the continuing enclosure of the hillside.

The site sits on a pronounced slope above the former tidal inlet

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