Pumsaint
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Pumsaint is a village in
Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...
, Wales, halfway between
Llanwrda Llanwrda () is both a village and a community in Carmarthenshire, Wales, southwest of Llandovery. It lies on the River Towy. The population in 2011 was 514. Transport and other features The village is served by Llanwrda railway station. The ...
and
Lampeter Lampeter (; cy, Llanbedr Pont Steffan (formal); ''Llambed'' ( colloquial)) is a town, community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales, at the confluence of the Afon Dulas with the River Teifi. It is the third largest urban area in Ceredigion ...
on the A482 in the valley of the
Afon Cothi The Afon Cothi ( en, River Cothy) is the largest tributary of the River Tywi in south Wales. It is noted for its trout and sea trout (sewin) fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from th ...
. It forms part of the extensive estate of
Dolaucothi The Dolaucothi Gold Mines (; cy, Mwynfeydd Aur Dolaucothi) (), also known as the Ogofau Gold Mine, are ancient Roman surface and underground mines located in the valley of the River Cothi, near Pumsaint, Carmarthenshire, Wales. The gold min ...
, which is owned by the
National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
. The name is
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
for "Five Saints" (''Pump'' being the word for "five"). The name is derived from the stone block at the nearby gold mines, opposite Ogofau Lodge, which has four sides, each of which has hollows probably caused by pestle impacts. It was used as an anvil for crushing gold ore in the Roman period. Excavations in the 1990s of the area adjacent to the stone showed that the stone was originally horizontal and used as an anvil for a water-powered crushing mill. There are many parallels from Spanish mines of the Roman period with similar stone anvils.


