The Strata Florida Trust will be holding an Archaeology Community Open Day on Saturday.

From 10.30am until 4pm on Saturday, 16 July, everyone is welcome at the free event at Strata Florida.

Members of the public can come down and explore the excavations, see the finds from the Archaeological Field School at Strata Florida, and learn what it takes to be an archaeologist.

There will be guided tours of the site from one of the experienced archaeologists working at the field school. There’s even a chance for family archaeology taster sessions where everyone can have a go at being an archaeologist.

Children will be able to take part in a variety of activities from a map treasure hunt, activity booklet and have fun designing and making their own badges to take home.

Those attending will have a chance to visit the “Mynachlog Fawr in 30 Objects” exhibition in Strata Florida’s converted Grade II listed Tŷ Pair (cauldron house) and cart shed.

The exhibition showcases the lives of the people who lived and worked at Mynachlog Fawr through the ages, via a collection of 30 personal objects and documents found in the farmhouse and farm buildings.

There is also a special collection of local Eisteddfod exhibits, including an Eisteddfod crown from 1966 and a chair won by Dafydd Jones in the Pontrhydfendigaid local Eisteddfod in 1943.

Visitors can also enjoy a variety of stalls from local organisations, such as artist GwawrYim-Jones selling local crafts and gifts to take home to others offering information on local attractions and days out. Local organisations taking part, include the Cambrian Mountains Initiative and CUPHAT.

Strata Florida is one of the most important historical sites in Wales.

In its heyday, of the 12th and 13th Centuries the Cistercian abbey at Strata Florida (AbatyYstrad Fleur),regarded by many as the Westminster Abbey of Wales,was an important centre of culture, religion and trade.

The abbey and its precincts have many important connections with Welsh history and royalty, one of the foremost early Welsh historical sources, the Brut y Tywysogion was written at Strata Florida, and DafyddAp Gwilym, Wales’s most famous medieval poet is buried at Strata Florida, as are several medieval Princes of Wales.

The Strata Florida Archaeology Field School aims to provide vocational training in a variety of archaeology skills to a diverse a range of participants, encouraging as many as possible to get involved in archaeology no matter their age, education, ability or mobility.

Funded by a generous grant from the Benefact Trust (formerly known as the AllChurches Trust) and supported by The Prince’s Foundation and Breaking Ground Heritage, the Strata Florida Archaeology Field School aspires to be the most inclusive archaeological field school in the UK.

This year sees a broad range of ages and experience on site – from complete novices who’ve never handled archaeological finds, to toughened diggers with expert trowelling skills. There are a number of repeat visitors too, who took part in the first season in 2019.

The 2022 field season, which runs until the 24 July, continues to focus on excavating the farmyard at Mynachlog Fawr. The farm was built on top and out of the remains of older structures, some of which go back to the early years of the Abbey’s foundation in the Middle Ages. In just the first few days of the four-week dig, finds have included pieces of Medieval pottery, iron, lead, glass and carved stone. There’s a lot more yet to be discovered.