Rare medieval skeletal remains excavated in Wales date to 13th century

The remains of a woman who died around the late 12th or early 13th century were excavated under the foundation a Welsh church that has been converted into a museum. The church was built over an older church in the 1820s.

Archaeologists found the skeleton of the woman, who they say died in her 60s, during reconstruction work on the museum. The church was St. Mary’s and now houses the Llŷn Maritime Museum in Nefyn, Gwennyd, Wales. They say it is rare to find any remains that old in North Wales 

“This lady would have lived through some exciting times in North Wales and in her later life she would have seen the unification of Gwynedd and much of mid and south Wales as well as the raise of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd (the last),” the museum says.

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The Green Lady of Caerphilly Castle

From Reuters:

Legends say she is the spirit of Alice de la Marche of Angouleme, France, niece of Henry II and the disgraced lover of a knight named Gruffydd the Fair. She died of a broken heart after he was hanged by her husband, Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester, who was lord of the castle. Locals say that on moonlit nights she appears on the walls searching for her lost love. She is known as “the Green Lady”, perhaps because of the ivy that spills over the castle walls, or maybe she wears green because of her husband’s envy.

The story as told by Richard Jones in "Haunted Castles of Britain & Ireland":

"Gilbert was married to the beautiful Princess Alice of Angouleme, a lady of refined tastes and passionate nature, who came to resent her husband’s warring disposition. One day, Gruffudd the Fair, Prince of Brithdir, paid a visit to the castle. Alice became enamored with this handsome and amorous Welsh prince, and soon the two were lovers. Rather foolishly, Gruffudd confessed their secret to a monk who turned out to be duplicitous and informed the cuckolded husband. A deranged Gilbert sent his wife back to France and ordered his men to find Gruffudd. Learning of the friar’s betrayal, Gruffudd caught the monk and hanged him from a tree at a site now known as “Monk’s Vale” in commemoration. No sooner had he done so than Gilbert’s men caught up with him, and Gruffudd, too, was soon dangling at the end of a noose.

 

Gleefully, the avenged husband set a messenger to France to inform Alice of her lover’s execution. Such was the shock of the news that she dropped dead on the spot, and her ghost has haunted the ramparts of Caerphilly Castle ever since. Resplendent in a richly woven dress, colored green for Gilbert’s envy, she waits in silent solitude, desperate to be reunited with her princely lover, whose flattering attentions fate has long denied her."

Abergwyngregyn: Site of Welsh Princes Returns To History

From BBC News:

Excavations at Abergwyngregyn, near Bangor, unearthed the remains of a medieval hall dating back to the 14th century, the period when Llywelyn the Great and Llywelyn the Last were fighting for Welsh independence.

Experts will be on hand on Saturday to give guided tours of the site and there will be activities for children inspired by medieval games and puzzles.

Next month, the site, which is privately owned, will be returned to pasture.

The site will be open to visitors on Saturday, 30 October, between 10am and 4pm, with children's activities from noon.