Places of interest

The nearby conservation area has several
scheduled ancient monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...
s including the
Dolaucothi Gold Mines The Dolaucothi Gold Mines (; cy, Mwynfeydd Aur Dolaucothi) (), also known as the Ogofau Gold Mine, are ancient Roman surface and underground mines located in the valley of the River Cothi, near Pumsaint, Carmarthenshire, Wales. The gold min ...
.
Archaeologists Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
have uncovered evidence of
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
occupation of the area, including
Roman aqueducts The Romans constructed aqueducts throughout their Republic and later Empire, to bring water from outside sources into cities and towns. Aqueduct water supplied public baths, latrines, fountains, and private households; it also supported mining ...
, numerous tanks,
cisterns A cistern (Middle English ', from Latin ', from ', "box", from Greek ', "basket") is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by ...
and reservoirs, timber buildings and a fort. There are also extensive underground workings which can be viewed in guided tours organised by the National Trust.
Archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
suggests that
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
extraction on this site may have started sometime in the
Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
, possibly by washing of the gold-bearing gravels of the
Afon Cothi The Afon Cothi ( en, River Cothy) is the largest tributary of the River Tywi in south Wales. It is noted for its trout and sea trout (sewin) fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from th ...
, the most elementary type of gold prospecting. Sextus Julius Frontinus was sent into Roman Britain in 74 AD to succeed
Quintus Petillius Cerialis Quintus Petillius Cerialis Caesius Rufus ( AD 30 — after AD 83), otherwise known as Quintus Petillius Cerialis, was a Roman general and administrator who served in Britain during Boudica's rebellion and went on to participate in the civil wars af ...
as governor. He subdued the Silures,
Demetae The Demetae were a Celtic people of Iron Age and Roman period, who inhabited modern Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire in south-west Wales, and gave their name to the county of Dyfed. Classical references They are mentioned in Ptolemy's ''Geograp ...
and other hostile tribes of
Roman Wales The Roman era in the area of modern Wales began in 48 AD, with a military invasion by the imperial governor of Roman Britain. The conquest was completed by 78 AD, and Roman rule endured until the region was abandoned in 383 AD. The Roman Emp ...
, establishing a new base at
Caerleon Caerleon (; cy, Caerllion) is a town and community in Newport, Wales. Situated on the River Usk, it lies northeast of Newport city centre, and southeast of Cwmbran. Caerleon is of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable Roman ...
for Legio II Augusta and a network of smaller Roman forts 15 to 20 kilometres apart for his Roman auxiliary units. During his tenure, he probably established the fort at Pumsaint in west Wales, largely to exploit the gold deposits at Dolaucothi. Frontinus later restored the
Aqueducts of Rome The Romans constructed aqueducts throughout their Republic and later Empire, to bring water from outside sources into cities and towns. Aqueduct water supplied public baths, latrines, fountains, and private households; it also supported mining o ...
. That gold occurred here is shown by the discovery of a hoard of gold ornaments in the 18th century. Objects found included a wheel brooch and snake bracelets, so named because they were soft enough to be coiled around the arm for display. All the objects are now held in the
British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
, and displayed in the Romano-British gallery. A sample of gold ore was found at the site by
Henry de la Beche Sir Henry Thomas De la Beche KCB, FRS (10 February 179613 April 1855) was an English geologist and palaeontologist, the first director of the Geological Survey of Great Britain, who helped pioneer early geological survey methods. He was the ...
in 1844, confirming the presence of gold. Evidence from the
fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
(known as Luentinum from details given by
Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...
) and
vicus In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (plural ) designated a village within a rural area () or the neighbourhood of a larger settlement. During the Republican era, the four of the city of Rome were subdivided into . In the 1st century BC, Augustus r ...
show that the Romans worked the mine during the first and second centuries AD (from c. AD 78 until around AD 125), judging by the occupation of the fort. However coarse ware and
Samian ware Terra sigillata is a term with at least three distinct meanings: as a description of medieval medicinal earth; in archaeology, as a general term for some of the fine red Ancient Roman pottery with glossy surface slips made in specific areas of t ...
pottery recovered from a reservoir (Melin-y-Milwyr) within the mine complex show that activity at the mines continued until the late third century at least. Since Ptolemy's map dates to about 150 AD, it is likely then that it continued being worked until the end of the third century if not beyond. The Romans made extensive use of water carried by several aqueducts and
leat A leat (; also lete or leet, or millstream) is the name, common in the south and west of England and in Wales, for an artificial watercourse or aqueduct dug into the ground, especially one supplying water to a watermill or its mill pond. Othe ...
s (the longest of which is about from its source in a gorge of the river) to prospect for the gold veins hidden beneath the soil on the hillsides above the modern village of Pumsaint. Small streams on
Mynydd Mallaen Mynydd Mallaen () is an expansive plateau to the northwest of Cilycwm in northeast Carmarthenshire, Wales. It forms part of the Cambrian Mountains massif, and is north-west of the Black Mountain (range) in the Brecon Beacons. It takes the f ...
, the Annell and Gwenlais, were used initially to provide water for prospecting, and there are several large tanks for holding the water still visible above an isolated opencast pit carved in the side of the hill north of the main site. The water was used in a method known as
hushing Hushing is an ancient and historic mining method using a flood or torrent of water to reveal mineral veins. The method was applied in several ways, both in prospecting for ores, and for their exploitation. Mineral veins are often hidden below ...
, where a wave is released to sweep soil and sub-soil away to reveal bare rock. The method was also used to remove as rock debris after a vein was attacked using tools and
fire-setting Fire-setting is a method of traditional mining used most commonly from Prehistory, prehistoric times up to the Middle Ages. Fires were set against a rock face to heat the Rock (geology), stone, which was then doused with liquid, causing the sto ...
to produce the opencast. The larger aqueduct from the Cothi crosses this opencast, proving the opencast to be earlier.


Other attractions

Other places of interest include the
Red Kite The red kite (''Milvus milvus'') is a medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers. The species currently breeds in the Western Palearctic region o ...
Visitor Centre, located in the Old Coach House in the centre of the village, where displays on the
oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
woodlands, the traditional nesting place of the bird, may be viewed. To the north up the Cothi valley and across the watershed into the Tywi valley lies the large dam of
Llyn Brianne Llyn Brianne is a man-made lake or Reservoir (water), reservoir in the headwaters of the River Tywi in Wales. Construction The reservoir was constructed by George Wimpey, Wimpey Construction in the late 1960s and early 1970s in order to regul ...
and the wilderness beyond is good pony trekking country. The area is a popular place for caravan,
fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...
and riding holidays.


See also

* Caio, Carmarthenshire *
River Tywi The River Towy ( cy, Afon Tywi, ) is one of the longest rivers flowing entirely within Wales. Its total length is . It is noted for its sea trout and salmon fishing. Route The Towy rises within of the source of the River Teifi on the lower slo ...


External links


Carreg Pumsaint – once thought to be a 'standing stone' now thought to be an anvil for crushing gold orewww.geograph.co.uk : photos of Pumsaint and surrounding area
{{authority control Villages in Carmarthenshire