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Aeon Archaeology At Aeon Archaeology we pride ourselves in offering professional archaeological contractual and consultancy services.

Today we’re carrying out archaeological monitoring at Bryn Pydew, near Llandudno Junction, at a site associated with the...
24/08/2026

Today we’re carrying out archaeological monitoring at Bryn Pydew, near Llandudno Junction, at a site associated with the crash of Handley Page Halifax HR723 during the Second World War.

The Halifax had been operating from RAF Wombleton in Yorkshire when, during a night flight in 1944, it encountered severe icing conditions. The aircraft became increasingly difficult to control and the seven-man crew were eventually ordered to abandon it by parachute.

Six of the seven men survived the incident, landing across a surprisingly wide area around the Conwy valley and Rhos-on-Sea. Tragically, Pilot Officer H. W. Ferris, the wireless operator, was killed. Although his parachute opened, he slipped through his harness when the leg straps failed to hold him. His body was subsequently found near Bodysgallen.

The abandoned Halifax continued on before crashing at Tan-y-Bryn Farm, Bryn Pydew, where an eyewitness recalled seeing the aircraft come down and burst into flames.

More than 80 years later, establishing precisely where the aircraft struck the ground is not straightforward. The recorded crash location is approximate, while the aircraft broke up on impact and the landscape has subsequently been altered. For that reason, the chances of encountering surviving wreckage during our archaeological work are relatively small.

Nevertheless, it is a worthwhile investigation. Aircraft crash sites form an important, and sometimes very personal, part of the archaeology of the Second World War. Even a small fragment of aircraft material could potentially help refine the position of the crash site, while a negative result is itself useful in narrowing down the areas in which remains may survive.

So while we’re certainly not expecting to uncover a Halifax, it will be fascinating to see whether any physical trace of HR723 has survived beneath the ground at Bryn Pydew after more than eight decades.

A particularly poignant site to be working on, and one where the archaeology is closely connected with the experiences of the seven men aboard the aircraft that night.

Royal Oak update!After taking a week off during the recent heatwave (the safety and wellbeing of our archaeologists alwa...
21/07/2026

Royal Oak update!

After taking a week off during the recent heatwave (the safety and wellbeing of our archaeologists always comes first), we’re back on site and making progress.

We’ve uncovered the footings of a substantial rectangular building, around 4m wide and at least 10m long. It’s difficult to be certain of its full extent as it continues beyond the northern edge of the excavation, and much of it was heavily grubbed out when the building was demolished.

The surviving foundations are built from large sandstone blocks with handmade red brick above. Unfortunately, preservation is poor because the sandstone bedrock lies so close to the surface. The original foundations were therefore very shallow, making it easy for later demolition crews to remove much of the structure.

To make things even more interesting, it now appears that a row of Victorian terraced houses may have been built on exactly the same alignment after the pub was demolished, adding another layer to the story and making interpretation rather more challenging!

The finds are beginning to tell their own tale, however. Some of the pottery recovered so far, particularly fragments of Staffordshire slipware, points towards a 17th-century date for at least part of the building’s occupation, which is certainly encouraging.

Perhaps the most exciting discovery this week hasn’t come from the trench at all. We’ve managed to track down a fantastic historic photograph showing the Royal Oak still standing before its demolition. It’s a wonderful reminder that the stone footings we’re uncovering once supported a thriving village pub. The photograph is already helping us compare what survives below ground with what once stood above it.

Our next job is to finish recording everything we’ve uncovered before heading back to the office to pore over early maps and historic documents. With a bit of archaeological detective work, we’re hoping to piece together the story of the Royal Oak and better understand how the evidence in the ground relates to the building shown in the photograph.

We’ll keep you updated as the investigation continues!

Day 1 at the Royal Oak, Little NestonWe’ve started archaeological excavation on land next to the present-day Royal Oak p...
06/07/2026

Day 1 at the Royal Oak, Little Neston

We’ve started archaeological excavation on land next to the present-day Royal Oak pub ahead of redevelopment.

Although the existing pub is relatively modern, historic mapping shows an earlier Royal Oak occupied this area by at least the mid 19ᵗʰ century, and there’s every chance the site has an even longer history. Over the next few days we’ll be looking to see whether any remains of the former public house survive below ground.

The first day is always the most intriguing. At this stage we don’t know what, if anything, has survived, but that’s exactly what makes archaeology so interesting. We’ll post updates as the excavation progresses and let you know what we find.

We’ve recently been out on site in Bangor carrying out a strip, map and record excavation—and we’ve uncovered something ...
10/04/2026

We’ve recently been out on site in Bangor carrying out a strip, map and record excavation—and we’ve uncovered something of a mystery.

An earlier phase of evaluation picked up the corner of a feature that was radiocarbon dated to between 3951–3651 BC, placing it firmly in the early Neolithic. At the time, it was thought to be part of an enclosure ditch. But now that we’ve exposed the full extent… things aren’t quite so straightforward.

The feature turns out to be short—no more than around 4m in length—and distinctly irregular, with a very undulating form. In truth, it looks far more like a burrow or even a badger sett than a formal prehistoric ditch.

So what are we looking at?

One possibility is that this is an early Neolithic feature—perhaps a small windbreak slot or a shallow ditch associated with burning, maybe even linked to vegetation clearance. The soft, worked ground could then have attracted badgers at a much later date, who reworked it into a sett.

But there’s another, more intriguing possibility…

Could this represent evidence of the smoking of badger setts? This was a traditional practice used to flush badgers from their burrows by introducing smoke into the tunnels, typically to enable hunting. It is best documented from the medieval period through to the post-medieval and early modern periods, but is also likely to have deeper roots as a long-standing countryside practice.

Badger remains have been recovered from some Neolithic sites, though they’re not especially common. They may have been hunted for their pelts, and possibly for meat as well—so human interaction with badgers at this time is certainly plausible. If this feature does relate to sett smoking, it could represent an activity taking place in the Neolithic that has, until now, gone unrecognised in the archaeological record.

For now, the feature remains something of a puzzle. With further analysis we may get closer to an answer—but equally, this could be one of those rare cases where the full story is lost to time.

Either way, it’s a fascinating reminder that even the smallest features can open up big questions… especially when badgers might be involved.

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